GALLAGHER ALBUM
TRACK BY TRACK
RORY
GALLAGHER TALKS TO ROY SHIPSTON ABOUT HIS NEW ALBUM
Rory roars back
IF YOU think
Rory Gallagher has been sitting at home doing nothing since Taste broke
up then you're wrong. He's been a busy man, writing, auditioning,
rehearsing, and recording, not to mention chats with solicitors to sort
out the past.
And the result of all this is a new band, a new
album, and a packed date sheet. The LP, “Rory Gallagher,” is out
on May 7, the day before Gallagher, bassist Gerry McAvoy and drummer
Wilgar Campbell hit the road at Leeds University, the first of a 16
concert British tour.
It's the album
that is the yardstick by which to revalue this Irishman's
talents. And it will come as quite a shock to a lot of
people. If you are hoping for another Taste then forget it.
There are only
three tracks out of the ten that you could say relate to his style with
his last band. For the rest his energies seem to have dispersed
in several different and unexpected forms. And the most
noticeable ingredient is the general restraining mood. It's not
particularly exciting and that might disappoint a lot of people.
“I don't like
to make comparisons between bands,” says Rory, “But there are quite a
few differences. But they're not changes for changes sake.
I'm still writing the material and I'm still the same guy.”
LAUNDROMAT starts side one,
a fast, driving number, with a short sharp guitar lick, poignant
lyrics, a jazzy blues feel. It's more or less the sort of thing
you expect, but the solo is short and careful. Throughout the
album Rory’s playing, although brilliant in parts, seems to be a bit
resigned. “The song is about a derelict, you know. It's
more of a way of putting things rather than a factual statement.”
JUST THE SMILE is an
acoustic number. Guitar intro then it jogs along with a simple,
but effective and catchy melody. There is an ambling solo, a bit
Eastern. It ends with a bongo fade out. Somehow leaves you
thinking that a bit more should have happened. And the Asian
flavour seems very uncharacteristic. “It's based on a drone
chord, a sort of Celtic Indian drone. I had the bottom three
strings all tuned to D which gives you a big deep chord. The bongos
were dubbed on.
“All the
things on the album are done straight, with just the odd bit of dubbing
here and there. We wanted to do them more or less how we'd do them on
stage. There aren't any studio miracles. Obviously the numbers
might change or extend on stage, but there's no point in extending a
song on record for longer than it needs to be.”
I FALL APART, a pensive
song with short outbursts of controlled power. After a couple of
verses, there's a guitar solo, then some more words and then an
intriguing riff that leads to some unusual staccato strumming almost
sounding like a string section scrubbing away. “There's just the
basic line‑up on this track. I don't know quite how to describe
the song. It starts quietly, but builds up to something at the
end, a big finish.”
WAVE MYSELF GOODBYE is
the first real blues thing, Rory on acoustic and Atomic Rooster's
Vincent Crane providing some boogie barrelhouse piano. Even here
the resigned mood prevails. “It's a bit like the sort of things
Scrapper Blackwell and Leroy Carr used to do. It's a sort of
salute to them, but a bit more subtle than that.”
Limelight
HANDS UP finishes the side
and it's one of the best numbers on the album, in the true Taste
vein. It's a strong, bright and distinctive song with a fuzzy
solo, and a second solo full of the choice, flowing runs that makes
Gallagher’s playing so distinctive. No doubt it will become a
great stage favourite. “It's the full band thing. I suppose
it's the heavy number, or whatever you want to call it.”
SINNER BOY on side two
starts in a country blues mood with acoustic guitar and vocal in the
background, plus echo. It's a more recognizable effort with some
exceptional slide guitar. Its here you begin to notice that
Gallagher is definitely the boss as far as his band is concerned.
Gerry McAvoy is only allowed to play a repetitive, boring riff, while
Rory grabs the limelight. That's fair enough, but the monotony of
the bass gradually detracts from what's going on on top of it.
“Sinner Boy has got a slow intro which you don't see much these
days. It's another song about a derelict, but it's more a state
of mind rather than the state of wherever you are.”
FOR THE LAST TIME is
another with a quiet guitar intro. It's got a slow beat, but
breaks into a wonderful guitar solo with some good finger and pick
effects. Here you realize why Rory doesn't bother with a wah-wah
pedal. He can get the two extremes of this aid
simultaneously! But, again, the bass pattern gets on your nerves.
IT'S YOU is a sunny country
song with mandolin in the background and a fair dose of slide guitar.
Another uncharacteristic style, but it's a nice track. “It's another
basic track with just mandolin, voice, acoustic guitar, slide, bass and
drums.”
I'M NOT SURPRISED is the
other track Vincent Crane performs on. Rory says “it's got a
slight gospelly flavour, a similar feel to ‘I’m Not Surprised!’”
It's really a bit like Fats Domino and it doesn't really add up to
much. But the tune sticks in your mind.
CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S TRUE is
the longest and last track on the album, a gentle rocker with
double‑tracked saxes chanting in the background and a fine guitar
solo. It ends with something we haven't heard since “On The
Boards,” a Rory Gallagher sax Solo. “This track has got a slight
folk feeling and it's the longest, 7:15 minutes, but it doesn't sound
that long.
Compliment
Perhaps the
main criticism is that Rory doesn't really allow his sideman much
freedom, which may or may not have led up to the end of Taste.
But he's the one up front and things have got to be the way he wants
them. “I've got to have the right support, I can't play well
otherwise, and the new guys provide it. I'm not criticizing John
Wilson and Richard McCracken.
It's just a
coincidence that McAvoy and Campbell happen to be Irish. There
wasn't anything deliberate by Rory to have another all-Irish
trio. “It's just that I know more Irish musicians than English
ones.”
If you are a
bit surprised, even let down by “Rory Gallagher,” then it's worth
considering that it is the sort of album that takes time to grow on you.
From Disc and Music Echo – April 17, 1971
Thanks the Brenda O'Brien for sharing & typing this article
reformatted by roryfan
298
added 5/29/05
