What does it sound like?:
Few artists have had a decade as prolific as Gallagher’s was in the 1970’s. 10 albums in as many years, of which “Deuce” was his second as a solo artist. After a disappointing first album “Deuce” intended to capture the rawness and energy of his live shows although ultimately fared little better than it’s predecessor, sitting in the Top 20 for just a week. But within a year Gallagher’s reputation as one of the finest blues guitarists of all time was established with the release of “Live In Europe”.
This is the third mix of the original – a remix released in 1998 added a bonus track “Persuasion” which curiously doesn’t make it onto this box set. However the 4cd format (there’s also a 2cd version and 3LPs) adds a raft out takes, demos and perhaps most valuably two live sets taken from Bremen in 1971 and a BBC set recorded in 1972 at the Paris Theatre in London.
Gallagher would become famous for his highly charged live performances but his studio albums always contained more variety. Listening to this 50 years on it’s a remarkably raw, intense and confident, even if it fell short of capturing the full live experience. The powerful riff driven ‘Used to Be’ kicks things off while ‘I’m Not Awake Yet’ and “Don’t Know Where I’m Going” are lighter, the latter with a more earthy blues feel, some Gallagher harmonica and a vibe that makes me think of McGuiness Flint. ‘Whole Lot of People’ has some lightening finger picking before ‘In Your Town’ which – let’s not be coy – boogies in a way that would make a dead man dance, and was the only song to subsequently make it on to (and get an extended work out) on Live In Europe.
With ‘Should’ve Learnt My Lesson’ Gallagher offers up a stripped down 12 bar blues, whilst the shimmering ‘There’s a Light’ introduces the edgy kind of shuffle that became a Gallagher trademark. For closer ‘Crest of a Wave’ Gallagher breaks out some soaring slide guitar.
Disc two and three house the demos and alternative takes, and inevitably with these expanded sets I find myself wondering how many times the alternate versions will get played. That’s particularly the case here given how many versions of some songs there are – 5 of “Maybe I Will”, 4 of “In Your Town”, all sequenced one after the other. It’s not going to make for the most engaging of spins, particularly as you end up with over 30 minutes of the same track over and over. Most takes are pretty similar to the finally released version, with slight variations to the vocals or guitar solos, some snippets of studio chatter. The stand out is the much longer alternate of ‘In Your Town’ which would probably have made the original final cut if it were released today but was probably too long for a vinyl release. There are 4 versions of ‘Whole Lot Of People’ but these at least benefit from mixing electric with 6 string and 12 string acoustic alternates (and some pretty nifty slide guitar too). There are three “Home Demos”, which are more lo-fi, but give a sense of how the songs sounded as first realised.
As good as the “Deuce” album tracks are, the winner hands down here are the live tracks; seven from a live set recorded sans audience for Radio Bremen at the end of 1971, plus a further six songs from a BBC “In Concert” recording from 1972. Recorded while touring to support “Deuce” they have a grit and immediacy that wasn’t attained in the studio, and signpost what was about to be achieved on the “Live In Europe” release. Songs from “Deuce” (“Should’ve Learnt My Lesson”, “Crest Of A Wave”, “I Could’ve Had Religion”) mix with established Gallagher favourites such as “Messing With The Kid” and “Pistol Slapper Blues” and the set end to end is a real blast.
The final CD is a BBC “In Concert” recording from The Paris Theatre on January 1972. There’s a similar set list, and a slightly more polished sound although the performances are every bit full on as the Bremen set. A slight niggle for me is the thin, brittle sound of Wilgar Campbell’s snare, but this is a minor consideration in what is otherwise buzzing collection of songs.
The package is rounded up by a 64-page hardback book features some unseen photos from the late Mick Rock, copies of Rory’s original handwritten lyrics and a wonderful foreword from Johnny Marr.
What does it all *mean*?
Sometimes less is more. But this is worth it for the live tracks alone.
Goes well with…
Dim the lights, play loud.
Release Date:
Out now
Might suit people who like…
One for the Rory completists
Twang says
My favourite Rory studio album, which showcases his acoustic and electric playing and is much more than just a blues album. It shows that Rory was obviously from the blues but not of it, and his lead guitar playing bears little evidence of being a disciple of Bluesbreakers Clapton and his sadly under used alto sax playing, present on the first album but not this one reveals his feel for a more jazzy vibe. There’s always a triplet feel jig influence going on in his phrasing, and he could have made a great folk rock album without much difficulty. Mind you he could have made genre explorations in many directions, such was his mastery of the instrument. We can only speculate what he might have done had he not been taken at such an early point in his career.
I’d love to hear the extras but as I already own it twice I’ll have to hope it’s on Spotify!
John Walters says
It’s on Qobuz with all the extras.
Uncle Wheaty says
I wonder how large the market for stuff like this is given Twang’s comment above
Mike_H says
I doubt they’re expecting massive sales. They’ll have produced only enough boxes to make it pay for itself, plus a little bit.
Bargepole says
For me, an artist where the live albums were always superior to the studio ones, which never seemed to capture the essence of Rory in the same way.
Mike_H says
Saw Rory twice, back in the day.
Once with Taste at the Isle Of Wight Festival and once a year or two later with his band at what is now The Colosseum in Watford (a Watford Tech. College promotion). He was superb on both occasions. Particularly on the second occasion where he played a bit of mandolin at one point.
Martin Hairnet says
I saw him towards the tail end of his career – the archive says December 1988 – at St David’s Hall in Cardiff. Can’t remember much about it, other than the sparse crowd, the check shirt and the battered Strat. It might actually have been a solo performance, because I don’t recall a band at all.
Twang says
I saw him around then, St. Albans arena. He had his regular rhythm section plus Mark Feltham on harp and it was a stormer.
Feedback_File says
Not a mega Rory fan but always loved this one and his first solo album (underrated in my opinion). As @Twang says he had such a great command of so many styles – another fine musician lost too soon.