Rory Gallagher – 40th Anniversary Re-Master Series (“Blueprint”, “Tattoo” and “Irish Tour ’74”)

So, having waxed lyrical about the first three Rory Gallagher re-issues, I thought it best to leave a little time between the first review and the second… allow my ardour to cool as it were, in case I’d responded with undue haste to an artist I had hitherto ignored. I am happy to report that some weeks later, and with the records still on firm rotation, my passion for Rory’s work has not abated and having so thoroughly enjoyed the first spate of re-issues, the second set (comprising ‘Blueprint’ (1973), ‘Tattoo’ (1973) and ‘Irish tour ‘74’ (1974)) is no less inspirational, with bonus tracks and liner notes once more providing a powerful incentive to explore these fine releases.

Kicking off in 1973 we find Rory expanding his band to include a keyboard player (Lou Martin) and, complete with bassist Gerry McAvoy and drummer Rod De’Ath (replacing Wilgar Campbell), this line-up would persist for a further five albums starting with the monumental, and somewhat elemental ‘blueprint’, a glorious, soul-soaked album that takes in blues,  gritty rock ‘n’ roll and more and spits it out as if Rory’s sole purpose in life was to absorb the beautiful sounds of his youth and recreate them (adding his own unique touch of course) for a wide, and invariably star-struck audience. His technical proficiency, as awe inspiring as it was, was not so important perhaps, as his ability to make it feel as if he was playing for you and the immediacy of the recordings (once again perfectly re-mastered here) does little to harm this illusion.

Opening with the blazing ‘walk on hot coals’, Rory immediately sets down a glorious blueprint for artists such as Josh Homme as he cries out “walk on hot coals, sleep on a bed of nails…” before augmenting it with the sort of blistering solo for which he is justly famous. It is one of rock music’s great couplets and what an opening song – so full of power and life and brilliantly played by a razor sharp band – it’s just a pleasure to revisit. ‘Daughter of the everglades’ is up next and it’s a perfect counterpoint, awash with hope and warmth where the previous track raged with fervour and passion. The keyboards add depth to the track while Rory’s watery solo washes across the listener like a gentle balm. Both of the aforementioned songs are fairly lengthy tracks with a semi-improvised feel, but things take on a completely different hue with the gloriously timbered blues of ‘bankers blues’ (originally a Big Bill Broonzy number) which somehow still manages to sound fresh today. Genre-hopping with nimble ease, the next track is what Donal Gallagher describes as “Rory at his menacing best” and I must confess to having no desire to argue with that assessment. A brilliantly constructed slice of anthemic rock ‘n’ roll try listening to ‘hands off’ and not tapping your feet – I suspect it may well be medically impossible!

‘Race the breeze’, apparently a track inspired by old trains, sees Rory unleashing some fine guitar riffs whilst conveying a real impression of speed to the listener… if you sit back and close your eyes it’s all too easy to imagine the countryside flashing by, and like all great songwriters it is Rory’s ability to fire the imagination that has made him so beloved over the years. ‘Seventh son of a seventh son’ opens amidst a proggy haze of keyboard, crashing cymbals and noise before turning into a crunchy, splenetic number based on an encounter with a promoter who had booked Rory’s Irish tour and followed up that classic venture by booking in a faith healer. A bemused Rory decided to turn it into a song and it proves to be one of his more eccentric numbers which, while still rooted in the blues, was at least half way to the awkward time signatures and crunching guitars of King Crimson. ‘Unmilitary two-step’, after such a lengthy musical excursion, gives Rory, and his audience, a rest with some beautifully played acoustic guitar before the album’s final (official) track is upon us. ‘if I had a reason’ is a sumptuous number that recalls the sound of Hawaii with its languid steel guitar and  laid back vocals. Two bonus tracks round out this special re-issue – a long lost piece entitled ‘stompin’ ground’ recorded after Rory returned from tour, and a blistering version of Roy Head’s ‘treat her right’ which had ,long been part of Rory’s live set list. They will both be gold for long-time Rory fans seeking something new and as with the other bonus tracks included over these various reissues, they are in keeping with the album’s musical flow and don’t spoil the atmosphere.

