Rory Gallagher - BBC Sessions (1999)

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Rory Gallagher - BBC Sessions (1999)

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I was very excited when I learned this was being released. I am a fan of great blues and blues/rock guitar playing and Rory Gallagher certainly fits the bill. This 2 cd anthology of his BBC recordings provides a fitting tribute to the now deceased Irish guitar hero. The first disc contains material from live concerts broadcast on the BBC while the second disc contains material recorded in the BBC studios. The set was recorded from 1971-1986.

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Rory Gallagher - BBC Sessions (1999)

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Rory Gallagher was one of the first world famous Irish rock musicians. He has influenced either directly or indirectly many of the Irish groups that followed such as Thin Lizzy and Gary Moore. He sort of reminds me of the Irish equivalent of Johnny Winter. Both are under appreciated and adept at playing both blues and rock. They played some of the same festivals, broke into the scene at the same time and play both acoustic and electric guitar equally well. The set includes some tracks not included on his studio albums. I think the live disc is the better of the two simply because of the live energy Rory was able to generate in concert (all of his live albums are worth picking up). My favorite cuts on the live disc include a killer version of "Calling Card", "Used To Be" and the trio of cover tunes "Got My Mojo Working", "Garbage Man" and "Roberta". Notable cuts on the studio side include "Hands Off", "Feel So Bad" "Toredown" and "Hoodoo Man". The only drawback is that it isn't longer. I keep hoping they will get around to compiling a box set which will contain all of my favorite tracks along with some unissued live and studio recordings. Until then I recommend this set along with the remastered versions of his original albums. It is also worth investigating his early more improvisational work with Taste.

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Rory Gallagher - BBC Sessions (1999)

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