Blues

Since his death in 1995, there have been a number of great posthumous releases from Rory Gallagher. These releases have featured long lost session tapes, live recordings and even a full album. As a fairly new fan of Gallagher's music, I have picked up every disc I could get my hands on and I have always been impressed at how consistently good these later album have been. However, none of them even come close to this box-set titled, Blues. Blues is a fairly extensive three disc compilation album that has anything and everything that a blues rock fan will want. Each disc has its own theme and they're all of very high standard in terms of performance and sound. The first disc features a number of unreleased tracks from albums such as Jinx, Against The Grain, Blue Print and (my personal favourite) Tattoo as well as radio sessions and guest appearances on two tracks by Lonnie Donegan's Puttin' On the Style and Muddy Waters' I'm Ready. The second disc is a good bit shorter than the other two sitting at around forty seven minutes. This disc is much like the previous one in that it features a lot of unreleased album sessions, outtakes, television and radio performances. The catch is, it's all acoustic. Here you'll find some dirty raw slide guitar work that could match anyone out there. I can see it being over looked but is a gem in its own right. The third disc is a compilation of live tracks from the years, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1989 and 1991. A few of these tracks feature guest performances from the likes of the legendary Jack Bruce and Albert King. There is a fair bit of consistency throughout the entire collection. There are a few numbers that sound quite different from the others. Some recordings sound a bit more sterile, others sound very heavy on reverb and some are just straight up raw. You'll hear some over driven microphones, tension in the strings as Gallagher pulls out beautiful blues bends and a lot of twanging from acoustic guitars as he slides up and down the fret board. It's quite a nice compared to modern recordings which come across as quite lifeless by comparison. Everything sounds very down to Earth and quite genuine. Not once does the actual audio quality dip. Everything is quite clear and consistent through out. People who are already fans of Rory Gallagher's music should consider this a must buy item. Forget about the single disc edition and get the full three discs. There's not a single bad song or performance here and it is worth every penny. If you're new or have never heard Gallagher's music but find yourself enjoying old fashioned blues and rock similar to Gary Moore, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Buddy Guy, this is well worth a purchase. You'll get a fantastic idea what this man is about and is a great starting point. Blues is a superb collection and I hope many people check it out.

I first bought the vinyl version of this, which has fifteen of the thirty six songs on this 3 CD set but I enjoyed it so much that I bought this CD version. A few of these have been released before but 90% has not been released before. Divided into electric blues on CD 1, acoustic blues on CD 2 and the third CD is live blues. This is a welcome addition to any Rory Gallagher collection. Who would have thought that there would be so much great stuff unreleased after all these years? I was lucky enough to see Rory live several times and he was always excellent. There is not a duff note on this whole collection. Everyone should have lots of Rory Gallagher’s albums in their music colection

As with previous releases of hidden/unreleased tracks of Rory's, I wasn't expecting too much in the way of recording quality here. Boy was I surprised, the quality of sound is awesome. From the opening bars of Don't Start Me Talkin' all the way through the 3 discs, the production is top notch, and considering how old all these selections are, that is a great achievement to the team behind this release. The 1st CD is mostly alternate takes and a few colaborations, all the "outtakes" sound better than the original album releases to me. No double tracking and nearer to Rory's trademark "live" sound. Disc 2 is acoustic. Showcasing the great man's unplugged abilities. Secret Agent is a stand out for me, what has always been an electric track, stripped right back and making it like a new song. Also Pistol Slapper Blues, probably the cleanest cut of this I've heard, I swear it's recorded as live and he doesn't miss a single note in that. CD3 live electric cuts. Spanning many years, these tracks have been mixed/mastered and arranged so they appear to all be from one show. Some absolute gems included here. The very last track is Rory talking about his influences and what the music means to him. The packaging is very nice, with a lovely booklet of info. All in all - it surpasses all my expectations with it's quality. An absolute gem and a must for any Rory fan.

