alexri Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 In my opinion Rory is the most underrated guitarist ever. Woodstock, 1969: "[Journalist]: How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? [Hendrix]: I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 In my opinion Rory is the most underrated guitarist ever. Wow! I find that quite surprising. VERY surprising, actually. I don't know anyone who underrates Rory Gallagher at all... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Very few young players here in the U.S. even know who he was. This, ladies and gents, is how to play the rock and roll. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookieman15061 Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Woodstock, 1969: "[Journalist]: How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? [Hendrix]: I don't know, ask Rory Gallagher." LOL !! That quote's been used with so many different guitarist through the years. Fact is there is no real proof who he said it about or if he even said it at all. Phil Keaggy, Terry Kath, and Eric Clapton are other names that have been supposedly used in that quote by Jimi. I have heard the members of Chicago tell the story of their first gig at The Whiskey A Go Go in the late 60s when Jimi came backstage after to tell Terry Kath he was the best he ever heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Very few young players here in the U.S. even know who he was. Again...WOW! That's quite shocking to hear! I had no idea that he is so little known Stateside these days. Thinking about it I suppose it's natural that SRV became the new standard-bearer for the younger (than me) generation of U.S. blues players. Still astonishing to hear, though! When I was gigging in the early '80s probably more than half our set would have been either RG covers or merely just "Blues-in-the-style-of-R.G...." numbers. I even used to adopt the 'check shirts with rolled-up sleeves' look.... P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martinh Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 You couldn't miss him in England. The guy used to play 150 gigs in some years. You could always be sure that Rory was coming to you home town sometime in the next 12 months. A huge loss. The Melody Maker used to give an award to the band it thought had worked hardest on the road each year, named the "Rory Gallagher touring Award" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chrisnorthw Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I had the pleasure of seeing Rory and band play many times. You got nothing but a full on performance as per the videos others have posted. Slash is another who rates Rory Gallagher highly, there are some interviews on YouTube where he talks about him. If you can find it check out the album "Irish Tour 74", I still have it on vinyl, anyone remember vinyl? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonzoboy Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I was fortunate enough to see Rory when he was at the top of his game in 1974 at our local Uni.I was sitting in the 2nd or 3rd row and was close enough to see that he used only one effects unit-most likely a boost of some sort as he used the natural overdrive tendancies of his old AC 30s to get his delicious sustain and harmonics.That certainly was a concert to remember every song was played with as much enthusiasm as it had been played with the first time.He was only one of a few guitarists of the day who could stand and play after Jimi played a set and not look like a beginner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BT Bob Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 I saw him in '76 or thereabouts. Absolute genius. So much "soul" (if that's the right word). There was a documentary on TV in the UK recently about him. The Edge, Slash, Johnny Marr among many others, talking about how big an influence he was on them. Interesting to see how opposed he was to any kind of commercial approach to his music - even the idea of releasing a single was a complete no-no for him. Such a shame his life ended so sadly and way too soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S t e v e Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Wow! I find that quite surprising. VERY surprising, actually. I don't know anyone who underrates Rory Gallagher at all... P. same here, only ever heard great words spoken about mr gallagher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Allen Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 Rory! Rory! Rory! Love that guitar player! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S t e v e Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 LOL !! That quote's been used with so many different guitarist through the years. Fact is there is no real proof who he said it about or if he even said it at all. Phil Keaggy, Terry Kath, and Eric Clapton are other names that have been supposedly used in that quote by Jimi. I have heard the members of Chicago tell the story of their first gig at The Whiskey A Go Go in the late 60s when Jimi came backstage after to tell Terry Kath he was the best he ever heard. to settle this once and for all... "[Journalist]: How does it feel to be the greatest guitarist in the world? [Hendrix]: I don't know, ask stevejoshlay." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lambchops Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 it's like this ...if you are a guitar player and DO NOT have at least ONE Rory Gallagher album in your collection you should sell your guitars. you don't even know about playing one. erin go bragh. Rory will take you to school no matter what your level of playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 18, 2012 Share Posted January 18, 2012 It's true, Rory is unknown to many over here. Pity really. One of my favorites... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQV97Yc0CoY&feature=related Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lungimsam Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 When I was a kid, I saw a TV special of Rory in concert. I didn't know who he was, but my mind was blown seeing that concert. I remember him leaving the battered strat on stage feeding back. I remember phasers, or flangers, or something. All sorts of incredible things he was doing with that strat. I never really became a fan, but I will never forget that show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alexri Posted January 19, 2012 Author Share Posted January 19, 2012 it's like this ...if you are a guitar player and DO NOT have at least ONE Rory Gallagher album in your collection you should sell your guitars. you don't even know about playing one. erin go bragh. Rory will take you to school no matter what your level of playing. I agree completely. Rory is in a league of his own, really. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 If you can find it check out the album "Irish Tour 74", I still have it on vinyl, anyone remember vinyl? Irish Tour '74 was one of the very first albums I ever bought (must have been '75) and it still gets regular play-time. Vinyl, of course...! By a curious coincidence one of the last CDs I bought was also a Rory album - 'Notes from San Francisco' which was finally released last year - 33 years after it was recorded... For those of you interested in a History Lesson; It was an interesting idea at the time (late '77). Rory wanted to try out a 'bigger sound' and drafted in a new producer (Elliot Mazer, whom he had known since the days of Taste) who introduced things such as horn sections and so on. I quote from the sleeve-notes; "This album was conceived as an 'American Rory' album. There was a stronger emphasis on the rhythm section and more use of extra guitars, horns and keyboards to create dynamics and drama". As the recording sessions went on RG became less and less enthusiastic about the idea. It got to the point where Rory refused to allow anything from the sessions to be heard by the executives at Chrysalis (his record label). To cut an interesting but very long story short here's Donal's (Rory's brother and aide) account of the denoument; "I frustratingly asked if I could play at least a couple of tracks at the meeting. "No!". As both our tensions and voices rose Rory made his point and stance clear : "This is what I think of the sessions" as he released his fingers' grip on the (master) disc, allowing it to descend into the trash bin. "I'm going to re-record the whole album and with different people" Rory concluded. True to his word he sacked Rod De'Ath and Lou Martin. He was persuaded to retain Gerry McAvoy on bass as McAvoy believed in the need to return to a three-piece band format - a feeling not shared by the other two. Ted McKenna was brought in to play drums following the recent disbandment of The Sensational Alex Harvey Band. This newly-re-recorded album was released under the title 'Photo Finish' (and it's great! imho). It's interesting listening to 'Notes...' today but it's very different from the stripped-down sound we all tend to associate with Rory Gallagher. P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Yeah, poor Rory doesn't have a lot of exposure over this side of the pond, at least in Canada. It wasn't until I began my own journey through listening to great guitar albums that I heard about Rory Gallagher. "Can't Believe it's True", "For the Last Time", "Laundromat", "It Takes Time" are some of my favourites to name a few. I can say for sure though, my years of listening to local "Classic Rock" FM Radio stations never ever played Rory, or a lot of other legends. Shame really, instead we get Brian Adams every fourth or fifth song. [sigh] Anyone who listens to Rory wouldn't underrate him, he's easy to like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted January 19, 2012 Share Posted January 19, 2012 Always wondered about his band Taste... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted January 20, 2012 Share Posted January 20, 2012 Always wondered about his band Taste... I love their stuff. They only did two studio albums Taste and On the Boards. There are a couple of live albums too, one of which was recorded at the Isle of Wight in 1970 (The Who and Hendrix were there too)... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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