Robert Gordon Are You Gonna Be The One CD

Principally recorded at The PowerStation, New York, New York. Originally released on RCA Records.

Robert Gordon retains the energy and menace that he brought to his earlier rockabilly-based work, only here he aims in part for a more mature and vulnerable sound, amid the rock & roll posturing. Not that he wimps out -- there are lots of hard, solid rockabilly and country tunes here, but Gordon seems deliberately to have filled side one of the LP with such numbers as "Are You Gonna Be the One," "She's Not Mine Anymore," and "Someday, Someway," all steeped in a level of romantic angst that seems deeper than anything heard before from this artist; the effect is as intense as being in the presence of a pressure cooker that's about to blow, and some the most interesting (as well as some of the best) work of Gordon's career. Otherwise, this is a beautifully diverse album in its range of sounds, all worthwhile; in addition to his backing by the Wildcats on the rock & roll numbers, Gordon gets some superb country accompaniment from a brace of Nashville-based players and singers (who accompany him very tastefully on the ballads). Also included among the support musicians is future David Letterman-alumnus Paul Shaffer, incidentally, fresh from his work with the Blues Brothers. Among the country songs, the Dorsey Burnette co-authored "Standing on the Outside of Her Door," in particular, is one of the greatest Elvis Presley records that Elvis never recorded, and at the other extreme is "Too Fast To Live, Too Young To Die," a pounding, surging original that, had it come out a decade or more later, might've been grabbed up for a movie soundtrack. And in between is "Drivin' Wheel," a T-Bone Burnett co-written number that could almost pass for a lost Carl Perkins side. The One Way CD reissue offers excellent sound and a low price. ~ Bruce Eder

Gordon's final album for RCA, and in fact last major label release, found the rockabilly revivalist trying to walk a tightrope that kept him more contemporary but didn't lose the fan base he had attracted through his previous roots work. To do that, he enlisted three songs each from upcoming songwriters Marshall Crenshaw and Mark Johnson, and added his own co-written "Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die," a minor classic of the genre that is one of the most incendiary rockers he recorded. Like Elvis, Gordon effortlessly straddles country and rockabilly with his best tracks, such as this album's rolling "Driving Wheel," falling between the two. His first release not produced by Richard Gottehrer, the band -- led by late guitarist Danny Gatton -- is augmented by occasional horns and backing vocalists, but the sound stays true to Gordon's influences and is far from slick. Nine bonus cuts are added to this reissue, three of them previously difficult-to-find live versions of Springsteen's "Fire," "Black Slacks," and "Red Hot," with guitarist Chris Spedding tearing it up live. That trio of tunes is inexplicably reprised in their studio versions as added filler (certainly the compilers could have chosen

+ 9 Bonus Tracks

Personnel: Robert Gordon (vocals); Danny Gatton, Lance Quinn (guitar); Lloyd Green (steel guitar); Buddy Spicher (fiddle); Tony Garnier (Fender Rhodes piano, acoustic bass); Jeff Bova, Paul Shaffer (keyboards); Shannon Ford (drums); Dolores Edgin, Terry Vernon, Kathy Ingraham, Christine Faith, Marty Nelson, Hurshel Wiginton, Joe Babcock, Wendy Suits (background vocals).

Liner Note Author: Al Fichera.

Recording information: The Paradise, Boston, MA (??/1977-12/1980); The Power Station, New York, NY (??/1977-12/1980); Woodland, Nashville, TN (??/1977-12/1980).

Photographer: Mick Rock .

Personnel includes: Robert Gordon (vocals); Danny Gatton, Lance Quinn (guitar); Lloyd Green (steel guitar); Buddy Spicher (fiddle); John Gerber (saxophone); Jeff Bova, Paul Shaffer (keyboards); Tony Garnier (acoustic & electric basses); Shannon Ford (drums).

Producers: Robert Gordon, Lance Quinn, Scott Litt,