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I only "discovered"" what a superb and tasty player Rory Gallagher was thanks to Youtube in the last few months. Also his sad passing a little over a decade ago. Yes, Virginia, there is more to life than Eric, Jimmy, and SRV. Especially since his tone is all "straight in" to a couple of combos - not a pedal in
sight. Only mod to the stock strat: bottom pot as master volume. Spread the word if you, like me, had only heard about him.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Yml4V-zcf3A

Hi Donnell,

I had the pleasure of both touring and playing with Rory in 1975. I can attest to his superb abilities on guitar and vocals but I can also attest to what a fine human being he was. He became a friend to me over a short period of time and much like his millions of fans in the world I also sorely miss him.

Check out this thread for a few more details if you wish: http://rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic ... 7&t=382721

We (some Navy Buddy's and I) went to a concert in San Berdoo in '73 IIRC. The bands, in this order.. Rory(we hadn't heard of him at the time), then Deep Purple, then Fleetwood Mac, just prior to Stevie and LIndsay. Rory blew the roof off the place, Deep Purple calmed us down a bit, and when Fleetwood Mac came on, we were pretty much asleep. It is one of the few concerts I attended back then, where I thought they should have reversed the order of the acts!!!!

Rory's live shows were a study in harnessed energy. He sweated profusely and poured every drop of energy into his music. His band when I knew him was Gerry McAvoy on bass, just a superb bass player who drove the rhythm section with incredible precision, his drummer was Rod De'Ath who could pound the skins with the best of 'em. His keyboard player was Lou Martin who played those keys like a man on fire. Overall just a great band to support an incredible artist.

This one makes my hair stand up! Great live performance!!

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-k4iocWUR ... re=related

This song brings back memories. If things had of turned out just a bit different I would have also been in this video. This is Rory and the boys at Montreaux in 1975.



The same song from his 1974 Irish tour. You get a special treat in that you get to see Rory and Gerry tuning up to a harmonica (no fancy tuners back then) and you get to see Donal Gallagher in action taking his brother to the stage. Donal is another great human being, a prince of a man.



Both are well worth watching. All these years later his playing still sends a chill down my spine.

Brian,

Your comments just solidify my impressions (just from articles and videos) that Rory was the "real deal" musically and personally. I am happy that
tape exists of his charged performances so that I can appreciate in retrospect his blessed talents. Thanks for sharing your memories of "The Kid" with the battered strat.

Am I correct that Rory really did get most of "it" straight out his combos? I heard he used the occasional Dallas Rangemaster, but mostly was all in the
fingers.

Happy Summer, all.

Donnel,

When I toured with Rory he used a Fender Twin and zero effects. None. He used a Vox AC 30 to tune up and muck around with in the dressing room. He had rewired his Strat so he had a master tone and a master volume control and that was it. He used that set up to maximum effect. What you heard from his amp came strictly from his fingers and his brilliant mind.

He was one of a kind. Anyone who ever knew him or heard him live will tell you that.

In San Berdoo, it seemed no one knew him or what to expect. I got his album after. I did some research, and it was his 4th US tour, so some folks knew about him. I found out the concert was April 13, 1973.

"The man who got me back into the blues." —Eric Clapton

Fleetwood Mac had Bob Welch at the time and went through many transitions during the early seventies.

The classic Purple Mk. II line-up continued to work and released the album Who Do We Think We Are (1973), featuring the hit single "Woman from Tokyo," but internal tensions and exhaustion were more noticeable than ever. The bad feelings culminated in Ian Gillan quitting the band after their second tour of Japan in the summer of 1973, and Roger Glover being pushed out with him. Their replacements were an unknown singer from Saltburn in Northeast England, David Coverdale, and Midlands bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, formerly of Trapeze. According to the liner notes for the 30th anniversary edition of Burn, after first acquiring Glenn Hughes, they debated continuing as a four piece with Hughes as both bassist and vocalist. This new line-up continued into 1974 with the heavier blues-rock album Burn, another highly successful release and world tour. Hughes and Coverdale added both vocal harmonies and a more funky element to the band's music, a sound that was even more apparent on the late 1974 release Stormbringer.

So, all that to say, the two top bills were not at their peak in April of 73, so it is not surprising that Rory stole the show!