Rory Gallagher
 

This thread is dedicated to one of the greatest guitar players ever to grace our ears in my opinion.

I got most of this info from a booklet from one of his albums, but it sums up everything i want to say about him better than I ever would have.



http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m...Gallagher1.jpg



Put at its simplest, Rory Gallagher was one of the greatest guitarists who ever lived. If that sounds like a bold statment to make, just ask his peers. Among those who cite him as a major influence on their playing are U2's the Edge, Slash , Johnny Marr, Gary Moore, Glenn Tipton and Brian May. Among the first to pay tribute to him after his untimely death was Jimmy page, while Eric Clpaton described him as " the man who got me back into the blues". Bono too offered fulsome but genuinely heartfelt praise, describing him as " one of the top ten guitar players of all time, but more importantly one of the top ten good guys".
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3111/...c779c7.jpg?v=0

His influence on such a diverse bunch of musicians alone earns him his place in the rock pantheon. But it wasn't only other guitar players who revered Rory's guitar playing. He many have been a " musician's musician" but he was also " the people's guitarist and the honesty and integrity of his music generated an enviably large and devoted fan base. At the height of his fame he was voted musician of the year in 1972 in the annual melody maker poll, dethroning none other than Eric Clapton.




His music was firmly rooted in the blues and in rock n roll as well as incorporated jazz, folk and Celtic influences. He died in 1995 from liver failure, at his funeral they played a million miles away. We surely will never see his like agian but his music lives on.

am a mild fan

i like the Irish folk songs he made into blues rock

+1 to everything.

Glad to have "discovered" him.

Glad you like him.

Born on the Wrong Side of Time-Rory Gallagher - YouTube


Taste (Rory Gallagher) - Born on the Wrong Side of Time - YouTube

Rory was one of the most honest and down-to-earth musicians of the last century. I was lucky enough to see him play in a small venue (SFX Hall Dublin) and the tickets were five Irish Pounds, worth ten times that. A no-frills, no-effects man who seriously let the music do the talking for him, never bigged himself up or other musicians down, and who, I think I'm right in saying, no-one has ever had a bad word to say about.

A sad loss, untimely and cruel. And an Irishman to the core!

Go raibh maith agat, Rory!

Yes, I liked that about him too, when I saw him play in an old converted London cinema; he just seemed like a regular guy and he really worked hard on stage. He was wearing one of his trade-mark checked shirts, and when I looked across at the audience sitting in their cinema seats, about a third of them were waving scarves and wearing checked shirts too. It seemed like there was a special bond between him and his fans.

Absolutely. Rory was the kind of guy that you could imagine meeting in the bar after a gig and he'd just talk to you like a normal guy. No cult of personality, no barrier between him and the fans. No logos, no image, and his band was always the very basic rock/blues combo. Not only that, but anyone who played with him seemed fiercely loyal to him and really seemed to enjoy themselves: never looked like there was any strain or battling egos or anything like that, just guys enjoying rocking out, and digging the fact that others were enjoying what they were doing.

Pretty unique really: we won't see his like again.

Well, I suspect that does make him unique, Trollheart !

When I saw PoorOldPo`s post of Cradle Rock, I was hoping for the live version which is the opening track of the Irish Tour album; have you heard that one ? If you want an example of a lone guitar hero coming out on stage and instantly blowing everyone away, that track takes some beating.


http://static-l3.blogcritics.org/11/...age-struck.jpg

^ I`m posting this album cover because the one fan who gets his face on the cover ( bottom right), was actually a good friend of mine at the time ! By association, am I cool or what ?!

You mean this one?

Some guy in Cork told me that one day Rory walked into a pub and bought everyone in the pub a pint but left before anyone could find out who he was or who had bought them the pints.

Perfection.


Rory Gallagher - Cradle Rock - YouTube

Yes, that`s the one, Trollheart. Thanks. What a way to start a concert !


:laughing: That`s a nice story; do you think it really happened ? At first it made me think of this line from a Gaelic Storm song, "...I heard it from a man who knows a fellow who swears it`s true." But then, if you`re a drinking man, it`s the kind of dream that you might promise yourself that you`ll do one day - so, yes, I can imagine RG doing that.

Well it happened in his pub so I'm gonna take his word for it but I know exactly what you mean :p:, but Rory was known for random acts of kindness like that, he was a bit eccentric, but in a good way.

OK, well that`s good enough for me !
....and I believe he did concerts in Ireland at a time when other big-name artists felt it was too risky, which is very much to his credit.

TBH, though, I don`t know many of his albums because I prefer my electric blues to be long rambling instrumentals. Do any of RG`s albums -or songs- fit that description ?

I can't really think of any, but how can you not like this?

OK well Rory didn't tend to do too much in the way of full instrumentals as I recall, though some of his songs had decent instrumental/blues breaks.

Here's what I've found so far.





If I come across any more I'll let you know.

Incidentally, don't want to sidetrack the thread, but if you like long, rambling guitar instrumentals, can I assume you've made the acquaintance of one Gary Moore? ;) Let me know if not...

Well, one thing`s for sure - you really know your Rory Gallagher material, Trollheart ! Thanks for posting all those examples. You are quite right, that first one, "In Your Town" is superb. I loved the intense slide playing all the way through; especially in that long last section.
And the instrumentals were good too. That last one was quite a surprise; a really nice piece that somehow didn`t feel like RG at all. What do you think of it ?

Yes, I know the name Gary Moore, but I don`t know his music and I get him mixed up with Steve Morse, so I guess I have some researching to do ....

You will like this one too.


Crest Of a Wave -- Rory Gallagher - YouTube

OOh yeah, that album is just classic Rory! Lisnaholic, rather than take over the thread or divert it with Gary Moore music, I'll just point you in the direction of what I consider to be some of the finest of his instrumentals (nearly all blues), and you could do worse than check out my tribute to him in my journal: I think it's on page 83-89, and covers just about every aspect of his music, life and other projects.

For now, check out these:

Thanks Trollheart ! Can`t believe I`ve never heard this guy`s music before; this is exactly the kind of guitar playing I love! Of the three tracks here, I especially liked The Loner. I also like the discreet way that you hid the clips out of deference to Rory Gallagher.
I`m going to check out your journal next and will probably see you there. (I`ll be the tedious guy talking about posts that you made months ago !) :)

I'll put the kettle on! :)

He only died a while ago.

Yeah, one year ago last February. That's when I did the tribute, to mark the one-year anniversary of his death. What a real loss to music. :(

Don't look at it that way man! He was a gain for music, for being alive in the first place!

Yeah I guess that's the way to look at it alright. I just wonder where he would have gone next, had he stayed with us. What a talent.

Probably just gracefully retired and chilled out like Rory, haha!

Rory Gallagher - Too Much Alcohol - YouTube

Currently working on my first feature for "Guitar Man" in my journal: no prizes for guessing who's the focus of it! Hope to have it ready for publication in a few weeks. It's planned to go right from his very early career with Fontana/The Impact and Taste right through his solo career. Hope it should be of interest!

Gonna check that journal out right now!

What's your fauvorite Rory Gallagher song?
 

I like A million milles away the most.

Saw this stoned in Waterford with a bunch of the lads a few weeks ago. We had put on a load of stuff in a stream, Pearl Jam, Jimi hendrix, the lot, but....When this came on......All of our jaws dropped....



Rory Gallagher, Walk On Hot Coals, Live On The Whistle Test - YouTube

Also, keep an eye on my journal for a serious, and I mean serious profile of The Man, sometime very soon!

I got my eye on yo journal, looking forward to those updates!