#15 Rory Gallagher Album 50th Anniversary Special

 (First published on the 50th anniversary of the Rory Gallagher album before the actual 50th anniversary reissue!)

There is the old saying, time flies. For music fans, the passing of the years when it hits a certain anniversary of a favourite album is a case in point, especially when it is a significant one from our youth that we have memories of purchasing in the record shop as clear as yesterday. For Rory Gallagher fans lucky enough to have been about for the start of his career, the thought that his eponymous debut solo album, first released on 23 May 1971, has now reached its 50^th anniversary must surely have them reaching for a glass of whiskey or Guinness while putting their cherished viny copy on the turn table for a happy trip down memory lane. There’s nothing like music to mark our lives, and for several people, none more so than the music of Rory Gallagher.

The Rory Gallagher album has its genesis in the days following the demise of Taste. Rory found himself in a complex situation involving a long of wrangling that would subsequently allow him to forge his solo career. Taste had their final concert at Queens University in Belfast on 24 October 1970. It would be a further six months before Rory was able to take to the live stage under his own name, a wait he surely felt, but in the meantime he was busy.

Having had a bad experience with management in Taste, he was more than happy to take charge of things himself, with help from others, such as his younger brother Dónal. Led Zeppelin manager, Peter Grant, was interested in doing the job himself. He and Dónal had got chatting at one show in Taste’s final months, Dónal telling Grant about the various issues Rory had. It was Grant who subsequently helped to resolve Rory’s solo record contract for with Polydor for six albums.

Meanwhile, Rory set about looking for musicians to join him in a new band under his own name. Belfast band Deep Joy were also in their final months at the same time as Taste, calling it a day at the end of December 1970. They had supported Taste a number of times. And Rory had also been popular in Belfast having moved there with the first line up of Taste in the late 1960s, so both he and the members of Deep Joy were known to each other. Deep Joy’s bassist, Gerry McAvoy, recalled seeing both Rory and Dónal in the audience at some shows, but didn’t think of it as anything more than the pair enjoying a night out.

In January 1970, Gerry was a home in Belfast enjoying his record collection when an unexpected phone call came through. At first, he thought it was Wilgar Campbell, the now former Deep Joy drummer who had remained in London following the band’s split. He was now with Rory who needed a bassist, and Wilgar gave him Gerry’s phone number. Rory was calling to invite Gerry ‘for a blow’ in London. Gerry flew to  London, met by Dónal at the airport and taken to a rehearsal room. It was perhaps not quite how the then 19 year old Gerry expected that particular day to turn out! After returning home, he got another call from Rory asking if he would like to join him and Wilgar in recording a new album. Work on Rory Gallagher took place in February 1971.

Rory brought sound engineer Eddy Offord with whom he had previously worked on Taste’s On The Boards album. It was the first time Rory acted as producer. Whilst Rory was busy with all this, Dónal in the meantime had got himself a new job working for Atomic Rooster as their tour manager. Rory had asked him to find a good pianist to work on the album and Dónal had put forward Atomic Rooster’s Vincent Crane, who joined Rory as a guest for a few tracks.

Though it appears things were coming together for Rory starting his new career, there were a few bumps in the road. Dónal noted that Rory was virtually destitute living in a bedsit in London. Their mother had sent him money to help survive, but that was stolen. Rory also later noted in an interview that Polydor had informed him they weren’t going to back his first solo album and he’d had to borrow money off his mother to finish it. In an era when many parents were keen to have their aspiring musician progeny to ‘get a normal job’, the way Monica (Mona) Gallagher supported Rory is commendable, especially given the times he could have just packed it in out of frustration. But with the backing  of both his mother and brother, giving up doesn’t seem to have been something Rory would have been able to do easily!

Rory Gallagher is an album that takes in a wealth of styles. Interestingly the cover art photography was the work of Mick Rock, famous for his iconic photos of Queen, David Bowie and Lou Reed to name a few.  Musically, it lacks the grand instrumentation and glitz of many other albums released in 1971, but this is where its strength lies. Featuring guitar, harmonica and sax from Rory, bass from Gerry, drums and percussion from Wilgar, and of course Vincent Crane’s guest spot tinkling the ivories, it covers blues rock, folk and jazz in just ten tracks. A further two bonus tracks were added in the 2018 remaster, covers of ‘Gypsy Woman’ by Muddy Waters and ‘It Takes Time’ by Otis Rush, also recorded during the album session. Though Rory didn’t carry many of the songs from the album to his live shows beyond the very early days of his solo career, several of them remain perennial fan favourites.

The track opener, ‘Laundromat’, was inspired by the public laundry on the ground floor of the building Taste had their bedsit in the last few days of the band. It was, according to Dónal, the warmest part of the building, so they would spend time there in the winter. Rory also found it the ideal place to practice his guitar and saxophone without disturbing anyone. ‘Just The Smile’ is a beautiful folk number on acoustic that several younger fans often remark on for its brilliance. The lyrics are evocative and the guitar sticks in the mind for a long time.

The third track ‘I Fall Apart’, which is also what the Spotlight On The G-Man series started with, was voted the best Irish love song and has Rory soloing for all his worth. It’s a shame that he didn’t keep this as a regular fixture in his live shows. Vincent Crane adds barrel-house piano, reminiscent of later Rory Gallagher band member Lou Martin, to ‘Wave Myself Goodbye’, while Rory works his magic on acoustic blues. It’s a song that perhaps doesn’t get as much attention as other tracks, unfortunate, because it’s a classic.

The pace is picked up with ‘Hands Up’ a positive stomper of a blues rock track guaranteed to dispel any negativity and self-doubt that can cloud the mind. In the 2018 sleeve notes, Dónal writes: “Hands Up is a highly motivational song written post-Taste. The track’s positive lyrical message is delivered with lines such as ‘hands up and reach for the sky’ and ‘get up you know it’s time’ which act to counter the negativity Rory felt when the disbanded.”

‘Sinner Boy’, which made an appearance at Taste’s legendary Isle of Wight show in August 1970, comes with searing electric slide to melt the leather on your boots. The theme of the song is homelessness and the drama of the guitar playing echoes the desperate emotions felt when even just considering the horror of having nowhere to go but the streets. ‘For The Last Time’ again is noted by Dónal in the 2018 sleeve notes about how Rory was treated in the collapse of Taste. Lyrically it talks about being knocked down but not essentially knocked out and coming through a difficult time. Vincent Crane has another guest spot on ‘I’m Not Surprised’, giving another foreshadowing of how well Rory worked as a guitarist with a highly competent pianist as a foil. ‘Can’t Believe It’s True’ is the most jazz influenced song on the album, and the final track in the original release. It features Rory’s double tracked alto sax.

The 2018 remastered reissue is a feast for the ears, released on vinyl, MP3, CD and also on streaming. The remaster was part of the reissue of all of Rory’s solo albums via UMC, and every single one sounds as fresh as if it had just fallen out a recording studio, or live venue, the night before. This is what makes it hard to believe Rory Gallagher is now 50 years old. And a great part of this is that Rory’s work is now accessible to younger and newer fans. When I first came across him at 14, it was a little harder to find his work. Now it’s more readily available and a new generation of music fiends are falling in love with the man and his music.