2 LPs on 1 CD. Few reissue labels treat '50s rock and R&B artists with better care than England's Ace Records. This excellent compilation, combining two Link Wray albums in full, complete with a bonus track, "Street Beat," is a perfect example. Reissue labels mostly seem to think that the album as such did not exist in rock & roll prior to the Beatles, despite all evidence to the contrary. As a result, '50s and early-'60s artists tend to get only the compilation treatment, if that. Yet as this reissue shows, the album is a viable canvas for all sorts of musicians, and instrumental rock is not just limited to singles. Link Wray's style, featuring his own distinctive brand of post-Les Paul, pre-surf guitar playing, is a natural for the album format, both because it gives him the room to show off his versatility and because it gives him a chance to essay such instrumental rock hits (for other people) as the atmospheric "Apache" and the gloriously greasy "Raunchy," alongside such oddball choices as "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the Mexican-influenced "Viva Zapata."

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2 LPs on 1 CD. Few reissue labels treat '50s rock and R&B artists with better care than England's Ace Records. This excellent compilation, combining two Link Wray albums in full, complete with a bonus track, "Street Beat," is a perfect example. Reissue labels mostly seem to think that the album as such did not exist in rock & roll prior to the Beatles, despite all evidence to the contrary. As a result, '50s and early-'60s artists tend to get only the compilation treatment, if that. Yet as this reissue shows, the album is a viable canvas for all sorts of musicians, and instrumental rock is not just limited to singles. Link Wray's style, featuring his own distinctive brand of post-Les Paul, pre-surf guitar playing, is a natural for the album format, both because it gives him the room to show off his versatility and because it gives him a chance to essay such instrumental rock hits (for other people) as the atmospheric "Apache" and the gloriously greasy "Raunchy," alongside such oddball choices as "Stars and Stripes Forever" and the Mexican-influenced "Viva Zapata."