More reviews will be added from other sources and will be credited with the article.

  RORY GALLAGHER: “Tattoo"
Rory, firmly "back on course" after his Blueprint “ album — he himself says that one went off at a tangent — has produced a balanced collection of numbers,  two at least of which must rank as the best rock guitar he has ever recorded. Also, a tough, integrated group sound has emerged, now at its most forceful since Lou Martin's resilient piano was is brought into Rory's line up. The first two tracks on the album are the real goodies packed with wild spirit. "Tattoo'd Lady " is founded on a pulsating chord which catches the breath as it boils on. It's about the biggest sound Rory's ever come up with the guitar solos are choice, eddying and melodic with a fuming power behind them. Rory sings taut and gasping. Coming hard on its heels is "Cradle Rock" anchored on a monumental R&B derived riff, with some organ sound up front. It has the relentless mass of a juggernaut, Gerry McAvoy’s bass grinding and pumping away, guitar stuttering overhead bead. Harp is absorbed onto the heavy mesh and then bottleneck guitar settles onto the top layer. It's tracks like these that put Rory among the greats as a crack guitarist. They go straight for the vitals, get in the blood.

After these two monster tracks the tension subsides into “ 20:20 Vision,” a song with a walking blues pace and country/ ragtime acoustic guitar, the easy picking backed up by Martin's barrelhouse style, laid back and loose. That's the only track with acoustic guitar throughout. "Who's That Coming “ on side two opens with raunchy bottleneck acoustic, but switches to electric bottleneck early on, driving to a climax with piano over a circular chord pattern similar in effect to ‘‘ "Tattoo'd Lady.’’ Before side one is over Rory includes, as he his done in previous albums, a number with a jazz feel “ They Don't Make Them Like You Anymore” This one's taken at a fast lick with snappy solos and a lively liquidity of sound. The second side begins with "Sleep on a Clothes Line" , a mid-pace rocker using 50's style echo (in Rory’s voice it's hard and wiry and the piano filters through only briefly. ‘‘ A Million miles Away ‘‘ is the biggest production and includes organ and saxes to make the sound good and flat. Rory flicks the notes in that teeth - gritting split harmonic manner, catching the strings between pick and forefinger and holding them on the edge of feedback All tracks satisfy Rory's credo that what he records must be capable of parallel reproduction on stage.  J.W.

I don't have the date of this article or source for sure. I speculate that 'J.W.' is Jeff Ward from Melody Maker. Based on the discussion of the release of "Tattoo", this would have been 1973.

Tattoo  Rory Gallagher
by Tom DuPree

Rory Gallagher is a confident and intelligent rock and blues guitarist. But Tattoo, his follow-up to the excellent Blueprint, shows that he may also be turning into a composer of note. Most of the tunes on this album are, again, based on well-entrenched blues forms, but they are now augmented with fillips, hooks, bridges and phrases that transcend De Blooze and make them Rory’s personal property.

Tattoo is Gallagher's closest attempt at a true pop album. It is his brightest and most joyful work, but still contains that streak of meanness which makes his live sets so powerful.

There are three clear hold-overs from the Blueprint sensibility: “Cradle Rock,” “Livin’ Like a Trucker” and “Sleep on a Clothes-Line.” They are loud, pounding, boisterous and a hell of a lot of fun to hear.

As for new directions, “They Don’t Make Them Like You Anymore” is Rory Gallagher's first swing tune. “A Million Miles Away,” a ballad, is supported by a bass line reminiscent of the verses of Elton John’s “Madman Across the Water,” but Rory’s tune is more striking than John’s.

“Who's That Coming” opens with an acoustic slide segment soon replaced by an electric guitar playing the same figure, as if to point out the particular attractions of each. It's representative of the album's collective mood because it begins with the single guitar and builds into a furious break led by Rod De’Ath’s machine-gun drumming and Gerry McAvoy’s attack on his bass. The attention to dynamics is, for Gallagher, unprecedented.

The band has never been tighter: Keyboardman Lou Martin is now firmly associated with Rory’s sound, and joins De’Ath and McAvoy in staying down where he's supposed to, but stepping out when Rory gives him the nod. As a result, Tattoo is a pleasant surprise from an already well-respected guitarist, a little extra bonus in subtlety and complexity that deserves a good many American ears.

 Tom DuPree from Rolling Stone in 1973.

