Blow Wind Blow

Rory Gallagher Was the Original Irish Guitar Hero – but His Playing Was Deeply Rooted in the Rich Soil of American Blues, Which He Studied From Boyhood. Now, on the 50th Anniversary of His Recording Debut, a Treasure Trove of Previously Unheard Tracks Sheds Light on His Rare Gifts as a Player and Lifelong Disciple of the Blues. We Lift Open the Cases of Some of Rory’s Best-loved Guitars to Learn How They Helped Him Transport Listeners a Million Miles Away…

- Jamie Dickson

When the guitar world learned of Rory Gallagher’s death in 1995, he was mourned almost as one might a friend, even by those who only knew him through his music. At 47 years of age, he was too young to leave the stage with such finality. Witnesses to Rory’s electrifying live shows knew what a formidable performer he was – coming back for encore after full-tilt encore, letting fly with his battered ’61 Strat as long as the crowd cheered and stamped their feet for more. It was all the more saddening, then, that there could be no more curtain calls for a man who was humble by nature but whose guitar playing was loved by millions for its ecstatic energy and unaffected eloquence.

Rory was also a prolific recording artist and left behind a back catalogue as thick as a phone book. Like the wheels of his tourbus, the tape was always rolling, so there was always going to be more to be discovered in the vaults. Now, on what would have been the 50th year of his recording career, Rory’s family has unveiled a host of previously unreleased recordings, all linked by his lifelong love for blues guitar.

More than 90 per cent of the tracks featured on the new 36-track collection, entitled Blues, are previously unheard. Some show off Rory’s haunting affinity for old-time country blues, played on his National resonator, while others are full-flight rockers that send showers of sparks flying with every incandescent slide lick. The collection also documents rite-of passage encounters between Rory and the American bluesmen who’d been his childhood heroes, like Muddy Waters and Albert King.