# Rory Gallagher...whew!!



## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Listening to a 1991 concert at the El Mocambo. Holy moly he was a hot player. Great tone. A different sort of vibe than SRV but every bit as good. Every bit as fluid.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

Having an older brother who would share his records really paid off for me. He is a huge electric blues fan, with a taste (good if you get the pun) for white blues guys from the UK, like Rory Gallagher. I listen to Gallagher frequently and he always startles me with something I didn't grasp the first thousand times, or it just always sounds fresh. The guy had an honesty and bare-faced enthusiasm for his work that is seldom found.

I bet I listened to Tattoo a thousand times in high school. 

Peace, Mooh.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

(Got the pun, and without having to do a Google search!)
Gallagher was always one of those guys from the early 70's right through to the end, that I knew was "there", but had neglected. For me, he was in the same general bin as, say, Pat Travers or Kim Simmonds or Peter Green. You'd hear tunes of his on the radio ("Hands Off" comes to mind) but never explore beyond that.


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## hummingway (Aug 4, 2011)

I listened to him quite a bit as a teenager but I didn't keep up. A hell of a guitarist but too much rock and not enough blues for where I was at.


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## Jeff B. (Feb 20, 2010)

I found Rory several years ago in one of those rare "WTF! How did I not know about him until now" moments where I was transfixed on a youtube video of his having my mind blown.
His music has played and continues to play a large part of why I do what I do with stompboxes.
The Live at Montreux concerts are one of my favorites.

The Rory Gallagher website is very, very elaborate and detailed and even has a "Rory Radio" where you can listen to a lot of his music and make your own playlists.

Rory Gallagher | The Official Website


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I love his playing. Moonchild is one of my all-time favourite songs. That whole Calling Card album is stupid good!


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

That's an awesome site, thanks.



Jeff B. said:


> I found Rory several years ago in one of those rare "WTF! How did I not know about him until now" moments where I was transfixed on a youtube video of his having my mind blown.
> His music has played and continues to play a large part of why I do what I do with stompboxes.
> The Live at Montreux concerts are one of my favorites.
> 
> ...


Peace, Mooh.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

I discovered Rory about 10 yrs ago. Was helping a neighbour load up a moving truck & saw a Tele & boxes of vinyl. Had no idea that my soon-to-be former neighbour played guitar. Ed turned me on to Rory & we've jammed a few times since then. 

Rory immediately became one of my favourites. The energy in his live playing is incredible, many thanks to his brother Donal for making so much material readily available. Although I prefer his tone from the 70s, Rory's love & respect for the blues remained a constant throughout his career. Also agree w/ previous comments about always discovering a new lick, I think the celtic music he was surrounded w/ seeps through & makes his playing unique. The fact that I'd never heard of this incredible artist who left behind such a large legacy of blues/rock is just another reason to dislike Q107.


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Rory Gallagher - A Million Miles Away Irish Tour 1974 - YouTube


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Rory Gallagher-.Used To Be.Live Beat Club Videos 1971-72 - YouTube


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Rory Gallagher - Garbage Man 3/7 - YouTube


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## Roryfan (Apr 19, 2010)

Rory Gallagher- Out on the western Plain - YouTube


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## fraser (Feb 24, 2007)

when i first started playing, maybe 1981, i saw a small article in guitar player magazine mentioning rory.
it was just a photo and a paragraph.
the fact that none of the record stores i had access to carried any of his stuff intrigued me.
a relative in scotland sent me the irish tour album.
at some point in the later 80's i found a bootleg vhs copy of the irish tour concerts-

it strikes me now, looking back, that i was so influenced by that stuff- without ever knowing anything else.
i knew he made a bunch of records, but i never saw or heard them.
until the internet, that was all there was.
and now there is so much more.
my favourite guitarist. ever.
ive been saying that for 20 years.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

mhammer said:


> Listening to a 1991 concert at the El Mocambo. Holy moly he was a hot player. Great tone. A different sort of vibe than SRV but every bit as good. Every bit as fluid.


I wonder if that place is still open. I saw Downchild Blues Band there in 1975 or 76.


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## mhammer (Nov 30, 2007)

Steadfastly said:


> I wonder if that place is still open. I saw Downchild Blues Band there in 1975 or 76.


I pass it whenever I pop over to Spadina & College to pick up parts. The venue is still there, as is the sign, and the website suggests it is still active, though I don't know what sort of acts they book. Saw a number of terrific artists there, including The Dictators, and Larry Coryell and the 11th House.


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## jdguitarbuilder (Aug 1, 2010)

I have been a huge Rory fan since the late 70's. Was able to see him play three times before he passed away. The records are great but seeing him live was amazing. I have never seen another guitar player with so much energy on stage. 

I was lucky enough to be at the El Mo show in 91, amazing night of music. Just recently found the audio on Youtube, great hearing it again. I remember walking back to the car after the show with my then girl friend commenting that she never understood what I liked about the records but after seeing the show she was blown away by the guy!

Cheers
John


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

mhammer said:


> I pass it whenever I pop over to Spadina & College to pick up parts. The venue is still there, as is the sign, and the website suggests it is still active, though I don't know what sort of acts they book. Saw a number of terrific artists there, including The Dictators, and Larry Coryell and the 11th House.


Didn't the Stones play there once or twice?


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## faracaster (Mar 9, 2006)

Big, big Rory fan here. A friend's older brother had a Taste album when I was a young teenager and I was gobsmacked by it. In high school we would (try) to play Blister On The Moon and Sugar Mama from that record. While a popular act back in the early/mid 70's, his star seemed to fade as music changed. He kept making great records though. Top Priority from 80' (I think) was a fave of mine.
But seeing him live was where you really "got him". What a performer !!! I saw him three times
That ElMo show included. That was fantastic.
And yes the El Mo is still there. Although a little worse for wear. I played upstairs last December....whoa what a dump !!!


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## Spikezone (Feb 2, 2006)

One of my all-time favourites. Sad I never got to see him play live, so I have to make do with Live at Montreaux...
-Mikey


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## greco (Jul 15, 2007)

I used to go to a little pub in Kingston-on-Thames when I was studying in England in the early 70's.
It was early in Rory's career and he would often play at that pub. No cover charge and loud as hell. He was frequently quite drunk and liked to joke around. 

I remember him stopping in the middle of a song and saying to a guy that was just about to go into the "loo" (washroom) _"Mention my name and you'll get a good seat"

_A group of us went to that pub several times to see him, never knowing that he would someday be so famous.

Cheers

Dave


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

Rory had such a unique musical voice--he was a real musician. Enormous energy in his playing, too. You can tell he's really feeling it.


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## urko99 (Mar 30, 2009)

He has been a great influence on me as well as the Chum's in my musical circles. My Fav's are" Bullfrog Blues" and "Laundromat". Perfect examples of what defined what Rory was all albout.

_"Absolute, no holes barred, Red-line Rockin Blues"

_When he strapped on an acoustic, then that was a completely diffrent level, with his energy carrying through. His version of "Pistol Slappin' Blues" with the classic blues line;

*"Well I feel like slappin' my pistol in your face, I'm gonna let the graveyard be your resting place*"

Although, he was one of the first to remake the song, IMHO, no one since has done a better version.

*"Whew!"* is a very accurate analogy, to be sure!


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