Against the Grain
Rory Gallagher
by Simon Frith

Rory Gallagher's love affair with his guitar has been so devoted for so long that one day it will be celebrated in an epic verse. I mean, even B. B. King betrayed Lucille with some fancy strings, and old white swaggerers like Eric Clapton and Alvin Lee are settling, one by one, into comfortable productions. No such betrayals from Rory, no such laziness; the guitar is still his passion and night after night, gig after gig, he's still thrilled by the sounds he can coax from it.

Against the Grain,  is a studio set but there's no reason why it should be. The basic sound is, as ever, one man and his guitar and the production (by Gallagher himself) subsumes all else in it. Gerry McAvoy and Rod de’Ath are an unselfish and intelligent rhythm section, Lou Martin moves as efficiently on boogie piano as on pub organ, Rory gets through the lyrics throatily and effectively—but they're all servants, putting the guitar at ease as it growls and swoops and bites and relaxes. Gallagher needs few devices for his pleasure. There's a touch of fuzz, a hint of echo, but mostly there's his caress and an amazing range of tones—acoustic (on Leadbelly’s “Out on the Western Plain”), blue (on Bo Carter’s “All Around Man”), fruity (on “Lost at Sea”), excited (on “Souped-Up Ford”) and arrogant (on Porter/Hayes / Hodges’s “I Take What I Want”).

Gallagher's songs are about arriving and leaving. He arrives full of strut and need— “No highway cop gonna make me stop”—and he leaves petulant and free—”You’re making a mistake and you'll see, when I'm gone.”

Gallagher's obsessed, like all great lovers, but Against the Grain,  will get your hands twitching too, even if you ain’t Joe Cocker! If a man can play this good standing still, why should he progress?

This one comes from the 1/15/76 issue of Rolling Stone.

Calling Card  Rory Gallagher
By John Milward

RORY GALLAGHER is the last true journeyman of the Sixties British blues boom, and Calling Card displays the craft that has garnered him a guitar-hungry cult following.
Without frills or affectations, Gallagher has remained in solid blues territory while periodically turning up the burners to a rocker's intensity. In terms of the integrity with which he joins these two passions, he recalls Peter Green, whose tasteful guitar defined the original Fleetwood Mac.

Calling Card moves deftly through various blues-rock styles, and while neither his vocals nor his lyrics are particularly arresting, they complement the sure craft with which the songs were written. For with Gallagher, it's the sound that counts, and his rhythm and keyboard trio delivers the assured barroom backing he prefers. Tough and tight, they lay down a sound that calls attention to itself only when you find it consistently returning to your turntable.

The star of the show, of course, is Gallagher's Stratocaster, and “Do You Read Me” wisely kicks off with a brittle rhythm riff and an equally gruff vocal. Funkier still is “Jackknife Beat,” which cuts by virtue of its tasteful simplicity. It's on “Moonchild,” though, that Gallagher really opens up. Propelled by a vicious rhythm reminiscent of Hendrix’s Ladyland, his guitar is energized with a tone that burns with electricity. In three solo appearances, Gallagher builds the tension with sharp lines that bubble with raw excitement until they burst onto flurried notes as the song fades.

The tension on the "Moonchild" solo is never completely resolved- good guitarists always leave you hungry for more- and characteristically, Gallagher follows it with a title tune that boasts straight trebly blues figures. Such fluent variety is precisely his Calling Card.

This one is from Rolling Stone by JOHN MILWARD  in 1976

CONCERT REVIEWS

Picture captured from
Rock Goes to College
  by donman

RORY GALLAGHER

  If anybody can turn the electric guitar into a blues instrument, that person is Rory Gallagher. He proved it almost from the start when his tour opened at the Capitol Cardiff on Sunday. After laying down the solid  boogie of ‘‘ Messin’ With The Kid” and Hands Off”, heturned  his attention to "I Wonder Who ‘ and had his box sounding like a mouth harp, muted trumpet and train whistle in turn.

But the Gallagher band did  not hold the mood. With bass player Gerry McAvoy straining from the spot as though his feet were nailed to the floor, drummer Rod DeAth appreciating the value of his brand new yellow drum kit and Lou Martin hunched over his keyboards like Quasimodo (when he played his hair comes across like curtains arid it's good-night face) they pitched into " Cradle Rock ‘ ‘ Walk On Hot Coals" and “ A Million Miles Away.”  It's all good and maybe as good as you get anywhere but just for a short while, as Rory makes his way through “ As The Crows Flys “ and ‘ I'm Nobody’s Dog ‘‘ with acoustic guitar and harp, we had a glimpse of Gallagher's solo style and for me, at least, the rest was anti-climax.  
The support band Strider work quite well as a unit but won't improve until they learn that volume is not a virtue in itself. — PETER TATE

No idea of the source for this one, but I'd place it 1973.

