The 25 Best Live Rock Recordings - No. 8: Irish Tour '74

No. 8 - Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour '74 (Polydor, 1974)

Wikipedia

Sometimes it begins with an emergent epiphany, something that must grow or incubate after introduction before the threshold of understanding is reached. In the mythology of 12-step recovery, it is called a “spiritual experience of the educational variety.” Such has been the revelation of the blues in the minds of many white, middle-class kids seeking something with a little gravity rather than “Me and You and a Dog named Boo” or “Shannon.” For this writer, there were hints of the blues early on. Joe Cocker reintroduced Ray Charles, Solomon Burke, and Otis Redding to the United States, but they were of the soul and rhythm & blues varieties. B.B. King was always present with the urban blues he played (hear Live At The Regal (ABC, 1964) and Live In Cook County Jail (ABC, 1970).

Then came Rory Gallagher’s “Walk On Hot Coals” (from Blueprint (Polydor, 1973). That sounded like the blues, albeit from an Irishman. Tattoo (Polydor, 1973) was released just 10 months later with “Cradle Rock,” Who’s That Coming,” “A Million Miles Away,” and “Sleep On A Clothesline” and I was smitten (or snakebit). Gallagher had already proven to be a fine rock songwriter and Tattoo further solidified his reputation.

In early 1974, shortly after the release of Tattoo, Gallagher commenced a tour of his native Ireland in support of the record. Like the Allman Brothers Band and Little Feat, Gallagher was always more comfortable on stage than in the studio. This recording bears that out. Irish Tour ‘74 was culled from December ‘73 to January ‘74 performances in Belfast, Dublin, and Cork. Gallagher's 1974 tour of Ireland occurred during one of the most turbulent times of The Troubles when violence between the IRA and the British Army was escalating. Gallagher was one of the few acts not to cancel his performances, thereby giving some of his best shows.

After a fiery performance of “Cradle Rock” to open the originally released 2-LP recording, Gallagher introduces a staple of his live shows from the period, Muddy Waters’ “I Wonder Who.” Gallagher proceeds to perform one of the most perfect electric blues performances committed to record (joining the Allman Brothers Band’s “Statesboro Blues” and “One Way Out” from the At Fillmore East shows). Gloriously ragged but genre-precise, Gallagher hooked this late Baby Boomer into the blues fray. Gallagher brought a Gaelic passion to his music, making it crack when played live.

Gallagher’s brand of rock music brims with the blues. He played a mean slide guitar both in open-G tuning (“Who’s That Coming”) and standard tuning (“Cradle Rock” and J.B. Hutto’s “Too Much Alcohol”). The original release included only one acoustic number, Tony Joe White’s fine “As The Crow Flies,” but in the 40th Anniversary Edition, containing all of the material taped during the tour, Gallagher demonstrates himself as a master of ragtime (“Pistol-Slapper Blues,” "Unmilitary Two-Step," and “Banker’s Blues") as well as material from releases earlier than Tattoo ( “Laundromat (Rory Gallagher (Polydor, 1971)),” “In Your Town” (Deuce (Polydor, 1971) and the blues standards “Bullfrog Blues” and “Messin’ With The Kid” (Live In Europe (Polydor, 1972).

Gallagher died in 1995 at the age of 47 from an infection while awaiting a liver transplant. The music he made after Irish Tour ‘74 until his death is exceptional rock and roll. Gallagher is much lauded and much missed.