Rory Gallagher albums to be re-released

Eagle Rock Entertainment will roll out the next three Rory Gallagher studio albums June 14 as part of its 2011 restoration project which will see all of the late guitar hero’s albums and visual music re-released in conjunction with the Gallagher family. [MSRP 13.98]

In 1973, Rory’s fourth studio album, Tattoo, had a solidified lineup (bassist Gerry McAvoy, keyboardist/accordionist Lou Martin, Rod de’Ath, drums). Blueprint had been released earlier that year and the band wasted no time in coming out with another album within months. Rory is heard on guitar, mandolin, harmonica and saxophone, and his compositional skills were never more evident, on tracks such as ‘Tattoo’d Lady’, and ‘A Million Miles Away’.

In 1975, Rory self-produced Against The Grain, and with the same lineup, fashioned a stunning statement that crossed the borders of jazz, blues, hard rock and even country music. With his originals becoming more varied ‘Bought & Sold’ to ‘Souped Up Ford’, he also recorded a couple of unpredictable covers. Here, he not only covers soul duo Sam & Dave’s “I Take What I Want” and rocks it like no one had ever heard before, but then acoustically delivers a celtic-reverent rendition of folk legend Leadbelly’s “Out On The Western Plains.”

In 1976, this finely-honed quartet released its last album together, Calling Card, produced by Deep Purple’s Roger Glover, who said of the band, “they all seemed very dedicated to Rory, there was an allegiance, born of years of smoky clubs and endless journeys.” The album featured 11 Rory originals on a back-to-basics approach accentuating Rory’s exquisite guitar playing and assured vocal presence. The album features some of Rory’s most stand out numbers such as ‘Calling Card’, ‘Edged in Blue’ and ‘Moonchild’.

Rory was in prolific form during this period, these are 3 of 8 albums he produced within six years, during 1971-76. One can hear the maturation of a true artist over the course of these three albums. It would set the scene for the changes, the surprises and the drama of what would unfold in the years to come.