Pop Festival
Reading
by Michael Wale

Not all the programming of this efficiently organized festival may have been imaginative, but at least the top-of -the bill acts over the three days provided a vivid contrast, and if competition is partly what these events are about, then it must be said the Rory Gallagher excelled. He is a musician from Cork basing his music on the Blues, an anachronism, perhaps, but his sheer, honest energy rings through. Only he of the three bill-toppers risked doing anything new, when he played four numbers from his next album to be released in October. Of these " Sleep on a Clothes Line", " Million Miles Away" and "Who's That Coming" are well up to the standard he demands. His guitar-playing is unmistakable, which is more than can be said for most theses days, and his musical integrity unchallenged. Loathing personal aggrandisement, he is the total anti-star, and as such a genuine hero of the people. In contrast, Saturday night's appearance of Rod Stewart and The Faces was a disappointment. They worked hard, but one wonders how long this group that has obviously lost its impetus can continue. Despite this, Rod Stewart still stands out as a personality, and surely must now make his own way in Rock.

Sunday night brought another glimpse of Genesis, a group who use theatrical effects as well as thoughtful electronic music in the style of groups like Pink  Floyd. To say this is a tribute. They, too, are about to launch a new album, but played safe by rendering what we have heard before. "The Musical Box". " Supper's Ready" and " The Return of the Giant Hogweed" pleased both myself and the 25,000 audience, and was an effective climax to three days of sunshine and friendliness. Festivals always produce at least one surprise success and this year it was portly George Melly, musically from another era. The youthful audience immediately accepted his trad-jazz-flavoured tunes like " Frankie and Johnny" and his zanie, uninhibited approach. Undoubtedly a new cult figure has arrived.

Thanks to donman for the info on this show. This review is based on a show from the Marquee Club Reading Festival from 1973.

A FEW BACKGROUND NOTES ON THIS IRISH WONDER ON THE OCCASION OF HIS AMERICAN TOUR        SPRING 1974

By Ira Robbins

Rory Gallagher knows more about playing the electric blues (that's spelled B—L—U—E—S) than all the Allman Brothers - living or dead - put together. A punky little Irishman, and the only rocker with enough nerve to play Belfast while the shit was still flying hard and heavy, Rory plays blues (both rural and Chicago) mixed with his own jazzy flavoring. Although an ancient Fender Stratocaster is his prime instrument, he also blows sweet on acoustic, mandolin, harp, and alto sax. (There hasn't been more than a smidgen of sax on any of Rory's five solo albums, but when he was with Taste, the sax was featured occasionally.

The overview
Rory Gallagher left Cork, Ireland in 1963 to join and tour with the Fontana Showband (a large conglomerate), playing stuff by Chuck Berry, Georgie Fame, Jim Reeves. After two and a half years and a name change to the Impact, Rory left, knocked around for a while, then formed Taste in August of 1966, with Norman Damery, drums, and Eric Kitteringham bass, who had been the rhythm section of Cork's own Axels. Two years later, various forces caused the demise of Taste, but not for long since a new trio was soon assembled with John Wilson drums, and Richard McCracken, bass. This Taste lasted until the end of 1970, several months  after a triumphant appearance at the Isle of Wight.

In March 1971, a new pair of sidemen, Gerry McAvoy, bass, and Wilgar Campbell, drums, helped record the first Rory Gallagher “solo” album, with the keyboard aid of Vincent Crane, then with Atomic Rooster. In June 1972, after the live Rory album was released, Wilgar Campbell split and was replaced by Rod De’Ath. A few months later, a keyboard player, Lou Martin, was added as a permanent member of Rory's band. Since then, there have been no personnel changes.

The Music
Rory Gallagher's style is hard to describe. With Taste, he worked precise, jazz-oriented riffing in with the straight blues numbers. In his first two solo albums, the amount of jazz is reduced, and the blues pieces are either performed rural-style on acoustic guitar, with no bass or drums, or enhanced by the unique melodic and rhythmic structure Rory employs. The only group which these two albums resemble at all is the Groundhogs - Rory and T.S. McPhee seem to present a similar image of highly creative blues guitarists who have developed a form, of jazz-rock totally unlike that brass-sections-heavy-piano involvement form which is known in America.

