Rory Gallagher
Irish Tour ‘74
Eagle Vision DVD
Eagle Records CD
www.eaglerockent.com
By George W. Harris

Eagle Rock is doing a remarkable job of revisiting the career of
blues/rock guitarist Rory Gallagher, and he deserves the attention. I
had forgotten about this guy until my wife and I took a trip to Ireland
last year, and about half the pubs had posters of the guy, not to
mention a bunch of the towns naming streets after the gent.
Underappreciated in the States, and taken from earth way too soon, he’s
featured on this disc in the prime of his short career, with his
touring team of Gerry McAvoy/b, Lou Martin/p and Rod DeAth/dr. Filmed
by the legendary Tony Palmer, the documentary styled piece takes you
through various towns, most importantly Belfast, which was a dangerous
place at the time, but Gallagher’s dedication to the unity of the
country overcame any bodily fear. This alone created a loyalty among
his fans that cannot be appreciated this side of the Atlantic.

Musically, Gallagher is just as passionate, as he and the band sweats
through long jams like “Walk On Hot Coals” and bluesy tunes such as
“Who’s That Coming.” He pulls out the mandolin and dobro for some mix
of Gaellic and hard rock, which turns the singer into a fiery story
teller. This was the era of musicianship over catchy pop tunes, so
expect each song to be stretched out a bit, which is what the adoring
crowd wants. The intensity of the young fans’ attraction to the six
stringer shows just how viscerally he could connect to people. Obviously, the cd version misses the visual reaction to the music between the fans and the musicians, but the music more than holds its own on the single dimension.

There is also a handful of special features on the dvd set that include a documentary
of a day in the life of Gallagher on his 72 tour, audio commentary of
the feature, and some tour footage of his 1974 tour in Japan. If you
haven’t heard this guy before, you’ll put him in a league with Clapton
by the end of the film.