The release this month of a double live CD (BBC Sessions) and a live video (Rory Gallagher Messin' With The Kid: Live at the Cork Opera House) brings a brand new dimension to the re-issue programme of Rory Gallagher material which began last year with the first batch of re-releases of the legendary Irish guitarist's back catalogue. Each of Gallagher's officially released 14 albums is now available on CD in fully re-mastered form with extensive liner notes and special packaging including previously unseen photos.
The previously unreleased BBC Sessions CD, which was condensed from over 10 hours of tapes recorded between 1971 and 1986, is divided between live "in concert" recordings and studio sessions specially recorded for programmes such as Saturday Club and the John Peel Show.
The CD features a mix of Rory favourites such as 'Hands Off ', 'Daughter of the Everglades', 'I Take What I Want' and 'Country Mile' with some rarer versions of blues standards like 'Got My Mojo Working', 'When My Baby She Left Me'
The sound quality is uniformly excellent the live tracks are taken from concerts recorded at venues such as the Hammersmith Odeon and the Venue in London. Most of the studio sessions were recorded at the legendary BBC studios in Maida Vale where the engineers and producers were renowned for technical expertise
"Rory never turned down the opportunity to perform on a BBC session," writes Donal Gallagher brother and former manager on the sleeve notes to the album. "I can distinctly remember on one occasion following a long tour of Germany, we had to hurriedly pack the truck in the middle of the night and drive directly from Nuremberg to London to set up for a three hour session at the BBC Shepherds Bush studio."
The rendition of 'Calling Card' which opens the first disc is, according to Donal "the definitive version" of this classic number which dates from 1976 when Rory was at the peak of his power and popularity.
Meanwhile, the live video, recorded in 1990, five years before his death, features blistering performances of tracks such as 'Follow Me', 'Tattoo'd Lady', 'Shadow Play', 'Messin' With The Kid' and a solo acoustic version of the show stopping 'Out On The Western Plain'. n
Rory Gallagher BBC Sessions and Rory Gallagher Messin' With The Kid: Live at the Cork Opera House are both available on BMG.