What does it sound like?:
Let’s ignore the title of this set for a moment – marketing people, eh?! Rory Gallagher was a relentless live player in all senses of that phrase; he toured constantly and his home was the live stage and was never happier than when playing to his enthusiastic audiences who flocked to see and hear him, and he was also so energised in his performances as he attacked his live material far more so than on studio recordings, where he was reportedly never really happy. He needed the audience feedback and rapport. It is instructive that his solo discography consists of 11 studio albums and 6 live ones – the Irish Tour ’74 double LP was even expanded to an 8 disc set (7 CDs and 1 DVD) on its 40th anniversary – and his list with Taste even has 2 out of 5 albums being live.
I saw Taste a few times, and my memory is that they were an excellent band. I mentioned recently that I saw them supporting Cream at the RAH in 1968, and I subsequently caught them a few times around the clubs in London in 69/70. They were a classic late 60s blues/rock power trio with the hotshot guitar player – Gallagher was very much the up and coming new guitar hero. However, no matter how good they were, Taste never….er…tasted the big time with record sales: the first album didn’t chart and there were no hit singles – On the Boards (the 2nd LP, and interesting to note the sort of live hint in the title despite being a studio set) garnered good reviews in 1970, but only made 18 in the UK alone. Despite me liking them, I never invested hard cash in a record by them.
Rory’s subsequent solo career was not blessed with high chart placings either – some made it into the 30s and ‘Live In Europe’ made it to 9 in the UK, but that was a high water mark. His highest US chart placing was 116.
In some circles Rory is revered and I’m sure this new set will hit the spot with his audience – Secret Agent is just terrific with Rory on slide, and Tattoo’d Lady has a blistering solo that had me wacking the computer speakers up. If there is a weakness, then it is in the similarity of some of the songs and in Rory’s vocals, which I personally don’t care for too much on this set, and I think this is emphasised when listening to recordings rather than when experiencing him live.
According to Rory’s band intro on Bullfrog Blues, the band line up consists of long-standing sidekick Gerry McAvoy on bass guitar, with the drum stool filled by Rod de’Ath and completed by keyboard player Lou Martin. I have only been able to listen as a stream via my computer with no access to sleeve notes (note to marketing people – this would really help get better reviews, so why not supply a pdf of the notes..?).
This 2CD/3LP, 20-song, previously unreleased 2 hour set is culled from four shows (London, Brighton, Sheffield and Newcastle) which were part of a 1977 tour across the UK in support of Rory’s then latest album ‘Calling Card’. It features live versions of tracks from that album as well as from 1975’s ‘Against The Grain’ and other live favourites, and it has been mixed from the original multitrack tapes from the official Rory Gallagher archive and mastered for this release at Abbey Road Studios. Seems reasonably priced at around £15 for the CD set – you can pick up the LPs from the French tax dodgers for £25 or around £30 here if you shop around.
Back to that title – wouldn’t just ‘Live in ’77’ have been better…??
Tracklisting
CD1
1. Do You Read Me (Live From Brighton Dome, January 21st 1977)
2. Moon Child (Live From Brighton Dome, January 21st 1977)
3. Bought And Sold (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
4. Calling Card (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
5. Secret Agent (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
6. Tattoo’d Lady (Live From Brighton Dome, January 21st 1977)
7. A Million Miles Away (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
8. I Take What I Want (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
9. Walk On Hot Coals (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
CD2
1. Out On The Western Plain (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
2. Barley & Grape Rag (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
3. Pistol Slapper Blues (Live From Sheffield City Hall, February 17th 1977)
4. Too Much Alcohol (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
5. Going To My Hometown (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
6. Edged In Blue (Live From Newcastle City Hall, February 18th 1977)
7. Jack-Knifed Beat (Live From Hammersmith Odeon, January 18th 1977)
8. Souped-Up Ford (Live From Brighton Dome, January 21st 1977)
9. Bullfrog Blues (Live From Brighton Dome, January 21st 1977)
10. Used To Be (Live From Newcastle City Hall, February 18th 1977)
11. Country Mile (Live From Newcastle City Hall, February 18th 1977)
What does it all *mean*?
This one for the fans – if you don’t care for this genre then this won’t change your mind.
Goes well with…
Jeans and a denim jacket.
Release Date:
March 6th
Might suit people who like…
The Blues boom era
Lifelong fan here and on a personal note we share a birthday which happens to be today. Happy birthday maestro, here’s one of the best pieces of live guitar playing I’ve heard. I saw him in 1977 and he was magnificent so I may be investing, not that I’m short of live Rory as the excellent review observes.
https://youtu.be/qhih0IZHYNs
*checks bank balance*
*puts kidney on eBay*
*orders CD*
Thanks Nige. Live in Europe is a personal favourite esp the slide on I could have had religion.
Never mind not seeing him support Cream ( FFS), I never saw him live even though he toured down here. .
There is something about the hot shot guitarists who insist on doing the singing. But if they get a good singer then the guitarist loses unfettered licence for pyrotechnics.
Roy Buchanan never found a decent singer to really round the sound out. Gary Moore etc.
HB for yesters, Twang ol’ Than
Ta Retro.
I’m sure I saw Rory on this tour at my local city hall – one of the first gigs I attended so it made quite an impression. The show leaned understandably towards the then latest album, Calling Card, but with a generous helping of older material too. Overall, I’d rank this below Live In Europe and Irish Tour ’74, but above Stage Struck. The playing is as good as you’d expect and he still obviously had plenty of fire in his belly. This set brought back a lot of memories and fans will undoubtedly enjoy it – after all, you can’t go wrong with a performance that includes the likes of A Million Miles Away, Bullfrog Blues and Walk On Hot Coals can you.
I was at those Brighton shows in 1977 and 1978 in my denims, lumberjack shirt, centre parted long hair and chuck a boots, as were the cream of the local late-hippie wannabes. The gigs were a Platonic ideal of what a Rory Gallagher, and indeed, blues rock gig should be, and to just think back to thrm makes me smile. Gonna by getting this soon as.
Another vet of Rory live, I saw him in 1975, a little before these sets, and he was superb.
Clarity of intonation, accuracy of note presentation – all the hallmarks of a great Irish traditional finger-picker or a bluegrass mandolin maestro, applied through a battered Strat without losing any precision despite the volume and drive. Result; one of the most affectingly lyrical players ever to front a rock band. Absolute genius player.
Saw Taste at the IOW festival and then saw Rory and band at Watford Colosseum in the very early ’70s. Superb player.
Really can’t ignore that album title- who in Gods name thought that was a good idea?
I saw Rory twice in his mid/late 70s prime, including one at Hammersmith although I couldn’t tell you if it was on this date. He was magnificent and Live in Europe and Irish Tour are two of my favourite live albums. To be honest not sure I need another one, but this does sound interesting – thanks for the review.
I would have thought that Rory’s brother, who seems to control his legacy, must have had a say in choosing the title.
What was he thinking? Doesn’t he want it to sell?
Yes, and I’d say he has generally done a really excellent job in preserving his brother’s memory and reputation with some well chosen and, if you will, curated reissues and releases from the vaults. I’m listening to this as I write and it’s great.
I assume it’s a reference to a Rory bootleg called Checkered Shirt Wizzard (the bootleger’s spelling, not mine) from the Montreux Jazz Festival in July 1977.
I first saw Rory at the Glasgow Apollo in 1980 – storming! and the last time I saw him was near the end, at the Ayr Pavilion, when he was not in good health.
Always recognised round these parts as one of the greats!