Rory Gallagher

[Matt]

Just wanted to know people's opinions on him. I've got Tattoo Lady on L.P, and was considering buying some CDs, but just wanted to know if it was worth it. My favourite songs at the mo are:

1) Sleeping on a Clothesline
2) Who's That Coming
3) A Million Miles away.

He's a pretty fast player, and I've been unable to find tabs for any of his music.

And while I'm asking, what are people's opinions on Richard Thompson? He's someone else I've been listening to lately, and he is also damn good.

regards

Matt

[Spudman***]

Check out his Photo Finish album from 1978. Pretty in your face boogie.
I saw him with Jerry McAvey and Ted McKenna when he was warming up for rush. WOW! and...he was using the same Marshall combo that I was using. Cool!

[Guitar-Chris]

Check out his Photo Finish album from 1978. Pretty in your face boogie.
I saw him with Jerry McAvey and Ted McKenna when he was warming up for rush. WOW! and...he was using the same Marshall combo that I was using. Cool!

Hey, I've got the Rory Gallagher Complete Rockpalast Collect Limited ans Numbered Version 3 DVDs. 5 Concerts in 1976,1977,1979,1982, and 1990.


Rockpalast (rockpalace) is a concert programm in the German television.

[Nelskie]

Rory Gallagher was an amazingly gifted & versatile player, with a great ear for tone, and the live musical dynamic. A great singer, too. Not only could he rock out with his trademark Stratocaster tone, but he was an accomplished steel slide, acoustic guitar, and mandolin player, and featured these instruments throughout his musical catalog. As others have mentioned, he also played with a very talented musicians, some of who have already been mentioned. His line-up on the Irish Tour release I thought was especially hot: Gerry McAvoy (bass), Lou Martin (keys), and Ron de'Ath (drums).

I recently acquired the DVD companion to the Irish Tour release, which was shot as a television documentary. It is an absolute must-have for any true Rory fan, and features a lot of great live footage, including an incendiary performance of the Gallagher rock standard "Walk On Hot Coals", one of my favorite songs of his.

Personally speaking, I don't think you could go wrong getting any of his albums / CD's. I own (4) of his live albums (Irish Tour, European Tour, Stage Struck, Meeting With The G-Man), and they are all loaded with fantastic playing and incredible songs. The two studio releases I have are "Rory Gallagher" (debut LP), and "Against The Grain". Really, I can't say that I prefer any one over the other, as each one is unique, and very good in its own right. But his live stuff, I feel, is where he really shines. As such, if you were looking to add another Rory CD to your collection, then "Irish Tour" would be my recommendation. It has a fantastic live version of "A Million Miles Away" and "Tatoo'ed Lady". Rory also does a killer acoustic slide cover of Tony Joe White's "As The Crow Flies", which alone is worth the price of the CD. "Walk On Hot Coals" is as hot as it gets, and the four minute guitar outro on that song is a testament to Rory's incredible skills as a guitarist, and as a live performer of the highest caliber.

[Guitar-Chris]

Rory Gallagher was an amazingly gifted & versatile player, with a great ear for tone, and the live musical dynamic.

But there a two points, where he had difficulties: Loud buzzing and humming from his Fender when on stage and great problems to get his guitar in tune and stay tuned. You see him very often during a song tuning!

[Nelskie]

Loud buzzing and humming from his Fender when on stage

What? A single-coil equipped Fender Stratocaster "buzzing" and "humming" at live volume levels? Nah, that never happens . . . ?

[Guitar-Chris]

What? A single-coil equipped Fender Stratocaster "buzzing" and "humming" at live volume levels? Nah, that never happens . . . ?

I know what you're trying to say. But when you listen to the older live concerts of Rory, this "sizzle" is very loud (I mean very loud). Most time it seems to come up from the light. Nowadays these problems are not so big, when you put light and sound on different elctric circles. And you also have noise surpressor and so on.

