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Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher is the man who, without question, spearheaded and influenced the entire Irish rock movement. Remarkably, many years after his untimely passing in June 1995, Rory's music is as popular as ever with his legion on faithful followers.
Rory's music was his religion. The conviction and sincerity with which he projected it have assured him a place in rock history and earnt him critical acclaim as one of the greatest torchbearers of driving, effusive rock and blues. The new album augments what we already knew about Rory and multiplies it by performances that show him in a whole new light.
Born in 1948 in Ballyshannon and raised in Cork, Gallagher's rock 'n roll odyssey began at an early age when he saw Elvis Presley on TV and became inspired to get his first guitar. Rory would listen and learn from the likes of Lonnie Donegan, Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis, many of whom Rory went on to record with.
While still at school during his early teens, Rory began playing with professional show bands throughout Ireland, whose repertoires included all the popular hits of the day. Not musically satisfied with this, Rory converted his latter showband The Impact into a six-piece R'n'B outfit and headed for Hamburg in the mid-1960s. On arrival, this line- up was soon trimmed down to his first trio.
Rory went on to form Taste in 1967 a band who soon met with wide acclaim, and subsequently headed for London where they were an immediate success at London's famed Marquee Club, counting among their fans John Lennon.
When Taste disbanded at the end of 1970, Gallagher went on to a successful solo career. From his first solo album in 1971 through to 1990's acclaimed "Fresh Evidence" and beyond, Rory Gallagher sold many millions of albums worldwide and toured the globe several times, mounting more than 25 tours in the US alone.
Following extensive tours of Europe, throughout 1972, Rory followed up with the album "Live In Europe," a top ten triumph both in the UK and internationally. While touring the US solo for the first time, he was voted Melody Maker's Top Musician Of The Year, and to cap off 1972 "Live In Europe" became Rory's first gold album, and his second chart album success in the States.
In 1973 Rory changed the line-up of his band and released a further two successful albums, "Blueprint" and "Tattoo". Later in the same year he achieved another personal high when he was invited to guest on Muddy Waters' "London Sessions" album on Chess. At the end of '73, Rory toured his native Ireland, an almost legendary tour that happily was caught on film via a documentary made by Tony Palmer.
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Rory Gallagher: Calling Card
by Ian Patterson
Rory Gallagher Rory Gallagher: Calling Card Dearg Films/Strange Music LimitedDirector: Brian Reddin 2024 If street signs named after an artist are any indication of their cultural status then there is no doubting the importance of Rory Gallagher. Streets in at least three cities, including jny:Paris, and a jny:Dublin square, all bear the name of the Irish blues-rock guitarist who died aged 47 in 1995. The Ballyshannon-born, Cork-raised guitarist's enduring appeal can ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: I Wonder Who
by Ian Patterson
The blues was always close to Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher's heart. He covered tunes by Lead Belly, Big Bill Broonzy, Melvin Jackson, Otis Rush, Blind Boy Fuller, Rosco Gordon, Bo Carter, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Son House. He also recorded with Muddy Waters, Albert King and Albert Collins. This Muddy Waters song from the million-selling live album Irish Tour '74 (Polydor, 1974) finds Gallagher in the sort of blistering form that made him an inspiration to the likes of Brian ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: All Around Man: Live In London
by Doug Collette
To the uninitiated, Rory Gallagher's All Around Man -Live in London may appear to be nothing more than a routine live release from the late Irish bluesman's archive. Even to fans who take only a cursory glance at the title and its contents, it could well seem to be a somewhat desultory effort in the wake of the deluxe anniversary box sets, the eponymous solo debut Rory Gallagher: 50th Anniversary Edition Box Set (Universal Music Enterprises, 2021) and Deuce: 50th ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: Deuce: 50th Anniversary Edition
by Doug Collette
Since Rory Gallagher's untimely passing in 1995, there have been more than a few posthumous audio and video packages devoted to the prolific output of the late bluesman. And while most of them, supervised by family members as is this one, have been both historically exacting and passionate in devotion to their subject, none are more so than this Deuce: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of the man's second solo album. With its nine and a half inch square ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: Rory Gallagher: 50th Anniversary Edition Box Set
by Doug Collette
The 50th Anniversary Edition box set of Rory Gallagher's eponymous solo debut is an elaborate expansion upon the virtues at the heart of that 1971 record. In fact, as with brother Donal's prose recount of the album's history, each component of content enclosed in the glossy slipcase--its simple but striking graphic design itself replicating that of the record's original cover--illuminates the process of preparing, recording and promoting the record. As such, this classy, handsome package contains everything a fan would ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: Check Shirt Wizard: Live in '77
by Doug Collette
Check Shirt Wizard: Live in 1977 is yet another in a lengthy string of posthumous archival work devoted to Irish guitarist and songwriter Rory Gallagher. Like virtually all its predecessors in both audio and video configurations, including Live at Montreux (Eagle, 2006) and Notes From San Francisco (Eagle/Legacy, 2011), this double CD set (also available as three vinyl LPs with similarly variegated artwork, action photos and replications of press testimonials of the time) not only does justice to, but enhances ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: Blues - Deluxe Edition
by Doug Collette
The Chess Records logo appears prominently on the cover of Rory Gallagher's Blues, seemingly a mere cosmetic touch, but in fact a telling facet of the graphic design adorning this handsome three-CD set that underscores the authenticity of the music inside. The glossy fold-out insert inside the slipcase of this Deluxe Edition also hearkens to the missionary zeal with which the sibling founders of Chess Records imbued that seminal label, its imprint the home of artists like Buddy Guy and ...
Continue ReadingRory Gallagher: New DVD and CD Releases
Source:
JamBase
OUT SEPTEMBER 14 ON EAGLE ROCK ENTERTAINMENT Irish guitar virtuoso Rory Gallagher ignited a legacy that many rock and blues musicians worship and emulate to this day. On September 14, Eagle Rock Entertainment will issue two releases paying tribune to this rock iconGhost Blues 2DVD set and The Beat Club Sessions CD. The 2 DVD set, running 179 minutes in total, is the complete Rory Gallagher experience, both revealing his background as a musical artist and tapping into his dominating ...
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