Blues (3CD Deluxe Edition) (UMC – Chess 2019) – CD2 – Acoustic Blues

In May of 2019 Rory Gallagher’s estate released “Blues” (the title as unpretentious as Rory and his music).  Available in two formats: a fifteen-track single CD and 2LP vinyl set and a thirty-six track 3CD Deluxe Edition. 

With performances ranging from 1971 to 1989, with ninety percent of the material previously unreleased in any format, the collection is a must have for Gallagher fans.

And make no mistake, this is a fan’s set; the numbers are not sequenced chronologically to chart Gallagher’s “growth”; rather, the tracks are mixed and matched across decades in order to enhance the listener’s enjoyment.

The Deluxe Edition’s three CDs do sort the recordings into groups with Disc 1: Electric, Disc 2: Acoustic and Disc 3: Live, but other than that, the music flows freely across time; as Gallagher’s music can be defined as “timeless” this only seems appropriate.

As with Disc 1, the first four tracks on Disc 2 appear in the same order on the single CD and the vinyl set.

The disc starts off strong with an unreleased acoustic take on ‘Who’s That Coming’.  Clocking in exactly two-minutes shorter that the released take on “Tattoo”, this is simply Rory and his metal-bodied National steel guitar.  The sound of the guitar, and Rory’s relaxed vocal bring a sense of intimacy to the number, as if he is playing just for you.  That said, there is an internal tension, as if he is straining to hold a thoroughbred race horse in place as they await the starting bell. 

The opening minute or so is heard on the released take before the electric version takes over.

The second song here, ‘Should’ve Learnt My Lesson’ also appears on Disc 1 in a version almost twice the length of the released version on “Deuce”. 

This third version is an uncut gem of a number, featuring one of Rory’s finest vocals.  His guitar and mandolin playing beautifully capturing the humor of the lyrics.  It fades out too soon and as strong as the released band take is, one can’t help but feel that this solo take was not given it’s due.  Nice to be able to hear it now.

Note: it is this version that appears on the single CD and vinyl set.

‘Prison Blues’ is an original number not previously heard before.  An outtake from the “Blueprint” sessions, it is a perfect example of the depth of Gallagher’s knowledge of the blues.  He and pianist Lou Martin conjure the ghosts of piano and guitar duos such as Leroy Carr and Scrapper Blackwell and Tampa Red and Big Maceo Merriweather. A rueful, yet still defiant Rory details the events that led him to serving “…seven years and four”.  A welcome addition to Gallagher’s catalog.

The next number is another example of Gallagher’s ability to effortlessly move between different playing styles as he transforms ‘Secret Agent’, a raging, riff-rocker, with an almost Deep Purple (circa 1974) feel to it into a solo guitar number.  Taken from a 1976 television appearance on RTE television in 1976, Rory’s skill as a storyteller comes to the fore as he builds the tension with the ringing notes of his steel guitar and his vocal. 

Credited to “Muddy Waters and His Guitar” upon release in 1953, ‘Blow Wind, Blow’ had Waters backed by Jimmy Rogers on second guitar, Elgin Evans on drums, Otis Spann at the piano and Little Walter on harmonica, sounding like the chill wind of the title, a siren and a stray dog, howling in sorrow, searching for a mate or a home.

Gallagher tackles the number with just his guitar from a solo acoustic set done for Cleveland radio station WNCR.

Despite the lyrics, Gallagher’s guitar provides a jaunty kick to the number, proving that there is some truth to the saying that the cure for the blues is blues music. 

Big Bill Broonzy’s 1931 original ‘Bankers Blues’ utilizes an arrangement that would resurface nine years later in his much better known cover of Charles Segar’s ‘Key to the Highway’. 

Gallagher quickens the tempo just slightly, but the addition of harmonica, Lou Martin’s piano and a wonderfully wry delivery brightens the number considerably.

The version released on “Blueprint” is played with a wink and a nudge, as if to acknowledge that this is a humorous interlude; this performance flows much more naturally.  Gallagher is accompanied solely by his guitar for the first two verses, without the nudge of the piano.  When the piano does come in, it does not sound as “forced”. 

Gallagher also does not take a solo here, allowing Martin to take a second, and his harmonica outro is far sweeter and much more effective at bringing out the lyrics humor. 

Long before MTv’s “Unplugged” almost made it a necessity for bands to write acoustic arrangements for their songs, Gallagher was recording solo versions and full band arrangements of many of his numbers.  ‘Whole Lot of People’, a solo acoustic outtake from the “Deuce” sessions, is the equal to the released band version. 

Stripped down to just guitar and vocal, the lyrics come into sharper focus, which is important as Gallagher’s instrumental prowess too often overshadows his songwriting. 

The version of ‘Loanshark Blues’ from a German television show cuts the running time of the band version released on “Defender” almost in half.  This brings an urgency to the lyrics, but as fine as Gallagher’s playing is the number’s brevity lessens the impact, the blow glancing rather than solid.

‘Pistol Slapper Blues’ was originally recorded by Blind Boy Fuller, with Sonny Terry on harmonica, in 1938. 

Fuller is considered one of the finest players in the Piedmont style and it seems certain that on one level Rory enjoyed the challenge of matching that level while bringing his own gifts to bear on the number.  He picks up the tempo and displays even greater dexterity in his flat-picking.

A concert favorite, there are many recordings (audio and video) of Rory performing this number.  This is a worthy addition.

Gallagher trades in his steel guitar for a wooden on this performance of Muddy Waters’ signature song ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’ taken from a 1992 German radio broadcast.  Gallagher’s guitar playing stuns but the tempo now seems too fast for the song; you miss the Muddy’s slurred slide and ‘Big’ Crawford’s slapping bass line.  The music leavened the menace of Muddy’s reading of Fuller’s refrain of “…slapping a pistol…” in his woman’s face.

Rory sings the verse without emphasis, neither humor or threat and the lines become simply callous, despite the lightness of his tone.  For me, this one misses the mark.

Compare this was his cover of John Lee Hooker’s obscure 1961 Vee-Jay single, ‘Want Ad Blues’ take from a 1988 session on Irish national radio.  Rory brings a far more sophisticated playing style to the number, but keeps it rooted in Hooker’s style with its insistent beat and his stomping foot in place of the original’s drummer.  A pleasant surprise.

The acoustic disc closes with a with a duo performance, Gallagher and harmonica ace Mark Feltham from 1987 television taping of Son House’s ‘Walkin’ Blues’. 

Robert Johnson took the music from Son House’s 1930 song ‘My Black Mama’ and put new lyrics to it, creating ‘Walkin’ Blues’ in 1936.  Muddy Waters followed Johnson’s example twelve years later with his own ‘I Feel Like Going Home’; many others have done the same over the decades, while far more simply covered Johnson’s song.

Gallagher couldn’t (nor was he trying to) match the existential dread in House’s vocals, but the quiet, deliberate pacing and Feltham’s harmonica, sounding like the cry of a far, distant train, honors the spirit of House’s music, not just this one song, better than most. 

A beautiful number to close out this quietest of the three discs.

Disc 3, unleashes all of Gallagher’s disparate talents in the forum in which he always seemed most comfortable, playing live before an audience.