"Rory Gallagher: 50th Anniversary Edition" by RORY GALLAGHER – May 1971 UK Debut Solo Album [ex Taste] on Polydor Records – Guest Musician Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster on Two Tracks (September 2021 UK UMC/Polydor 50th Anniversary Edition 2CD Reissue in a Three-Way Gatefold Card Digipak With Repro Artwork, 18 Rare Tracks on CD2, 16 of which are Previously Unreleased - Plus a New 2021 Remix and Remaster of the Album by Martin Dubka and Frank Arkwright on CD1 at Abbey Road) - A Review by Mark Barry...

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"...Take Him Home Right Away..."

 

Under the supervision of Donal Gallagher (his older brother and former tour manager)  - Irish guitar hero RORY GALLAGHER had his LP back-catalogue first reissued onto CD in 1998, 2000, 2012, and now into 2021 for a round of 50^th Anniversary Multi-Format reissues. But is the new lot worth it – HELL YES!

 

Everything here has been upped for this outing – least not of all a New Remix and Remaster that leaves all previous attempts pretty much in the dust. Lots to wave at, here are the details for Axe Hero No.1...

 

UK released 3 September 2021 - "Rory Gallagher: 50^th Anniversary Edition" by RORY GALLAGHER on UMC/Polydor 3544487 (Barcode 602435444871) is a 2CD Expanded Reissue with a New 2021 Remix and Remaster of the album on CD1 and 18 Rare Tracks on CD2 (16 are previously Unreleased) that plays out as follows:

 

CD1 - "Rory Gallagher" 2021 Remix and Remaster - (47:50 minutes):

1. Laundromat [Side 1]

2. Just The Smile

3. I Fall Apart

4. Wave Myself Goodbye

5. Hands Up

6. Sinner Boy [Side 2]

7. For The Last Time

8. It's You

9. I'm Not Surprised

10. Can't Believe It's True

Tracks 1 to 10 are his debut solo album (after two studio albums with Taste) "Rory Gallagher" – released May 1971 in the UK on Polydor 2383 044 and May 1971 in the USA on Atco Records SD 33-368. Produced by RORY GALLAGHER and Engineered by EDDIE OFFORD – it peaked at No. 32 in the UK, but didn’t chart USA.

 

CD2 - Bonus Tracks (73:21 minutes):

Tangerine Studio Sessions

1. Gypsy Woman

2. It Takes Time

3. I Fall Apart

Tracks 1 and 2 first appeared on the 1999 CD reissue of "Rory Gallagher" as Bonuses and again as Bonuses on the January 2012 Sony/Capo/Legacy reissue too – they are exciting band-version covers of Muddy Waters and Otis Rush songs (respectively). Track 3 is an album outtake and the first of the 16 PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED versions on CD2. Tracks 4 to 18 are PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED.

 

Alternate Takes

4. At The Bottom - Alternate Take 3

5. At The Bottom - Alternate Take 4

6. Advision Jam

7. Laundromat - Alternate Take 1

8. Just The Smile - Alternate Take 1

9. Wave Myself Goodbye - Alternate Take 2

10. Hands Up - Alternate Take 2

11. Sinner Boy - Alternate Take 3

12. For The Last Time - Alternate Take 1

13. It's You - Alternate Take 2

14. I'm Not Surprised – Alternate Take 1

 

Live On The BBC – "Sounds Of The Seventies 1971" – Off-Air Recordings

15. For The Last Time (Live At The BBC)

16. Laundromat (Live At The BBC)

17. It Takes Time (Live At The BBC)

18. I Fall Apart (Live At The BBC)

 

Band was:

RORY GALLAGHER – Lead Guitar and Vocals, Mandolin, Harmonica and Alto Saxophone on the album version of "Can't Believe It's True"

GERRY McAVOY – Bass

WILGAR CAMPBELL – Drums and Percussion

Guest:

Vincent Crane of Atomic Rooster plays Piano on "Wave Myself Goodbye" and "I'm Not Surprised"

 

The 12-Page booklet in broken into two informational conversations by folks who were there in 1970 and 1971 – the first with Rory's brother, Manager and long-time keeper of his reissue flame – DONAL GALLAGHER. The second comes from Bassist GERRY McAVOY – a familiar sight on Rory's legendary live gigs – stood solid – hammering away with gusto and joy. McAvoy was touring with a band called Deep Joy while Rory also knew Wilgar Campbell from a group called The Method. They met – rehearsed and fused. McAvoy talks on his joining the band and the order of songs - it's a nice read but one that weirdly leaves out the album release date or catalogue numbers? A nice touch though is the array of Rock Newspaper clippings from the period that are spread beneath the two see-through CD tracks and the colour photos of Rory clearly young and enjoying himself as a free solo artist.

 

Still that minor 2CD booklet glitch is firmly kicked out to touch when you clap ears on what has to be the definitive Remaster of this obscure album – it is balls-to-the-wall stunning done by (FRANK ARKWRIGHT at Abbey Road Studios). Two Remaster heroes of mine Andy Pearce and Matt Wortham did the 2012 reissue which was fab – but even that is bettered by this beautiful 2021 Remix and Remaster. When I play the last two tracks on Side 2 – the criminally forgotten piano/guitar of "I'm Not Surprised" or the blistering Rock-Jazz of "Can't Believe It's True" where he plays Alto Sax behind great lead guitar soloing – so very Ten Years After actually – the Audio is fantastic.This is a HUGE upgrade and deserves all the 5-star ratings its been receiving.

