Rory Garager

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.

Rory Gallagher‘s eponymous 1971 debut solo album is being re-released for its 50th anniversary and is getting the ‘full fat’ reissue treatment across a number of formats, including a 4CD+DVD box set. A new stereo mix of the album features across all formats while the box set includes 30 previously unreleased outtakes and alternate takes, a six-song 1971 BBC Radio John Peel Sunday concert, four BBC Radio session tracks, and a previously unreleased 50-minute DVD of Rory’s first-ever solo concert which was filmed in Paris for the Pop Deux television show.

Remixed and expanded (with two additional tracks recorded but chopped off the vinyl version) for its debut on CD in 1999, this is a sturdy, workmanlike Rory Gallagher release. Reverting back to a trio, Gallagher toughens up his sound and blazes through some robust blues rockers like "Last of the Independents," "Shadow Play," and "Brute Force & Ignorance" (one of his best hard rock riffs) with nervy energy. Gallagher's swampy side emerges on "Cloak & Dagger," another song that explores his fascination with B-movie gumshoes, a common theme for the Irish blues-rocker. His guitar work is typically excellent throughout, especially on "Overnight Bag," as he overdubs himself on acoustic.

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.

he enduring friendship between Rory and the good people of WDR's Rockpalast is finally all contained in one box. the Rockpalast stages (be they indoor or outdoor) always provided a great platform for Rory and his band to perform on, always delivering the goods. The ambience backstage at Rockpalast nights also brought out the camaraderie in the musicians appearing on the shows. This would inevitably lead to a unique 'jam session' and thankfully some of these have been captured for posterity.

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.