Also released in 1973, ‘Tattoo’ shows no sign of Rory slackening the pace despite having released four albums (and a live disc) over the previous two years. Indeed, the opening number ‘Tattoo’d Lady’ is a brilliant song with incendiary guitar work on the bridge and a soulful, rocky feel that feels remarkably fresh and vital. ‘Cradle rock’ continues in much the same vein – a startlingly rocky number that would not sound out of place on The Who’s ‘live at Leeds’, it keeps things loose and hot and one can only imagine how fans, listening for the first time in ’73, must have felt as the music washed over them. Again, praise must be given to the pristine re-mastering job which has rendered every note with beautiful clarity and Rory’s solos sound crisp and clear throughout these re-issues.

Things finally calm down on the acoustic ’20:20 vision’ a track that features some lovely piano backing and a bluesy vocal that sounds as if Rory was beaming widely as he recorded it. There’s so much of the man’s own personality – his love for the blues and for rock music and the guitar in general – imbued in these songs that ‘Tattoo’, in many ways, feels like a love letter to the genre that Rory has become so instrumental within and it’s impossible not to fall in love with the vibe and atmosphere of this record even having heard the previous four. Next along the line is ‘they don’t make them like you anymore’, a fast paced and jazzy shuffle that, as Donal points out in the notes, could have been written about Rory himself. ‘Livin’ like a trucker’ – a comment on the rigours of touring – captures the sound of American road-rock, wah pedal and all, while ‘sleep on a clothes line’ has some classic licks and the sort of driving riff that Status Quo made a living off for almost forty years. Chunky, satisfying and with a suitably gritty vocal, it’s a classic blues song that never fails to get the toes tapping. ‘Who’s that coming’ features some sublime slide guitar work that’s as dry as the desert and as emotive as a thousand pictures. It’s a great, great piece of music. ‘A million miles away’ has a laid back feel – a smoky, back bar past closing-time feel, when the whiskey has been spilled and the last cigarette put out leaving only our humble band to help us stagger out through the doors. ‘Admit it’, however, stands in complete contrast to this, burning a hole through the haze with a searing lead guitar riff and hard rock attitude. A bonus track in the form of ‘Tuscan, Arizona’ also appears which was originally slated for inclusion (making it far more valid than your average bonus track) but left off purely due to vinyl restrictions. It’s another delightful song that reinstates the Hawaiian feel of ‘If I had a reason’.

The final CD from this selection is Rory’s Irish Tour ’74 which takes the best elements from the previous releases and throws them into overdrive as Rory unleashes a torrent of beautiful noise upon his audience. Featuring high-octane renditions of tracks such as ‘cradle rock’, ‘a million miles away’ and ‘who’s that coming’ it’s an essential coda to these releases, a fitting end point to this first spate of re-issues which shows Rory in his natural environment playing with fire and finesse and simply blowing the audience’s mind (not to mention the minds of all those listening at home). It sounds so natural, so beautiful, so unforced that despite it having been recorded in ’74 it is essentially timeless – simply great music played with blistering passion and enthusiasm by a true legend upon the guitar. Arguably if you were only to get one of these three albums, this should be it, because for all the amazing work on the two studio albums, this is Rory untamed and unrestrained and the result is nothing short of magical. With a period essay extracted from melody Maker the set eschews Donal’s commentary for an of-the-moment snapshot of Rory at his peak, with the only lament being (once again) the rather miserly booklet which really could have used more photos. Nonetheless it’s all about the music, right? And on that front the discs most certainly do not disappoint.

Three more discs and three more nigh on essential albums for any serious rock enthusiast. Of the three, ‘blueprint’ is possibly the weakest, but only by a hair, and only because both ‘Tattoo’ and ‘Irish tour ‘74’ are more-or-less perfect but overall you wouldn’t truly want to be without any of these discs. Like the previous three, if you already own the albums, a repurchase is probably not warranted, although the re-mastering job is a joy to behold, as the bonus tracks, while fine in their own right, are spread thinly and hardly a cause to crack open your wallet simply on their merits. Nonetheless, a fine and respectful job has been done on these priceless treasures and a whole new generation will be able to discover Rory’s charms for themselves.