 

If I was to use one word to describe this remaster it would be 'fresh' - everything somehow sounds new - clean, present, none too trebled up the nines - and it's easy to hear why Donal and Daniel Gallagher (Rory's nephew) would want these new versions in the marketplace.  While the guitars of the opener are in your face (and for all the right reasons) - the harmonica in the background of "Laundromat" is still part of the mix - it's not rammed out front for effect - nicely handled - don't mess with the original. The Bass is so sweet now on "Sinner Boy" as the guitar pans from speaker to speaker in the solo (lyrics above). In fact his backing band of GERRY McAVOY on Bass and WILGAR CAMPBELL on Drums and Percussion can be heard 'so' clearly on every track - very impressively transferred. VINCENT CRANE of Atomic Rooster and Arthur Brown fame puts in superb keyboard work on two tracks - "Wave Myself Goodbye" and "I'm Not Surprised".

 

The long mid-tempo Blues of "For The Last Time" has been a huge favourite of mine for decades now - I've put in on loads of 70's Fest compilations as an example of an unfairly forgotten nugget. The guitar solo at the end of the track is beautifully clear. The witty and languid "Wave Myself Goodbye" sounds fabulous too. But the sonic-best has to be the last two album cuts - the acoustic Fats Domino R 'n' B of "I'm Not Surprised" and the John Coltrane jazz-influenced seven-minutes of "Can't Believe It's True" where Rory puts in rare Alto Sax playing (double-tracked). The last in particular makes for an odd Gallagher listening experience (he was experimenting) - but a great one nonetheless - and I'd forgotten how good his guitar work is towards the end as he harmonics his way to the final fade.

 

At 73:21 minutes, you cannot accuse CD2 of scrimping and saving. 2021 divides the 18 into three distinct sections, three Tangerine Studio Sessions two of which have turned up before, eleven Alternate Takes and four live-in-the-studio BBC Sessions that were off-air recordings. Wow-city goes to the two exciting cover versions – his guitar playing on the Otis Rush track "It Takes Time" is arguably better than anything on the actual LP – and the audio is HUGE. Track 3 appears to be a band run-through of the album cut "I Fall Apart" and again it is great – well recorded and featuring a more fluid solo that rivals the guitar on the actual LP track. He speeds up the chorus bit which doesn’t quite work and that’s probably why he changed it to the released version. An all right dialogue introduces two takes of "At The Bottom" – an acoustic and harmonica romp that will thrill fans – gorgeous audio quality – the song would eventually show in 1975 on his first Chrysalis Records album "Against The Grain" (the second Alternate uses electric guitar instead of acoustic).

 

"Advision Jam" is an instrumental guitar piece with both boys in attendance – Advision referring to the studio where they were recording – and again as something new – it feels very Rory unleashed and cool. Take 1 of "Laundromat" feels a little too weedy compared to the finished track, but the acoustic "Just The Smile" is magic – his soling going in a different searching direction – trying to find what to use and what to drop. But it is so damn good, and again with just gorgeous clean audio. Acoustic and Vincent Crane on Piano combine in another super-clean take – this time a rollicking "Wave Myself Goodbye". Three electric rockers follow – a rough and grungy "Hands Up" – a quite-at-first "Sinner Boy" that quickly takes off into a riffing vehicle with wicked slide towards the final part.

 

Things go mellow even Bluesy with Take 1 of "For The Last Time" - an acidic attack on the bad management breakup of Taste – I love the guitar feel – his playing fluid and inspired. I was never convinced by the jaunty "It's You" on Side 2 of the album, but somehow this almost poppier version rescues it. There is some dialogue between the booth and Rory before "I'm Not Surprised", but he quickly gets down to business with Vincent Crane again helping out on piano –a nice addition to this casual but wickedly good take where the band almost feels Faces in its ramshackle. As was the way of BBC studio shows, the audio is good but compromised, so it is a pleasant surprise that Rory keeps it live, simple and down so you can hear his guitar.

 

Originally released May 1971 on Polydor in the UK and Atco in the USA (with all tracks self-penned and also self-produced) - his unflashy deliberately softer debut didn't do huge chart business in either country for the 23-year old - and has always been hard to find on original vinyl ever since. The British Polydor Super original in particular has become increasingly expensive in Auctions (much like the TASTE studio albums from 1969 and 1970). So this double CD-set for under a tenner with nice packaging and toppermost sound is a great way of acquiring a rarity at a very reasonable cost.

 

Like most Irishmen, I can't be rational about Rory Gallagher. I saw him and his band as a teenager live in Dublin in the early Seventies and the experience was mind-blowing. I then bought every album he put out after that for years to come and always looked forward to hearing where his flying fingers would go to next. But what I was not expecting is that this release could be so damn good – especially CD2 which is brilliant and revelatory.

 

Rory was sadly lost to us in 1995 through liver failure - and it still hurts to think that this most unassuming and brilliant of guitar heroes is gone. He's up there now as far as I'm concerned - talking the Blues with all the greats. And I for one will be buying the rest of these reissues with a sense of excitement and affection.