The Rory Gallagher Live album is almost all blues pieces, and is quite a classic. Rory plays electric guitar acoustic guitar, mandolin, and harp, proving mastery of them all.

The next album, Blueprint demonstrates a drift back into blues and ahead to rock. Most recently, Tattoo has almost none of the rambling jazz tunes, and lots more songs with obvious rock chord progressions, but the blues is back full strength.

All of Rory’s albums have varied content, and the differences between them are in the quantities of each given style. It would be difficult to match a song with its album because the character of Rory's writing and recording has changed only slight   over a few years.
That's no problem ... it's consistently GREAT!

Ok, once again a UFO article.
It almost seems like a notes column at a college, prior to a local appearance. Ira Robbins wrote for Trouser Press , so it's possibly from there.
I'd appreciate any info.

MUSIC MONITOR

September 1999
 What's New on CD
 by Brett Dupree

 Rory Gallagher BBC Sessions (Buddha)

 Rory Gallagher has gone unnoticed by most newer generations of blues musicians, but now, after his death a few years ago, some overdue credit is coming his way. The bulk of his recordings never really sold in the States as they did in Europe, partially due to his heavier touring schedule on that side of the Atlantic and perhaps because he was overshadowed by Clapton. As far as sheer talent and a true feel for blues, Gallagher probably has most of the better-known guitar gods beat by a long shot. His worn out Stratocaster blazed so much during some live sets, it just didn't seem like the poor thing would  stand up to the punishment. This new 2-CD set on the resurrected Buddha label may be the very best Rory  Gallagher release to date, showing him at his best.  The first disc is a ten song collection put together  from over ten hours of live BBC broadcasts. It kicks off with the blistering "Calling Card," only a taste of  things to come. His version of "Got My Mojo Working"  would bring a smile to the face of the greatest blues  giants, and the boogie woogie piano work of Lou Martin adds just the right complement to Rory's guitar acrobatics. Gallagher believed a band's true  face showed when playing live, and he didn't like to just regurgitate studio tracks line for line, so there was no telling where some of his solos were going.  The studio recordings disc is just as astounding. If you're a guitar buff, this release is a textbook on how to play rock 'n' roll blues.

Born 2 March 1949 in Ballyshannon, County Donegal and raised in Southwest Eire, Rory Gallagher's initial introduction to the guitar began with a series of formative experiments on an acoustic at the early age of nine. By twelve, Gallagher had strummed his first electric guitar and would never look back. With his passion for music fast exceeding his interest in academia, Gallagher left school at fifteen to pursue a professional career. As a young teenager in Cork, Gallagher, inspired by British skiffle king Lonnie Donegan. whose “Rock Island Line” had energized a generation of British and Irish teenagers, performed in a number of small skiffle combos..." Even though you develop as a player over the years,” explained Gallagher to Guitar Player in 1991. "you have to keep to the heart of what you started with, that initial vision of music. In Ireland, folk and traditional music is very close at hand, but I wasn't really turned on until I heard American music via Lonnie Donegan, who was doing Leadbelly and Woody Guthrie songs. Of course, I also heard the early rockers— Elvis Presley, Eddie Cochran and Chuck Berry. So [my music] was a mixture of folk, blues and rock from America.”

Armed with a secondhand 1961 Fender Stratocaster that would soon become recognized as his trademark axe, Gallagher began a tenure with the Fontana Showband. The Fontana Showband [later renamed the Impact Showband] toured Ireland regularly, performing cover versions of pop songs for dances. Despite the obvious creative limitations, the Showband's constant touring was, nonetheless, extremely valuable to Gallagher, providing him with some much needed professional seasoning while also allowing him time to define his sparse, but high energy guitar style. In August 1966, Gallagher ventured out on his own, forming Taste, with bassist Eric Kitteringham and drummer Norman Demery. This three-piece unit toured Britain, Germany and Ireland, where Gallagher's stinging leads and furious bottleneck slide playing earned Taste a small but loyal following. Unlike many of his contemporaries who preferred the raucous, 1950’s Chicago based recordings of Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Otis Rush, Gallagher loved the rural, country blues of such early pioneers as Son House, Tampa Red and Big Joe Williams. As a result, Taste's repertoire was comprised of Gallagher's spirited originals liberally interspersed with adaptations of songs by Robert Johnson, Leadbelly and Blind Boy Fuller.

