#19 Souped Up Ford

 

Album: Against The Grain (1975)

See Also: Check Shirt Wizard – Live in ‘77 (2020)

In 1975, Rory Gallagher may have found a new confidence in his music. This was the year he signed with Chrysalis Records, having fulfilled his 6-album contract with Polydor and finding them to be a little lacking in support – Chrysalis appeared to offer a better way forward. And of course, 1975 was also the year when he was supposed by the press to have joined The Rolling Stones following the departure of Mick Taylor. Though the rumours of Rory the Stone were short lived, as after spending a few days in the studio with them, he left and undertook his tour of Japan.

The Stones’ loss was certainly the Rory fanatic’s gain at any rate.

At this point, the line-up of The Rory Gallagher Band had been in place for a few years. As Dónal Gallagher writes on Rory’s website in the notes for Against The Grain, “The band’s line up had been unchanged since Blueprint with Gerry McAvoy on bass, Lou Martin on keyboards, and Rod de’Ath on drums. After years of playing and recording together a musical understanding and trust had developed within the group that resonates throughout the entire album.”

Released on 1 October 1975, Against The Grain was recorded at Wessex Studios in the summer of that year. Upon its release, it was enthusiastically received, Rolling Stone (the magazine, not the band!) writing, “Against the Grain is a studio set but there's no reason why it should be. The basic sound is, as e er, 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.”

The review certainly catches the mood of the album. As well as having Rory’s cover of Lead Belly’s “Out On The Western Plain”, now the stuff of acoustic legend, it also featured “Souped Up Ford”, a track which captures the freedom of the open road, both musically and lyrically. In keeping with the motoring theme, it’s safe to say Rory puts the pedal down and goes to town (swooping down the open highway, of course), with Gerry, Rod and Lou close behind in his wake.

The song opens with a slide solo that sustains for the duration as Rory sings about escaping town and hitting the road in what he sees as the only suitable car, the souped up Ford, of course. It captures perfectly the stripping away of the tensions getting away and heading somewhere new gives us:

“No highway cop's gonna make me stop,
What I've started.
'Cos I won't be free till I get up,
And go where my heart is.”

And the backing of the band emphatically helps Rory get to where he wants. The piano of Lou complements Rory’s slide guitar beautifully, as it seems at times, they both duel the instruments. Rory’s prowess as a guitarist is widely recognised. Lou, as a pianist, deserves the same attention. He is the perfect partner to Rory’s playing.

Lou was born in Belfast on 12 August 1949 and trained in classical piano. He may have been destined for a career as a music teacher, but the blues bug bit, and in 1968, he joined the blues rock group, Killing Floor. This was also the same band where Lou encountered Welsh drummer Rod de’Ath, born 18 July 1950 in Saundersfoot. Both came into the sphere of Rory Gallagher when Gerry McAvoy answered Rod’s advert for a flatmate in London, Gerry turning up to view the flat decked out in his finest suit, to Rod’s great amusement! Following the departure of drummer Wilgar Campbell from Rory’s band in 1972, Rod was brought in as the new drummer, Lou quickly following on piano and keyboards. Rory was not only impressed at Lou’s playing ability, after being invited by Rod to hear his mate on piano, he was also happy with the fact that Lou was a fellow blues nerd.

Rod has been unfairly maligned by who can only be described as stuffed up snobs as a drummer. Gerry described him as the ‘most undrummerlike drummer’ he’d played with. It’s quite hard to put into words what Rod brought to the drums, but it was something else. His playing added immensely to Rory’s distinct sound, which can be heard to great effect in ‘Souped Up Ford’. Rod started on piano, but packed it in, later saying he somewhat regretted stopping. Rod’s father was a musician with his own group. When Rod was about 16, the group’s drummer died of a heart attack, so Rod, with a quick lesson from his dad, was brought in as a replacement.

Even after their departure from Rory’s band in 1978, Lou and Rod played together. They formed the group Ramrod, played on tour with Chuck Berry in Europe, worked with Screaming Lord Sutch, Mick Clarke and The Downliners Sect. Sadly, Rod’s career was cut short in the late 1980s following a horrific accident where he fell down a flight of stairs running to catch a train, and sustaining a head injury that left him unable to play. Lou’s career carried on, and he also returned to guesting with Rory on the Defender album and at an acoustic set in 1993 at what was ultimately Rory’s last Irish show at the Cork Institute of Technology, given in memory of its former principal Dr James Roche, who was Rory’s uncle. Lou was beset with ill health, suffering a series of strokes. He passed away on 17 August 2012. Rod himself sadly passed a couple of years later 1 August 2014. Both are very fondly remembered as outstanding musicians.

And both, no doubt, were highly familiar with Rory’s beloved Ford Executive car, which appears to be an inspiration for ‘Souped Up Ford’. All things considered, there can’t be as many people who have clocked up as many miles as Dónal Gallagher did driving his older brother everywhere, from tours to trips to guitar shops. Rory himself never learned to drive until much later as he was so busy with guitar. As an aside, Dónal incidentally was born in Derry on 9 August 1949, only three days before Lou’s arrival in the world. Dónal learned to drive in his teens when he started working with Rory as Taste’s roadie. Rory got the Ford Executive for band use following the split of Taste. It was a car that seemed to have taken in a few adventures.

The one that made the car so special to Rory was the fact that it was approved by his biggest hero, Muddy Waters. Rory was invited to play on The London Muddy Waters Sessions. However, Rory was also scheduled to be on tour when the sessions were booked. Dónal recalls standing at the side of the stage beckoning Rory to come off as it was time to head to the studio, but Rory being Rory carried on with the encores. Eventually he made it to the car and sat in the passenger seat worrying that he was going to be fired for being late, getting little sympathy from Dónal at the wheel, who pointed out there was no need for so many encores as he literally put the pedal to the floor to get from Leicester to London in good time.

Muddy had held up the sessions awaiting Rory, who arrived a bag of nerves, apologising profusely, only to be handed a glass of champagne by the great man and told to enjoy himself. Meanwhile, Dónal found that he had literally taken the rubber off the tyres driving to the sessions. He then found himself driving Muddy about in Rory’s car, Rory having put the Ford Executive at Muddy’s disposal. Muddy was still in a considerable amount of pain following a bad car accident and said to Rory that the Ford Executive was the first car in Europe he had felt comfortable in, being able to stretch out. That was that. Rory refused to ever part with the car, even as a scrappable heap. It wound up sitting in front of his mother’s house in Cork for years, until she eventually arranged for it to be moved after Rory’s death. It’s safe to say that ‘Souped Up Ford’, with adventures on the road and Muddy Waters perhaps went far beyond a song for Rory.

 (This is an extra special post as its timing takes in key dates of people central to Rory and his music:

Rod de'Ath RIP, who passed away on 1 August 2014

Lou Martin RIP, born on 12 August 1949, passed away on 17 August 2012

Dónal Gallagher, Rory's brother, manager, keeper of the legacy and of course driver of the Souped Up Ford itself, whose birthday is 9 August, which happens to be today! Happy birthday!)