Missing Links

Under Appreciated

MISSING LINKS
 
 

The above album is a 1989 retrospective album of Link Protrudi and the JaymenMissing Links that includes their original recordings and features one of the most over-the-top drawings of a rock band that I have ever seen.  Besides a sample of their instrumental monsters, Side 2 includes a live performance of “Batman”, played against the backdrop of the original “Batman Theme by Neal Hefti for the 1960’s Batman TV show.  Midway through the performance, two of the bandmembers take a novel approach to the old rumor that Batman and Robin were the original Ambiguously Gay Duo by letting Robin admit to having a dalliance with Spider-Man

 

As the liner notes explain it on the album that I have, Missing Links:  “While many of today’s ‘revival’ groups attempt to imitate past Rock & Roll styles, Link Protrudi & the Jaymen play only the wyld Rock & Roll sounds they were weened on.  These men do not know how to play ‘modern’ music. . . .  Of course, in today’s disco-drek world of pop music, few hardy souls would attempt to play a style of music extinct for over 20 years.  But the power and fury unleashed by these 3 wildmen make this a timeless statement of what Rock & Roll is all about.”  Rudi Protrudi himself adds on the back cover:  “If you enjoy this album half as much as we did making it, you’ll probably be breaking some kind of law. . .” 

 

The mention in the Wikipedia article on the Fuzztones about Link Protrudi and the Jaymen makes it appear that the band was a one-off project in the 1986-1987 period; besides Missing Links, they also had a 1987 album, Drive it Home!.  Actually, Link Protrudi and the Jaymen also had a 2006 release, Slow Grind, and another album called Drive it Live (1992). 

 
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Missing Links is an unusual album in that Side 1 is at 33 rpm, and Side 2 is at 45 rpm.  I know of only one other such album, a retrospective album by the Allman Brothers Band simply called The Allman Brothers.  This was a release by the band’s label Capricorn Records in the UK as an introduction to the Brits by one of America’s best.  In this case, Side 1 is a few early songs by the band and is at 45 rpm, while Side 2 is the side-long performance (at 33 rpm) of “Whipping Post” as taken from their live album, At Fillmore East.  The latter might be the Allman Brothers Band’s best known song, at least among those familiar with all of their work. 

 

(February 2013)
 
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YouTube has a host of Link Protrudi and the Jaymen songs on their website; they must have a lot of fans out there.  “The Shadow Knows” is on the album that I have, Missing Links and can be heard at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dWZrAPyRqw .  “Orbit”, the leadoff track on Missing Links is available at:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wrDvqRzh0Q .  “Bandito” has evidently gotten the most hits on the site:  www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6LqQ8LRhiE.  There’s plenty more where that came from! 
 
(February 2015)
 
Last edited: March 22, 2021