March 29, 1979 review: Robert Gordon at Stage One

 


Another classic night at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One.

March 29, 1979 

Gordon Is Golden Oldie on Birthday

          Robert Gordon observed his 32nd birthday Wednesday night at Harvey and Corky’s Stage One by celebrating the many happy returns of old-fashioned rock and roll.

          Flanked on stage by a pair of old-fashioned jukeboxes, Gordon looked like he had stepped out of those happy days of the ‘50s.

          A skinny guy with a skinny tie, he wore a charcoal gray coat, pleated pants, white bucks and hair that was tall on top and short on the sides. Most rock nostalgists are content to remember Gene Vincent. Robert Gordon recreated him.

          He did it with a solid hour of straight rockabilly, complete with stand-up acoustic bass. Holding down guitar was widely acclaimed British sessionman Chris Spedding, who looked a bit like a refrigerator repairman in his white shirt.

          Spedding was sensational as he reblocked all the twangy reverberating sounds that dominated the first decade of rock. His triumph was a note-for-note quote of the solo from Bill Haley’s “Rock Around the Clock,” which he cleverly inserted in the middle of “Red Hot.”

          Gordon, meantime, was full of twitchy authenticity, never pandering to the crowd, never betraying his characterization. His vocals were husky and honest. When he yielded to Spedding for the instrumental breaks, it was with the patented Gene Vincent cry. “Let’s rock,” he yelled.

          Spedding was hot and so was Gordon. When they combined to work over old numbers like Conway Twitty’s “It’s Only Make Believe” or the early, early Elvis Presley tunes or wacky novelties like “Black Slacks” and “Flying Saucer Rock and Roll,” it was as if the golden days of rock had been reborn.

          Opening was the bombastic Cleveland band Molkie Cole, hardly an appropriate opener for Gordon, except that they hold down the Wednesday slot at Stage One.

* * * * *

IN THE PHOTO: Robert Gordon in 1979 in Boston.

* * * * *

FOOTNOTE: Wikipedia tells us that Robert Gordon decided to have a rock and roll career after hearing Elvis Presley sing "Heartbreak Hotel" on the radio when he was nine. By the late 1970s, he was with a New York City punk-rock band called Tuff Darts when record producer Richard Gottehrer (who produced Blondie’s debut album) envisioned him as an old-time rocker and steered him back toward Elvis. 

        Chris Spedding joined him for his 1979 album, "Rock Billy Boogie." Gordon reunited with Spedding in 2005 and toured Europe, then recorded an album of Elvis songs with the Jordanaires, and then toured some more. He died in 2022. 

        Spedding, who is still with us, worked with notables ranging from Paul McCartney to John Cale and spent part of the 2010s recording and touring with Bryan Ferry.

        The Stage One date doesn't exist on setlist.fm. Here's what he played on March 22 at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston.

Rock Billy Boogie (Johnny Burnette cover)

Blue Moon of Kentucky (Bill Monroe cover)

Love My Baby (Little Junior's Blue Flames cover)

I Love You So (Johnny Burnette cover)

The Catman

It's Only Make Believe (Conway Twitty cover)

Fire (Bruce Springsteen cover)

The Way I Walk (Jack Scott cover)

There You Go (Johnny Cash cover)

I Just Found Out (Johnny Burnette cover)

Unknown instrumental

Hey, Miss Betty (Chris Spedding cover)

Lonesome Train (On a Lonesome Track) (Johnny Burnette cover)

Mystery Train (Little Junior's Blue Flames cover)

I Forgot to Remember to Forget (Charlie Feathers cover)

Black Slacks (Sparkletones cover)

Flyin' Saucers Rock and Roll (Billy Lee Riley and His Little Green Men cover)

Red Hot (Billy "The Kid" Emerson cover)

Twenty Flight Rock (Eddie Cochran cover)

You're Undecided (Johnny Burnette cover)

 

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