There are musicians and performers.

Rory Gallagher was one of those musicians. An Irish showband guitarist who came to England in the mid-60s after forming Taste to try and break out of the musically stultifying showband circuit, went solo and became an influence on artists ranging from Adam Clayton and The Edge, Slash and Stuart Copeland among others. I saw him four times. Three gigs were superlative, more of the fourth later. I first saw him on 25th of April 1978 at The University of Kent at Canterbury. It was the sports hall, A large building with a low stage and a big crowd, all standing. I knew little of him except what my mates had told me. I can't remember the set list what I can remember though, was an incredible feel-good atmosphere and some outstanding musicianship. What sticks in my mind was this head of long curly hair atop a plaid shirt moving from one side of the stage to the other, all of a sudden being thrown back and an arc of surplus perspiration being caught in the stage lights. I couldn't ever imagine that three men could create such energy from basic 12 bar rhythm and blues.

Strangely enough, despite my love of his live work I never got around to buying much of the recorded stuff, of which there was loads. All I had was a sampler on Polydor with about 6 tracks on it, an EP and "Jinxed". I later bought "Against The Grain" on tape. Oh and I had "On the Boards" by Taste from 1968, bought for a quid in junk shop. Taste were Rory's breakthrough band and were momentarily as big as the Stones (Rory was actually invited to join the Stones, I think prior to Ronnie Wood but obviously declined). I also had a few tapes of tv performances.

The opening gives you the feel of actually being at a 70's concert. There were no flash stage sets for Rory, Just the three guys and an occasional keyboard player, a few guitar stands and an amp miked with a brick over the lead to hold it in place. He eschewed technical effects, just as he did overt commercialism. There's a bit of audience chatter, then a cheer as the m/c (sounds like a young Johnny Walker) announces a simple, "Rory Gallagher". You can imagine him walking on with that familiar battered '61 Strat (the curious patina of which was said to be caused by a reaction of the lacquering to Rory's apparently more acidic than usual perspiration). A bass hums as a string is hit, an amplifier buzzes as it's turned up and then it's straight into the simple few overdriven notes of the opening riff of "Messin' with the Kid", a none too complicated, simple three-chorder dominated by Rory's note-perfect soloing and Wilgar Campbell's ever present hi-hat. The tempo rises with "Laundromat", a perennial crowd pleaser and one which will always be a favourite of mine as it was the first recorded track of his I ever heard.

Next track is the self penned "In Your Town", an uncompromising rocker which leaps out of the speakers at scary volume after the previous track. Whether this was intentional it's hard to decide but it does remind you of what his live act was all about and that was energy. Loads of it. He would do a set which would put modern day artists to shame; two and a half hours was not uncommon. This track pounds along, driven by Campbell's metronomic drumming and Rory's understated slide work and economical vocalising, building in a feedback tinged crescendo towards a tight and abrupt ending.

A screamed "Well did you ever...?" signals the final track. It's a fearsome rendition of Canned Heat's "Bullfrog Blues". It was his usual set closer and it became more or less his signature track. It's an unashamed romp; a glorious 6 minutes and 53 seconds of Rory at his sweatily energetic best. It contains an absolutely necessary bass solo from Gerry McAvoy and a simple drum section from Campbell which pulls you eagerly into the final half of the song and one of those trademark crashing endings of which he was so fond. Magnificent stuff and one for all of us closet bedroom players to only dream about emulating.

This album amply illustrates his many talents as a writer and performer but it also stands out as a benchmark of the genre. One which few artists will ever come near to equalling.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Rory Gallagher - Guitars, harmonica, mandolin and vocals
Gerry McAvoy - Bass guitar
Wilgar Campbell - drums