One of my favorite guitarists, and one of my biggest influences on the instrument, is Rory Gallagher. A bluesman from Ireland, he's not very well known in the US, but he was a big star in Europe.
I first heard Rory back in the mid-seventies. I had a friend named Barry Sutton who turned me on to a lot of great music. I was just starting to get serious about playing the guitar, and Barry changed my point of view forever by playing me "Irish Tour '74." At that time Jimi Hendrix was the center of the guitar universe. You were either trying to sound like him (Robin Trower, Frank Marino) or you were going in completely the opposite direction (Steve Howe, John McLaughlin). You have to remember, this was a pre-Van Halen/Stevie Ray world.
Rory was the anti-Hendrix. I was, and am, a big Hendrix fan, but Rory's approach was so breathtakingly fresh that I couldn't resist. Like a lot of other players at the time, I was busy filling the floor with effects pedals. My biggest mistake was to get a pretty good guitar and a pretty good amp, and then try and make them sound better with stomp boxes. Fuzz, flange, phase, compression, you name it and I had it parked a toe-tap away.
In contrast, Rory's rig at the time was dirt-simple; a Stratocaster, a Fender Twin Reverb amp, and a cable. That's it. And man, he could make that thing talk! Lately I've been digging through my collection and his albums hold up well over the passage of time. They don't sound the least bit dated. On the contrary, they prove the staying power of good ol' straightforward blues-rock.
Recommended titles? Just about anything is going to be a treat, but the older stuff has questionable production values, and some of the later stuff is a little over-the-top. I'd recommend starting with Irish Tour '74, the best of his three live albums. Live In Europe from '71 is a little more blues-centric, and his 1980 Stagestruck shows him in an almost heavy metal mood.
My favorite album of his is the studio effort from 1975, Against the Grain. I'd also point out Top Priority from '79, and Tattoo circa '73. These are the best-sounding recordings, and the quality of the songs is among his best. There are also some very good live DVDs out there, including a video record of the aforementioned Irish tour, and a new 2-disc set taken from his five appearances at the Montreaux Jazz Festival.
For a longtime Rory fan, Live At Montreaux is a little disturbing. News of Rory had always been a little spotty, and you get to see how his life progressed as well as his music. Sadly, he died in 1995 of complications from a liver transplant. That tells a lot of the story right there. His life apparently revolved around three things; playing the guitar, chasing the skirts, and drinking. From what I've heard he actually had the liver transplant around 1990. For a couple of years he took a little better care of himself, but eventually settled back into his old ways.
The Rory Gallagher we see from his 1994 set is a heavier, sadder man than the one who jammed with jazz great Larry Coryell in 1975. He used to have either two or three pieces behind him, but here he had at least five, and brought on Bela Fleck for a couple of tunes. He smiled, but still looked sad. He and the band took a leisurly stroll through the tunes, playing with convuluted endings and aimless solos. And still, every now and then, the brilliant strat-master would occasionally peek through, showing flashes of not just the old brilliance, but actual growth as an artist. At 47, the only thing he'd lost was his reason to live. He'd done it all, and simply didn't know what to do next.
His brother and manager, Donal, keeps the flame alive. There's an excellent website, the link for which is above. Interest in his music keeps most of his catalogue in print, so while it might take some detective work to actually find his CD's, it's certainly not impossible. If you like good rock guitar playing and feel like some get-down kick-ass rock and roll, you owe it to yourself to give Rory a listen.
2 comments:
The anti-Hendrix? I see your point, but i'd prefer to call him the anti-Clapton!
When Hendrix was once asked what it was like to be the best guitar player in the world, he is said to have replied, 'I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher!'
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