The young Irishman's fifth album sails off with the same directness and
fervor that made Gallagher one of the most exciting
rock 'n roll guitarists now performing.
He
exuberates in a number of substrata of the rock-blues idiom, putting
here intriguing scratchy strokes (as in the opening bars of "A Million
Miles Away"), howls, and slides of, but not necessarily imitative of,
such electric predecessors as Hendrix, Blackmore, et al. Gallagher even
"swings" on the unloud, but very jazzy "They Don't Make Them."
Each
of the record's nine selections are good, but Rory's guitar licks hold
surprises and turn out always to be the high points. The addition of
Lou Martin on the Blueprint
album has worked out well again here, as is best illustrated on "20: 20
Vision," the best cut presented. Martin's' playful keyboards and
Gallagher's acoustic picking provide real humor to this amusing number.
On
"Who's That Coming," the guitarist begins bottlenecking acoustically,
but switches to electric that sizzles with the lusty lyrics. A Fifties
rock blurts out when Gallagher tells us he could "Sleep On A
Clothesline."
This
album makes one wonder if he might not also be able to make music on
one.
Polydor, PD 5539. Howard P.
Mosher From
the February 1974 issue of Guitar Player
reformatted by roryfan
