irish tour 74

Rory Gallagher walked on hot coals to bring it back to his stompin' ground for this brave and blazing blues boogie blowout.  After recording several albums with the blues rock trio Taste, Gallagher began his solo career with bassist Gerry McAvoy, putting out five albums in three years ('Rory Gallagher', 'Deuce', 'Live in Europe', 'Blueprint', and 'Tatoo').  For his next project, he worked with director Tony Palmer to create what he thought would be a television special, but ended up being good enough for theatrical release.  'Irish Tour 74' was produced by Gallagher and recorded during a week of concerts at Belfast’s Ulster hall, Dublin’s Carlton Cinema, and Cork’s City Hall with Rory Gallagher on vocals, guitar, harmonica;  Gerry McAvoy on bass guitar;  Lou Martin on keyboards;  and Rod de'Ath on drums.  The album was mixed in London, mostly at Tangerine Studio.

Gallagher would express at the time:    "We wanted a film for people who couldn't get to see the band live.  Originally we thought of it as being a film of us performing four or five tunes, but it turned out to be more a film of us on the road ... I’m always there at the mixing.  Robin Sylvester is our engineer, and he works at the board. But if I want to flick a switch, I can do it. I work with my ears, mostly, but it’s good to have a guy who’s a third ear. It’s not that easy to mix yourself. It’s very hard to keep a perspective on it...I use a Fender Stratocaster, mostly, and have a Telecaster for slide guitar. I kind of like Fenders. They’re good and crisp, and they travel well. Gibsons are nice, but they’re a little more low key. Fenders have a much more vicious sound. People have made guitars for me, but I never end up playing them, or I haven’t so far. I’m attached to the one I have.   For acoustic, I have a Martin D-35 or a National steel-bodied, the one-resonator Acolian. I used to play the Martin a lot more, but now I just, more or less, work on the National because it’s a lot brassier. The material I do suits the National.   I don’t have any real Irish music in my thing, even though it creeps in here and there. But I don’t deliberately play any Irish gigs or anything. Oh, I like that when it happens, but I don’t see myself as an electric Celtic rocker.”

'Irish Tour 74' reached one hundred and ten in the US and thirty six in the UK.  In a time when most bands avoided the Emerald Isle, especially the troubled Northern Irish city of Belfast; Gallagher refused to back down, even when bombs went off the day before the show.    'Irish Tour 74' remains the essential document of this legendary guitarist.  






http://www.rorygallagher.com/


http://www.rorygallagher.com/#/discography/irish_tour_74










'Irish Tour 74' 
full album:




All tracks composed by Rory Gallagher unless stated.


Side one
00:00 "Cradle Rock" – 7:38
07:38 "I Wonder Who" (Morganfield) – 7:52
15:30"Tattoo'd Lady" – 5:04
Side two
20:34 "Too Much Alcohol" (J. B. Hutto) – 8:30
29:04 "As the Crow Flies" (Tony Joe White) – 6:02
34:50 "A Million Miles Away" – 9:29
Side three
44:26 "Walk on Hot Coals" – 11:13
55:42 "Who's That Coming?" – 10:05
Side four
105:50 "Back on My Stompin' Ground (After Hours)" – 5:18
111:08 "Maritime" – 0:33 (a)