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.

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.

Brilliant, I was a bit worried that they might be scraping the bottom of the barrel this time but there's more amazing tracks on this and different interpretations of classic songs. Be aware that on Amazon music there are several tracks missing so if you want the complete deluxe version you need to buy the CD set.

Quite simple the best archive release from the Gallagher estate.3 discs of Rory at his best in the studio,Live & guesting with other artists.sound quality variable as you would expect from the variety of different sources but it is of high quality.For me disc 3 .. the live stuff is the head for disc,especially the Glasgow Apollo gig from '82, radio Clyde recorded the whole gig and broadcast 90 mins or so...and its superb. given that one of the 3 tracks here is not on the broadcast then its likely they have access to the whole concert,that would be some release.If you have ever wondered what Rory's output sounds like you could do worse than try this release (or the single disc version). top music from a top guy.

Interesting collection of unreleased recordings by RG, in particular Disc 2 which is largely 'unplugged' with a piano accompaniment has an entirely different, much more relaxed, feel to the RG blues-rock standards and shows off an under-appreciated side of his prodigious talent. Fittingly it's produced under the banner of the Chess label (although this is just another name for Universal these days).Unfortunately, however, Disc 3 would not play in my CD player, neither would a replacement set from Amazon. Checking on my PC says there is a bad sector at the start of the disc. As this is present on both copies sent to me this suggests that there was a fault in mastering the recording to CD. It is possible to rip Disc 3 to Windows Media Player but this involves a necessary loss of audio quality. Doubt very much if the Chess Brothers would have let this happen in their day.

I have long been a fan of Rory Gallagher, and always thought of him as a blues musician. So when I saw this collection it was an easy decision to buy it. And I have not been disappointed. The 3 discs are split into electric, acoustic and live, and each is outstanding. On the live set in particular, there are a few numbers where Rory is guesting with other musicians - the Muddy Waters and Jack Bruce offerings being particularly good. Also, the 3 opening tracks on the live disc are from a Glasgow gig that I had not heard before, and they too are very good. There aren't many songs on here that fans will not have heard before, but having them collected together like this is well worth it. Highly recommended.