Rumble! The Best of Link Wray cover

Rumble! The Best of Link Wray

Link Wray · 1993

51 min · 20 tracks · rock and roll

Elevation

Our rating, out of 100 — and why.

AI-generated from five scored dimensions. An opinion, not a measurement.

54 /100
Lowland
Higher than 3% of albums we've rated

The terse guitar hooks and rough-edged performances hold up, but this singles collection has little sequencing logic and no unified album shape.

What we noticed

  • The opening run centers on short, riff-led guitar instrumentals; later tracks such as “Ain't That Lovin' You Babe” and “I'm Branded” bring in vocals.
  • “Jack the Ripper” appears once in the main sequence and again as a live track at the end, so the close repeats a song rather than resolving an album arc.
  • The sequence jumps among brisk instrumentals, vocal songs and darker, slower cuts without building a continuous change in pace.
Composition 25% of the score
6/10

the writing — melody, harmony, structure, lyrics

Craft 20% of the score
6/10

production, performance, arrangement

Durability 25% of the score
7/10

whether it rewards returning to it

Distinctiveness 18% of the score
4/10

whether it sounds like itself

Sequencing 12% of the score
3/10

running order, pacing, length

Influence 2/10

Little footprint beyond its audience. Reported but not counted — how far a record travelled describes its reception rather than the record, and a newer release has had less time to travel than an older one.

Tracklist

Best experienced from track one — press play and let it unfold.

  • 1 Rumble 2:26
  • 2 The Swag 2:21
  • 3 Raw-Hide 2:06
  • 4 Dixie-Doodle 2:10
  • 5 Ramble 2:15
  • 6 Ain't That Lovin' You Babe 2:47
  • 7 Jack the Ripper 2:22
  • 8 The Black Widow 1:52
  • 9 Big City After Dark 2:53
  • 10 Run Chicken Run 1:57
  • 11 The Shadow Knows 2:27
  • 12 Deuces Wild 2:24
  • 13 Hang On 2:27
  • 14 Ace of Spades 2:22
  • 15 I'm Branded 2:04
  • 16 Batman Theme 2:00
  • 17 Hidden Charms 2:41
  • 18 Climbing a High Wall 4:01
  • 19 Switchblade 3:13
  • 20 Jack the Ripper (live) 4:45

Reference: MusicBrainz · Wikidata