Irish Tour

Irish Tour

Rory Gallagher

I.R.S. Records, 1974

REVIEW BY: Hansen Olson

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 11/05/1997

The night I saw Rory Gallagher (pronounced "Gal - a - her"), Iwas wasted. He and his band opened for Rod Stewart and the Faces,notorious for being a loose, good-time, party band. So, everyonecame prepared, not caring for the little known band of Irishmen whowould play the first 45 minutes or so. It was simply more time totoke up and drink.

Rory took the stage in darkness. A single light blinked on toilluminate this rather ordinary looking guy in a flannel shirt andjeans, holding a red guitar. He began to play - fast. Not in aflashy manner, but, understated, as if he was trying to saysomething that could not be expressed in words. Alternating betweenslide and his fingers, he worked himself into a frenzy. Suddenly,the band kicked in and Rory and his guitar began to sing together:"If I was a cradle, then you'd let me rock ... if I was a pony,then you'd let me trot ... if I was an atom, you'd split me intothree ..."

In an instant, I was straight, riveted to the stage. The blueswere never the same for me after that night. Guitar fanatics arenotoriously opinionated. There are those who will whisper withreverence: "Eric Clapton is God," "Hendrix, man, Hendrix," or,"Duane Allman was the King." For my money, Rory Gallagher playedthe blues the way they were meant to be played: with passion,drenched in soul, steeped in alcohol and poverty.

Irish Tour '74 is Rory Gallagher at his best, serving up avariety of guitar blues styles to a hometown audience. His bandincludes long-time bassist Gerry McAvoy and drummer Rod de'Ath withthe addition of Lou Martin on electric keyboards and organ - givingthe music an underlying jaunty feel. From the blues rock of theaforementioned "Cradle Rock" to the acoustic swamp blues of TonyJoe White's "As The Crow Flies" to the Chicago blues tribute toMuddy Waters via "I Wonder Who's Gonna Be Your Sweet Man," Roryplays it all. The highlight, however, is an eleven minute versionof "Walk On Hot Coals," a blistering update of the traditional"meeting the devil at the crossroads" blues motif, Irish style.