Like Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan Jeff Healey and today’s guitar slingers like Joe Bonamassa Rory Gallagher is considered to be among the holy grail of electric blues/ rock guitarists.
One listen to the Irish Tour cd in this remastered form basically lets you wonder aloud and become mesmerized by the entire band let alone Gallagher’s fret work in addition to the extraordinary crowd response.
Don’t look for overdubs or pre-recorded backing tapes. Nope this cd comes down to basically a four piece blues-rock band with heavy dynamics and extended solos.
In fact most of the material is over 5 minutes with a few tracks pulling in the station in excess of 8 to 10 minutes. What’s always excited me and my friends about this cd is how Gallagher sings, entertains the audience and simply pulls off some of the most galvanizing guitar work ever put on record.
Not a lot of people could pull that off in the context of a four piece band with a sold out crowd in your face.
The blues solo on Muddy Water’s I Wonder Who cuts like a sharp edged sword through your body. In fact, the dynamics and volume control by Gallagher is simply killer throughout the cd. Check out A Million Miles Away, Tatooe’d Lady and the slide work on Who’s That Coming.
What’s often left out is the fact that Gallagher’s band of bassist Gerry McAvoy, drummer Rod de’ Ath and Lou Martin on keyboards were full on players with killer chops.
Look for my review of the blu-ray IRISH TOUR 74 and other great titles
JOHN EMMS is an online blues/roots radio show host, musician and veteran music journalist
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