But at all: It was no critic at Rory

[Nelskie]

Chris - I knew what you were saying right away, but thought I'd have a little fun with it. You play a Telecaster yourself, so I would assume you're quite familiar with the dreaded "single coil buzz" from the factory pick-ups (unless, of course, you're running Vintage Noiseless models.) I do agree with you that both background noise and out-of-tune instruments can cast a dark cloud over an otherwise fine song, and indeed, some of these technical problems show up in Gallagher's work. We do have to take into account the limitations of some of the equipment they were using back then, not to mention some of the inherent problems they may have had at the various facilities and venues where the shows were held.

Conversely, there's a certain kind of panache' to music that reveals these kinds of variables. To me, it's these things that make the artists and their music seem all the more accessible. Take for instance the mobile recording equipment used during The Who's "Live At Leeds" performance, which during various points of the show, totally red-lined out from the sheer volume level of band. True, it won't meet up to today's exacting digital audio or studio-recording standards. But damn, doesn't it just send a shiver up your spine knowing how over-whelmingly loud The Who were - so much so that the best mobile audio recording equipment available at that point in time just shuddered under the band's massive live sound? My friend, that IS rock n' roll!!

A renowned live performer, Rory Gallagher let his music do the talking for him. Few would argue that the raw, emotional feel to his songs were part of their attraction. Creating that sound obviously had some technical drawbacks, not only from the playing side, but also from the aspects of production. But when it all clicked - man, it was somethin' else!!

[Guitar-Chris]

Conversely, there's a certain kind of panache' to music that reveals these kinds of variables. [...] But when it all clicked - man, it was somethin' else!!

I underline every word you said!

That should lead us not to think and talk 24 hours a day about equippement, but to play it!

Another fine DVD I have is "Dedication" from the dutchman Julian Sas, who long time ago began to cover Gallagher songs, but is now a blueser with a own tone.

He only plays e relatively simple setup with only a Tubescreamer and a phaser. Some Marshall and then let the blues roll. Great music.

And what should I say, he is sometimes a little bit out of tune...

[Guitar-Chris]

You play a Telecaster yourself, so I would assume you're quite familiar with the dreaded "single coil buzz" from the factory pick-ups (unless, of course, you're running Vintage Noiseless models.)

Yes of course, but it isn't so bad, at least until you keep away from the digital part of the Vox AD50VT When you are standing right in front of it, to turn the knobs it is a horror! But tirning the knobs all the time the amp isn't build for. It was build to rock!

[Nelskie]

That should luead us not to think and talk 24 hours a day about equippement, but to play it!

Chris - I couldn't have said it better myself.

[Matt]

I should really have more input in the threads I start...anyhoo, thanks for the replies guys, I might just have to buy some of his albums now, and see about these 'problems' of his. Can't complain however, he will always be ten times the player I will ever be

regards

Matt

[duhvoodooman***]

I'm dredging up this old thread because, after a lifetime of listening to great rock guitarists, I am finally "discovering" Rory Gallagher. Sure, I knew of him & his work and had heard a few of his tunes over the years, but I recently viewed several of his live performances on (you guessed it!) YouTube, and decided to finally buy some of his music.

Having read here (thanks, Nelskie!) and elsewhere that his live stuff was his best, I picked up two CD's--Live in Europe and Irish Tour--plus a DVD set of his performances at Montreux over a 20 year period ('75 - '94). I've only listened to the CD's and watched the '75 performances on the DVD thusfar, but he is clearly a very, very fine guitarist and musician in general. His slide playing may be the best I've heard, with the possible exceptions of Duane Allman and Ry Cooder. He generates a tremendous sense of excitement in his live performances, so I can definitely understand why he is particularly noted for them. The breadth of his material is very impressive, too--no one trick pony, this man! We miss ye, Rory!!

[Nelskie]

DVM - Once you've had a chance to digest those new Rory acquisitions, you might want to check out Rory's debut LP, along with Deuce. These are two very fine studio efforts, and once again, showcase some of his fantastic playing techniques and trademark Stratocaster tone.