By May of 1968, with the British Blues movement in full bloom, Gallagher relocated to London. There, he formed new version of Taste with ex-Spencer Davis bassist Charile McCracken and drummer , John Wilson, formerly of Them. Amid the likes of Alexis Kormer and John Mayall's  Bluesbreakers, Gallagher's fiery playing caught the attention of many, including Polydor Records, who soon signed the trio to a recording contract.

Released in 1969, Taste , the groups debut album, provided an accurate representation of the band's development to date, mixing Gallagher's originals along with raw reworkings of such blues standards as 'Catfish' and Leadbelly’s ‘Leavin’ Blues. - Seemingly more heavy metal than delta blues, ‘Catfish” provided a forum for Gallagher's blistering lead work. Shunning excess sound effects, guitar devices and studio experimentation in general, tracks such as ‘Catfish' were simply cut live in the studio in an effort to replicate the energy of the band's live performances.

'Blister On The Moon” defined the band's sound and style perfectly; spartan, riff-driven, high intensity blues rock. ‘Same Old Story,” a staple of the group's live performances, was indicative of Gallagher's compositional approach; tight arrangements, insistent vocals and the guitarist's muscular riffing. Apart from his affinity for American blues, Gallagher's other musical influences also came to the fore. The melodic “Born On The Wrong Side Of Town” showcased Gallagher's combination of folk and rock, successfully blending his acoustic and electric playing. ‘Hail” and "I'm Moving On” were both superb, revealing Gallagher's skill as both a writer and interpreter, as well as offering a glimpse of his furious bottleneck slide technique.

While Taste barely dented the UK charts and missed the US charts entirely, the band's fast expanding following regularly ventured out to hear Gallagher's passionate and uncompromising brand of blues across Britain, Ireland and Europe. As a result, Taste soon became one of Britain's most popular live attractions. On stage, Taste offered their audiences little in terms of colored light shows or other such psychedelic display. Gallagher was equally unpretentious, regularly performing in a simple plaid, flannel shirt, while shunning any special stage costume. The band's earnest, earthy sincerity struck a chord with their audiences. whose response, measured by the band's steady string of sold out performances, was obviously favorable.

Building on this momentum, Taste really hit their stride with 1970’s superb On The Boards. Their sound refined and reputation firmly established, the album's production was vastly improved —with their arrangements growing in sophistication and Gallagher's vocals more clearly audible. Taste now seemed able to harness the energy of their stage performances into their studio recordings. "What's Going On,” was especially noteworthy, full of Taste's much vaunted stage vitality, without having sacrificed the benefits offered by multitrack recording. More familiar with the studio environment Gallagher's creative range expanded, allowing for the incorporation of different instruments, riffs and nuances — such as the moody saxophone of ‘On The Boards”, and the stylish swing of ‘It’s Happened”. The public response was immediate, and the album was an intentional sales success, especially in Britain, reaching #18 on
the UK album charts. Despite the group's commercial success, Gallagher remained nonplused. thinking such sales techniques were beneath the purity of the blues music they loved, Taste abandoned the pop singles market and largely disdained of promotional appearances on television. Driven by his love for the blues, Gallagher, hunched over his  battered Stratocaster, seemed as equally at ease in a pub setting or on the festival stage.

With Taste having become one of the most popular attractions on the European circuit,  next effort was to capture selected highlights of their live show on disc. Live Taste,  released in 1971, successfully accomplished this. Taste's reworkings of “Sugar Mama” and  Big Bill Broonzy’s ‘I Feel So Good” provided two more fine examples of Gallagher's updating of rural blues standards, both marking the guitarist's increasing confidence and ability.

By 1971, having now ascended toward the forefront of the British blues movement, relations between Gallagher, Wilson and McCracken deteriorated. Despite their prospects for continued success, Taste ultimately disbanded. Though the band had already formally split, Polydor, lacking new studio recordings to fill the gap, eventually issued Live At The Isle Of Wight in 1972. While the performance had been originally recorded in August 1970, the album served as a worthy companion to Live Taste. Taste's performance at the festival, as evidenced by the salacious ‘Sinner Boy” included on this compilation, had been one of the highlights of the massive, outdoor event.

