Procter Gallagher

Following the commercial and critically acclaimed success of the recent albums “Blues” (2019) and the three-week running No.1 album on the Billboard Blues Chart “Check Shirt Wizard – Live in ’77” (2020), UMC is pleased to present a new Rory Gallagher best of collection entitled “The Best Of Rory Gallagher” on Friday 9th October 2020.

50th-anniversary reissue of Rory Gallagher's 1971 sophomore solo album, Deuce. The Deluxe 4 CD box set includes a new mix of the original album, 28 previously unreleased alternate takes, a 6-song 1972 BBC Radio In Concert performance, and 7 session tracks from Germany's Radio Bremen. The package contains a 64-page hardback book with a foreword by Johnny Marr from The Smiths, unseen images, essays, and memorabilia from the album recording.
Released in November 1971, just six months after his solo debut, Rory Gallagher's second album was the summation of all that he'd promised in the wake of Taste's collapse, and the blueprint for most of what he'd accomplish over the next two years of recording…

The resurrected Buddha acquired the rights to much of Rory Gallagher's prime material in 1999. They began their reissue program with his first two albums, then they moved to what most hardcore fans would consider the crown jewel of the series, a double-disc collection of Gallagher's BBC sessions. Like most lead guitarists (at least those of his generation), he would often expand his music when playing live, turning in vibrant, exciting versions of his material, peppered with great guitar solos. Although it lacks the kinetic spark generated whenever a musician performs in front of a live audience, BBC Sessions is one of the finest live sets in his catalog, thanks to its crystalline fidelity, strong performances, and classy presentation. Certainly, this collection isn't for anyone that isn't already devoted to Gallagher, but for those who are, there's plenty to cherish here – individual solos, impassioned vocals, and good liner notes. It's an excellent, worthy addition to his catalog, and it helps confirm Gallagher's gift as a blues-rock guitarist.

Rory Gallagher's solo debut picks up where On The Boards left off - it's a solid, but significantly less raucous, blues rock outing with ten original tunes that were far more than skeletons for his incisive Strat picking. "Laundromat," "Hands Up," and "Sinner Boy"'s distinctive riffs were early concert favorites, but the album's ballads were some of Gallagher's strongest. "For the Last Time," "Just the Smile" and the acoustic "I'm Not Surprised" mixed strains of Delta blues with strong melodic sensibilities into songs of rare poignancy, especially for an artist who was best known for his scorching leads. In this respect Gallagher was an early model for Eric Clapton, whose solo career followed a similar path.

Rory was never a man to sit back and let the world slip by. The 70’s saw him release 10 albums in as many years, work with a great many of his heroes and tour the world. Although his recorded output in the 1980’s was more sporadic he still toured constantly, playing some of the first rock gigs behind the iron curtain as well as cementing his live reputation in Europe and the US. ‘Defender’ his third album of the 80’s, was the first release on his own label. Capo offered him the complete artistic freedom he needed, enabling him to produce the music as he wanted. He admitted “I’m not that organised, but I want anything that I’m doing to be under control, and I want the final say on things”.

Although best known for his barnstorming blues-rock, Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher had a softer side, too. All of his studio albums contain at least one acoustic folk-blues track, and Gallagher included an unplugged set in the majority of his live shows way before that was fashionable. Almost eight years after his death, Rory's brother Donal compiled a 14-track collection of previously unreleased work dedicated to Gallagher's folkier approach. It's the second such posthumous album (the terrific live and very electric BBC Sessions came out in 1999), and focuses on an important if lesser recognized aspect of the guitarist's career. It's also an eclectic set that shifts from melodic ballads ("Wheels Within Wheels") to instrumental modified flamenco ("Flight to Paradise" with classical guitarist Juan Martin) and solo Delta blues (a studio take of Tony Joe White's "As the Crow Flies," the live version of which was a highlight of Irish Tour). And that's just the first three songs.