''El Rayo-X'' is David Lindley's debut studio album, released in 1981. The album spent 18 weeks on the ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

'', peaking at No. 83 on July 16, 1981.

Reception

The album generally received favorable reviews. AllMusic's Matthew Greenwald stated: Boo Browning, of ''The Washington Post'', wrote:

Track listing

;Side 1 #"She Took Off My Romeos" (Bob "Frizz" Fuller) – 3:00 #" Bye Bye Love" (

Boudleaux Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...

Felice Bryant Felice Bryant (born Matilda Genevieve Scaduto; August 7, 1925 – April 22, 2003) and Diadorius Boudleaux Bryant (; February 13, 1920 – June 25, 1987) were an Americans, American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They ...

) – 2:50 #"

Mercury Blues "Mercury Blues" is a song written by rural blues musician K. C. Douglas and Robert Geddins, and first recorded by Douglas in 1948.Leadbitter, M. and Slaven, N., ''Blues Records 1943 to 1970 Vol. 1: A-K'', London: Record Information Services 2nd ...

" (

K. C. Douglas K. C. Douglas (November 21, 1913 – October 18, 1975) was an American rural blues singer and guitarist. His given names were initials only. Career Born in Sharon, Mississippi, Douglas moved to Vallejo, California in 1945 to work in the naval ...

Bob Geddins Robert L. Geddins (February 6, 1913 – February 16, 1991) was an American San Francisco Bay Area blues and rhythm and blues musician and record producer. Geddins was born in Highbank, Texas, United States, a town ten miles south of Marlin, who ca ...

) – 3:33 #"Quarter of a Man" (Bob "Frizz" Fuller) – 3:45 #"Ain't No Way" (Bob "Frizz" Fuller) – 3:42 #"

Twist and Shout "Twist and Shout" is a 1961 song written by Phil Medley and Bert Berns (later credited as "Bert Russell"). It was originally recorded by the Top Notes, but it did not become a hit in the record charts until it was reworked by the Isley Brothers ...

" (

Phil Medley Philip Medley (April 9, 1916 – October 3, 1997) was an American songwriter, notable for his composition "Twist and Shout", which he wrote along with Bert Russell. The song was made famous by both The Isley Brothers and The Beatles. Medley also ...

Bert Russell Bertrand Russell Berns (November 8, 1929 – December 30, 1967), also known as Bert Russell and (occasionally) Russell Byrd, was an American songwriter and record producer of the 1960s. His songwriting credits include "Twist and Shout", "Piece ...

) – 2:44 ;Side 2 #

"El Rayo-X" (

Jorge Calderón Jorge Calderón, originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico, is an American multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and record producer best known for his collaborations with Warren Zevon and Buckingham Nicks. He began working with Buckingham Nicks in 19 ...

, David Lindley) – 2:53 #"Your Old Lady" ( Elmo Glick,

O'Kelly Isley O'Kelly "Kelly" Isley Jr. (December 25, 1937 – March 31, 1986) was an American singer and one of the founding members of the family group the Isley Brothers. Biography The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his brothe ...

King Curtis Curtis Ousley (born Curtis Montgomery; February 7, 1934 – August 13, 1971), known professionally as King Curtis, was an American saxophonist who played rhythm and blues, jazz, and rock and roll. A bandleader, band member, and session musicia ...

) – 4:14 #" Don't Look Back" (

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive director. He was the founder and front man of the Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he was also chief ...

Ronald White Ronald is a masculine given name derived from the Old Norse ''Rögnvaldr'', Hanks; Hardcastle; Hodges (2006) p. 234; Hanks; Hodges (2003) § Ronald. or possibly from Old English '' Regenweald''. In some cases ''Ronald'' is an Anglicised form of ...

) – 3:55 #"Petit Fleur" (Solomon Feldthouse, Nancy Lindley) – 3:11 #"Tu-Ber-Cu-Lucas and the Sinus Blues" (

Huey "Piano" Smith Huey Pierce Smith, known as Huey "Piano" Smith (born January 26, 1934) is an American rhythm-and-blues pianist whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll. His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of Pete John ...

) – 2:14 #"Pay the Man" (David Lindley, George "Baboo" Pierre) – 3:30

Personnel

Musicians

* David Lindley – bass (track 8), fiddle, guitar, violin, guitar (electric), vocals, whistle (human), slide guitar,

bandurria The bandurria is a plucked chordophone from Spain, similar to the mandolin and bandola, primarily used in Spanish folk music, but also found in former Spanish colonies. Instrument development Prior to the 18th century, the bandurria had a round ...

, divan saz *

Bob Glaub Bob Glaub (born May 10, 1952)Hageman, William (April 29, 2005)."The aces of bass: Five giants of an overshadowed instrument", Knight Ridder Tribune News Service. is an American bass player and session musician. He has played with such artists an ...

– bass (all tracks except 6, 8, 10-11) * George "Ras Baboo" Pierre – percussion, timbales, vocals, (all tracks), accordion on "Pay the Man" * William D. "Smitty" Smith – organ, keyboards (tracks 1, 5-7, 11-12) * Ian Wallace – drums * Reggie McBride – bass (tracks 6, 10-11) * Curt Bouterse –

hammer dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-stringed instrument which consists of strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set before the musician, who in more trad ...

on "Petit Fleur" *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

– vocals on "Bye Bye Love", "Twist and Shout" and "Don't Look Back" *

– vocals on "Twist and Shout" *

Garth Hudson Eric "Garth" Hudson (born August 2, 1937) is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for rock group the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. He was a ...

– horn, keyboards on "El Rayo-X" *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949) is an American pianist who, with Lowell George, co-founded the American rock band Little Feat. He is considered by many other rock pianists, including Elton John, to be one of the finest American piano roc ...

– organ, keyboards on "Bye Bye Love"

Technical

Greg Ladanyi Greg Ladanyi (July 6, 1952 – September 29, 2009) was an American record producer and recording engineer of Hungarian descent, known for his work with many musicians, including Jackson Browne, Warren Zevon, The Church, Caifanes, Anna Vis ...

– engineer, producer * Jackson Browne – producer * George Ybara, Jamie Ledner – assistant engineers *

Doug Sax Doug Lionel Sax (April 26, 1936 – April 2, 2015) was an American mastering engineer from Los Angeles, California. He mastered three of The Doors' albums, including their 1967 debut; six of Pink Floyd's albums, including ''The Wall''; Ray Charles ...

, Mike Reese – mastering *

Jimmy Wachtel Jimmy Wachtel is an American photographer, art director and designer based in Los Angeles. He has designed album covers for big artists such as Joe Walsh, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Michael Stanley, Jo Jo Gunne, John Cougar, and Buckingham Ni ...

– art direction, design * Gloria Von Jansky – lettering * Kaz Sakamoto – photography

Awards and Charts

Billboard charts

References

1981 debut albums David Lindley (musician) albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by Greg Ladanyi Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel {{1980s-rock-album-stub