Following his departure from Taste, Gallagher bloomed as a solo artist, adding bassist Gerald McAvoy and drummer Wilgar Campbell, while scoring with Rory Gallagher and Deuce, both issued in 1971. As he had done with Taste, Gallagher continued to front a three-piece band. Though the musicians around him had changed, Gallagher's steadfast commitment to the blues had not. The following year, Gallagher finally broke through with Live In Europe, a searing, high velocity live compilation which cracked the UK top ten. On the heels of Live In Europe, Gallagher had now come to enjoy increased success and visibility in the US. Via high profile guest stints on 1972’s Muddy Waters’ London Sessions and 1973’s Jerry Lee Lewis’ London Sessions, Gallagher's international reputation was further enhanced. In June 1972, having retained McAvoy on bass, Gallagher recruited drummer Rod DeAth and Lou Martin on keyboards, marking his first divergence from the trio concept. Using this line-up, Gallagher would issue three more successful albums for Polydor before switching over to Chrysalis in
1975. Largely due to his tireless commitment to touring, Gallagher's tenure at Chrysalis was equally successful. Following 1976’s Calling Card, Campbell and Martin left, signaling a return to the power trio format. Gallagher enlisted drummer Ted McKenna and continued to expand his following throughout the world. A powerhouse in Europe, Gallagher strengthened his US audience base first as an opening act for such stadium sized attractions as ZZ Top, then later as a headliner on his own. working clubs and theaters across the country.

In 1977, Gallagher was able to pay homage to one of his primary influences by lending guitar to Lonnie Donegan’s Puttin On The Style. Following 1982’s Jinx,  Gallagher withdrew into self-imposed semi retirement, a state brought on largely by his fear of flying. Unable for a time to even make the short flight between London and Ireland, Gallagher continued to work in Britain, but slowly fell out of the public eye in the US. However, a return to the US in 1985 confirmed that interest in Gallagher still actively remained. I.R.S. Records issued Defender in 1987 and the highly acclaimed Fresh Evidence in 1990. Currently. Gallagher shows no signs of stopping. He continues to tour regularly, his phobia diminished and enthusiasm renewed. Taking stock of nearly three decades of success, Gallagher's goal remains simple, I just hope I can end up playing as long as my heroes.’

John McDermott

"RORY GALLAGHER, The Story So Far (Polydor), Against the Grain ( Chrysalis):
Throw away your Kiss records and leave your Ted Nugents to your grandmother: this sleazy-shirted Irish guitarist is the last extant genuine mad guitarist, and he don't need no artificial preservatives ( batwings, guns, unusual clothing, lasers, etc): he does it all with one very sorry -looking Startocaster...the above-mentioned mucky flannel shirt, and a style that can only be compared with things like lightning bolts, thunder, etc. Ace Frehley: Listen, have the kittykat claw your picking hand, weep, and then take up opthamology. SW"   added 4/9/00

   Photo from Boston 1972 by Mark Stevens

It'd have plain broken your heart if it wasn't for the fact that Rory's back on the road and eating up the miles in the hot company of sidekicks Gerry McAvoy on bass, Brendan O'Neill on drums, and Mark Feltham on harp.

The hair's a little shorter and he's a little chubbier than before, but the '61 Fender Strat with its paintwork in an advanced state of decay, the throaty hollering, and the sweaty determination to give all for his audience are there much as before.  So what has changed?

Well, for a start there's a far stronger blues emphasis.  Rolling off with 'Continental Op' , a gritty stomp dedicated to Dashiell Hammet, Rory and his band proceeded to showcase substantial chunks of material from his 'comeback' release 'Defender', breaking things up with selected blasts from his past, 'Moonchild', 'Tattoo'd Lady' and 'Messin' With the Kid' among them.

And by way of contrast, he threw in an outstanding solo interlude when, armed with an acoustic guitar, he paid homage to the giants of the folk-blues tradition with a rousing string of covers from Robert Johnson, Blind Boy fuller, John Lee Hooker and, best of all, Leadbelly's 'On The Western Plain'.  He had been on stage for two and three quarter hours before bowing out with Sonny Boy Williamson's 'Don't Start Me Talkin''.  It was a long show but nevertheless, it never felt like a marathon.

As long as there's the blues and as long a people are willing to listen, there'll always be a warm welcome for Rory Gallagher.