Legend. No, not a word so transient as "hip" or "cool." That stuff is on-again, off-again. And no, not as fluffy as anything like "dreamy." Legend is a word of weight and substance. In short, it's a word that adds up to Slink Moss.

The story of this man began with a music keen youth in Chicago, where a young Slink taught himself to play guitar along with "House of The Rising Son." It says a lot about a man who would dedicate his future -- his zeal, his discerning mind -- to exploring the sounds of America's great musical century. A student of Dust Bowl blues, folk, country and pre-rock era R&B, he found truth, a common soul, the fabric with which to fashion his personal freak flag. Yeah, there's Slink. He's an entertainer, dreamer, and do-er standing -- in spiritual cahoots -- alongside Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, and Johnny Cash. Just a man with a guitar and stories to tell. And heÕs told a few alright.

As has been recounted time and again, the rockabilly sets of Slink's wide-eyed school days led to a raw experimental punk period and his memorable role with the unparalleled and furious Farmers. But the early roads taken didn't court the magic within. A period of intense reflection followed. From that introspection came Slink as he's known to the world today.

And that's where Rattlesnake's Legend comes in. A collection of never-before-heard out-takes and demonstration tapes, this long-rumored compact disc represents a surprise opening of the Slink Moss vaults. Liberation, confession, freedom. Now, the people of a planet called Earth have had their voices heard. Pure reaction.

And it is here that the creative process and musical evolution of a remarkable writer and performer (not to mention comic illustrator and actor) comes to stirring light. Following such widely hailed Slink Moss recordings as the classic Phantom Stranger and Bones albums and the famed Ghost Train EP, Legend begins in 1995 with Slink and his beloved Flying Aces. Recorded in New York and Chicago with the production muses of the late Jim Ellison and Mr. John Hancock, the album is a history lesson, a seamless retrospective (with a bit of inside mystery to boot) into a melancholy marvel and joyous tourguide to the good stuff. What's at stake? It's that sound!