Rory Gallagher
ALL AROUND MAN (Live in London)
Cadet Concept/Chess Records
An Absolute Treat For Blues Fans, Rock Fans and Open Minded Music Fans of All Hues.
I’ve been a Rory Gallagher fan since the day after my brother bought the self-titled Rory Gallagher LP in 1971; playing it more often than he did over the next few months; and I now own every subsequent official release (plus a couple of bootlegs).
I’m sure I don’t have to go into Gallagher’s backstory for you, do I?
That said, it’s interesting to note that these two gigs and the associated tour would have been to promote his final studio album Fresh Evidence, which signalled yet another leftfield direction for the man from Ballyshannon.
Before I get in too deep; I’m pretty sure I saw him play Redcar Coatham Bowl, near Middlesbrough that year and my memory was he was a lot ‘heavier’ than in previous tours and I hadn’t enjoyed it as much as previous shows …. so let’s see if that really was the case.
Following a brief ‘hello’ Rory and band go straight for the metaphorical jugular right from the off with a blistering Continental Op; a song like many others that will follow, that I’d forgot was as good and intriguing as anything from his earliest albums.
This leads (bleeds?) straight into anew song (from Fresh Evidence), Heaven’s Gate and Gallagher’s guitar playing is simply sublime and history will show; groundbreaking on a song from an album most Gallagher fans would struggle to put in his Top 10 … which only goes to show how good his back catalogue is.
Personally I find it fascinating listening to the crowd’s reaction to these new songs; especially Kid Gloves which is treated like a long friend and sounds as ‘heavy’ as I remember; albeit with RMHQ Favourite Geraint Watkins bashing the piano keys louder than Gallagher’s guitar!
As we all know Rory was always capable of throwing us a curve ball; and it sounds crazy that in the middle of a high energy Blues Rock gig, he’d carefully drop in The King of the Zydeco …. and it sounds perfectly at home.
The one Rory Gallagher ‘record’ I never bought and still regret to this day, is a 12″ single of The Loop (it was £20 after all) and here it sits neatly in between the ‘ornery and Slidelicious Mean Disposition and fan favourite Tattoo’d Lady quite perfectly.
Speaking of ‘curve balls’ Moonchild which still sounds like the template for the Heavy Blues that fills halls all over the globe these days comes right before the wistful nod to Out On The Western Plains which shows us what a brilliant and under rated acoustic player he was.
Then … phew …. he gives us a Masterclass in Field Blues with mesmerising versions of Robert Johnson’s Walkin’ Blues followed by Empire State Express.
That dear reader, is only the first CD!
There’s more … and dare I say it …. better to come.
This double album was recorded over two nights at the Town & Country Club in London and presumably the best songs from each night have been cobbled together to create a seamless set of songs where you can’t see or hear the joins.
CD #2 again comes at you like a feral cat, with Shadow Play opening proceedings and again belying my memory of it being ‘a bit of a filler’ on Photo-Finish …. how wrong can one man be?
Then, he follows this with one of my Favourite Songs, a slow, jazzy and sultry version of I Wonder Who, which somehow reminds me of the songs on Taste’s ON THE BOARDS.
Soon after there’s another song that I’d totally forgot; Middle Name (from Fresh Evidence) and now 40 years later I appreciate it as much as that knowledgeable crowd did in 1990.
Other surprises (to me) on CD #2 would be Ghost Blues and the closer, All Around Man which both left me speechless and breathless in a way I’d forgot music could make me feel.
On a normal album I’d choose one of those two as my Favourite Song here; but with two of my Favourite ever Rory Gallagher songs getting new turbo charged makeovers how can I not choose Messin’ With The Kid and the showstopping signature tune, Bullfrog Blues which sounds like the band have tried to condense 15 minutes of music into 5 and you could blow me down with a feather the way Geraint Watkins piano competes with Rory’s outstanding guitar playing for the top spot; and don’t start me talking about Gerry McAvoy’s spine tingling bass solo!
Obviously the majority of sales of this release will go to aging collectors much like myself; but somewhere out there is a young person (under 40!) that has only ever read about the mysterious Rory Gallagher and will get to listen to him for the very first time courtesy of this set of songs … can you imagine how that must feel?
Released July 2023
https://www.rorygallagher.com/
The Rocking Magpie 