Irish Tour 1974

Gallagher, Rory

album cover

An Irish Blues-Rocker at His Apex

Those who think they've heard it all in the realm of electric guitar are referred to the first two minutes of this album. Rory Gallagher comes onstage to raving applause—he was already a star in his native Ireland, and one of the few brave souls willing to tour the country during the bitter civil strife of the 1970s. He tunes his instrument quickly, sends out a few test signals, and then jumps into his original "Cradle Rock." What follows is solo-guitar machismo—ninety seconds of crowbar-like single-note attacks and flamboyant lunging pitch-bends, followed by a Delta blues taunt that lets the band know it's time to go to work.

Even if you're immune to daredevil rock-guitar tricks, this is jaw-dropping stuff. Gallagher (1948–1995) was one of the few virtuosos who kept his considerable technical mastery in his back pocket, for emergency use only. When he lets loose, it's a real eruption, not stagecraft. On "Cradle Rock," "As the Crow Flies," and other songs on Irish Tour 1974—this uniformly thrilling collection drawn from concerts in Belfast, Dublin, and elsewhere—Gallagher's rhythm guitar has a strutting Aerosmith quality. Just when that seems to be his stock-in-trade, he'll turn around and drop a stupendous melody line that sounds like it was beamed from rock and roll heaven. And then he'll deliver another one until these phrases gather into an epic fable.

Gallagher built several originals on the blues, and was equally comfortable reaching back to a standard or two—this set features a steamrolling cover of Muddy Waters's "I Wonder Who" and a sorrowful reading of J. B. Hutto's "Too Much Alcohol." Where other rockers seize the blues as a chance to show off, Gallagher positively sings on the guitar, to the point where you wonder whether his fingers are even on the strings.

Genre: Rock
Released: 1974, Buddah
Key Tracks: "Cradle Rock," "I Wonder Who," "Walk on Hot Coals," "Back on My Stompin' Ground (After Hours)," "As the Crow Flies."
Catalog Choice: Live in Europe
Next Stop: Peter Green: The Peter Green Anthology
After That: Albert King: Live
Book Pages: 297–298

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Comments:

#1 from Milo, USA - 03/09/2009 7:54

The greatest blues/rock guitarist of all time.

#2 from Deborah, Austria - 03/12/2009 9:57

Rory was the best ! The greatest and nicest blues rock guitarist ever . Rest In Peace .

#3 from dollerosa, Germany - 03/12/2009 10:19

Oh yes , I want to see this recording featured !!! Irish Tour is a classic   & Rory Gallagher was the most talented live musician/ guitarist . What a loss .

#4 from Denise Convery, United States - 03/23/2009 3:05

Agree totally with comment’s 1-2 and 3.
Rory out-performed anyone. Rest in peace G-man.

#5 from john, Australia - 03/24/2009 5:48

Definitely the greatest live artist ever, and a great album to start with . Don’t die without hearing this!!!

#6 from Brenda, Canada - 03/24/2009 9:50

If you don’t have this CD get it!  Irish Tour ‘74 is Rory at his peak doing what he did best and that was playing live.  I agree with #3, feature this recording.

#7 from Joe Bernard, UK - 03/25/2009 2:49

A great review of an absolutey classic album. So right about RG’s lack of show-offiness and any kind of pretentiousness. I bought this when it came out (my dad bought it for me actually!) and I still listen to it today, and it still has the unquenchable fire of a true genius.

#8 from Yippierb, NH,USA - 03/30/2009 11:04

74 Irish tour is an absolute must for a list like this. Rory was the greatest and most modest guitar player. He could play anything. We love and miss him.

#9 from Nadine, France - 04/19/2009 2:05

Thank you for this very nice review about the great “Irish Tour”  album . Rory Gallagher has a lot of younger fans like me now because he’s   the greatest guitarist ever .
It’s so sad I never had the chance to meet him live in concert .

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