''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 to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

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

Reception

The album generally received favorable reviews. Boo Browning, of ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

'', wrote: In a retrospective review,

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

's Matthew Greenwald stated:

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 American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were be ...

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 American husband-and-wife country music and pop songwriting team. They were be ...

) – 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,

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 ...

) – 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 Broth ...

" (

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. Calderón sings, and also plays guitar, bass ...

, 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. Early life The eldest of the Isley Brothers, Kelly started singing with his bro ...

King Curtis 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 musician, he was also a musi ...

) – 4:14 #" Don't Look Back" (

Smokey Robinson William "Smokey" Robinson Jr. (born February 19, 1940) is an American R&B and soul singer, songwriter, record producer, and former record executive. He was the founder and frontman of the pioneering Motown vocal group the Miracles, for which he ...

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

Huey "Piano" Smith Huey Pierce "Piano" Smith (January 26, 1934 – February 13, 2023) was an American R&B pianist and session musician whose sound was influential in the development of rock and roll. His piano playing incorporated the boogie-woogie styles of P ...

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

Personnel

Musicians

* David Lindley – vocals; electric guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4-7, 9-12), slide guitar (tracks 3, 8), divan saz (track 5),

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 ro ...

(tracks 7, 9), 6-string bass (track 8), fliddle (track 10), whistling (track 11) * William D. "Smitty" Smith – organ (tracks 1, 5-7, 11-12) *

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 (tracks 1-5, 7, 9, 12) * Ian Wallace – drums * George "Ras Baboo" Pierre – percussion (tracks 1-5, 8, 10, 11), vocals (tracks 2, 6, 9, 11, 12), accordion (tracks 2, 12), timbales (tracks 6, 7, 9) *

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American rock musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 30 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he had his ...

– vocals (tracks 2, 6, 7, 9) *

– vocals (tracks 6, 7) *

Garth Hudson Eric Garth Hudson (August 2, 1937 – January 21, 2025) was a Canadian multi-instrumentalist best known as the keyboardist and occasional saxophonist for The Band. He was a principal architect of the group's sound and was described as "the mo ...

– horns (track 7) * Curt Bouterse –

hammered dulcimer The hammered dulcimer (also called the hammer dulcimer) is a percussion-string instrument which consists of String (music), strings typically stretched over a trapezoidal resonant sound board (music), sound board. The hammered dulcimer is set bef ...

(track 10) *

Bill Payne William H. Payne (born March 12, 1949, in Waco, Texas) 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 A ...

– organ (track 2) * Reggie McBride – bass (tracks 6, 10, 11)

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

, 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 Nicks ...

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

Awards and Charts

Billboard charts

RPM charts

References

{{Authority control 1981 debut albums David Lindley (musician) albums Asylum Records albums Albums produced by Greg Ladanyi Albums with cover art by Jimmy Wachtel