There's not much that's not been said about Rory by countless others. Taste were the reason I started playing back in the 60s. First getting to grips with a Fender bass inspired by 'Charlie' McCracken and then Fender Strat inspired by the man himself who I was lucky enough to meet and talk to on a few occasions at their numerous gigs at The Concorde in Southampton. A lovely bloke. This compilation, put together by his nephew Daniel I believe, is 'top drawer'. Not a collection of 'out-takes' and 'alternate versions' it's all high quality stuff. Sound quality is exceptional - especially disc 3. His family look after his legacy with wonderful diligence and good taste (pardon the pun). If you like Rory then you need this triple CD (which is also great value). Absolutely essential.

I never paid him much attention back in the 1970s, preferring records from guitar maestros like Freddie King, Jeff Beck and Duane Allman to spend my limited finances on. However, I decided to download this album and have discovered that Rory was better - with more finesse - than I'd assumed him to be. This album is a good 'un, with excellent renditions of Blues songs - like 'As The Crow Flies' - on it. Now that I'm an old git - 73 - I rely on such albums as this to feel less influenced by the appalling lack of musical taste in the heads of other pensioners around me, who seem to only like/remember the worst of the grottiest of pop music from our younger days. Eamonn

Great album. If you have never listened to Rory Gallagher in the past then this is a great collection to listen to. Would highly recommend it.

Quelle bonne idée d'avoir en 3 CD réuni 36 morceaux blues de Rory Gallagher, dont 32 inédits! Un joli plaisir pour les fans! Malheureusement, ce guitariste génial qu'était Rory me semble un peu oublié du grand public aujourd'hui et pourtant quel son inimitable! On y retrouve des classiques électriques (CD1) , acoustiques (CD2) et live (CD3): Bullfrog Blues, Messin' with the kid, Secret Agent...En plus, des duos avec Muddy Waters (I'm ready), Jack Bruce (Born under a bad sign fantastique!), Albert King (You upset me baby) et 2 artistes qui ont beaucoup fait pour la diffusion du blues en Grande Bretagne: Lonnie Donegan et Chris Barber. On se régale d'autant plus que le son est excellent, on a vraiment l'impression que tout ça a été enregistré hier. Ce coffret est un bon moyen de rappeler une évidence: Rory était bien un des meilleurs guitaristes de sa génération et sans doute au-delà aussi! Pourquoi pas découvrir Rory à cette occasion? Tiens, dans le registre des concerts encore inédits et qui feraient plaisir aux fans, il reste entre autres le concert à La Villette en 1983, extraordinaire, pourquoi pas une sortie officielle?

Quel triple album de se guitariste héros en la personne du virtuose rory gallagher. Du vrai blues comme on l'aime à l'état brut.Vous avez l'immense talent de se musicien en guitare electrique et acoustique folk et live en se coffret de 3 cd. Indispensable pour tous les amoureux de blues.Superbe article à un prix incroyable que propose Amazon. Envois rapide et impeccable

From the vaults of the Gallagher estate’s tape archive comes this collection of unreleased recordings from 1971 to 1994. Ranging from never heard before tracks to special guest sessions with legendary blues artists (Muddy Waters, Albert King, Jack Bruce, Lonnie Donegan and Chris Barber) showcasing Rory’s virtuoso performances of electric and acoustic live blues. For the fans of Rory and the 3 Cd set is simply fantastic.

Muito bom!!!

Man where do I start. I LOVE all music from classical to industrial death metal but I've always had a soft spot for the blues! From Son House, Charlie Paton, Bukka White and Blind Willie Johnson to Muddy Waters, T bone Walker, Hendricks, Peter Green and every other shade of blue in between but Rory was not in my blues list. When you think of great UK bluesmen Clapton, Green, Page jump right out but this disc has blown me away like the 1st time i herd Roy Buchanon or when i first heard Greg Allmond . FROM the very first minutes of disc 1 to the very last speech on disc 3 this man bleeds the blues and so many different shades it's just crazy to have not listened to this disc a 1000.times. Buy it now! Thank me later!