The track that pulls it all together is “I Beg Of You.” Gordon asserts himself as an older, wiser vocalist. Spedding’s picking and strumming jives well with The Jordanaires whose peppy backing chores shine as bright as one of the King’s pinky rings. And no true Elvis tribute can be complete with out the spiritual that the King loved so much, “Peace In The Valley;” which is given a fine treatment by this talented group of performers.
In It’s Now Or Never you’ll get a fresh take on a few Elvis tunes that jump and swing with a life of their own. The rockabilly world is thankful that Gordon ditched his punk band the Tuff Darts to pursue his love of 1950s rock ‘n’ roll. He carried the torch for music that might have died with Elvis.
There are plenty of good rockabilly bands making the scene now but Gordon hit at a time when this brand of rock was at a low point. Elvis himself shied away from it at the end of his career, focusing more on being a jumpsuit-wearing entertainer. Gordon appeared and stripped this music back to its roots and drawing from the energy of his punk rock beginnings was able to breathe fire and attitude back into the rebellious music known as Rockabilly, the punk rock of the 1950s. So it’s now or never, ghoulies. Enjoy the coming month because it’s not often that Elvis and rockabilly will be celebrated as much as it will be this August.
Article comments
1 - Connie Phillips
Congrats! This article has been forwarded to the Advance.net websites and Boston.com.