Flanneled Virtuoso: Rory Gallagher
By Susan Whitall
You
have to feel for any band opening for a Rory Gallagher show; at the
best of times Rory fans will not suffer fools or well 
meaning opening
bands lightly; at this year’s Rock On The Tyne Festival, the
hard-working Dr. Feelgood was drowned out at the end of their set by
audience howls of “Ro-ry, Ro-ry.” This, after a year or so away
from the limelight for the shy Irish virtuoso!
It
seems to be a word-of-mouth phenomenon – several years after my Rory
Gallagher story appeared in CREEM, I still get cryptic letters and
telephone calls; I’m often pulled aside for intense discussions in
clubs by Rory fans who spend years between gigs in their hometowns
playing the albums and turning on other people to him. Who
inspires this emotional bond?
He
started out on the road as a working musician at the age of 15, founded
Taste, one of the archetypal 60’s power trios, in 1966, broke up the
band as a result of the inevitable “artistic differences” that would
result with such a strong lead guitarist, and launched his solo career
in 1971. He prefers to keep his band down to bass, drums and
himself – dabbling with brass arrangements, playing a variety of other
stringed instruments like the dobro, mandolin, or steel guitar – mostly
on records. When he tours, he tours relentlessly, from the huge
festivals in the U.K. where he can pack in thousands, to small clubs in
the hinterlands of Canada, where he will be mobbed by a frenzied few
hundred loyalists. 
He is said to be the last great British blues guitarist, but to peg him as that would be to limit him.
Technically,
Rory is a guitarist’s guitarist; his 1960 Stratocaster seems to be as
much a part of his body as his arm, or his flannel shirt. He is
capable of just about any special effect you would want; he’s an
accomplished bottleneck player (wielding a wicked Coricidon D bottle),
is adept at playing classical or “freak” harmonics, knows the
difference between out of phase and out of phase…but his real
brilliance as a musician lies in his refusal to “push buttons” to get
preconceived sounds and effects. He’s been in, out and around his
guitars so much that he knows exactly what will cause what; it’s in
bending something to get something entirely new, changing the rules or
throwing them out altogether that Rory is at his best. It’s not a
matter of improvisation so much as being in total control of the
guitar, knowing absolutely that this quirky move will produce that neat
“messed-up” sound.
He’s
always resisted the idea of being a rock-star – he’s said that he feels
it would make playing every night for the hell of it
impossible. Yes, he really likes to play. But in a story
published just after August’s Rock On The Tyne festival, Rory expressed
a recurrent hope – that he would make a bigger splash in the States
this time around. With a January release planned for his next
album (at least in the U.K.), there’s a chance, even if Chrysalis
muffed their chance to unleash a live album on the States – pre-Pat
Travers and George Thorogood – and clean up. Maybe?
From Creem Special Edition – Jan/Feb 1982 "Guitar Heroes of Rock 'n 'Roll'
Thanks to Brenda O'Brien for sharing and preparing this article
reformatted by roryfan
378
added 3/2/08
