Fender Bender

RORY GALLAGHER fans are in for a major windfall this month with the re-release of four of the bluesmaster s classic albums at a knockdown rate. Blueprint, Tattoo, Stage Struck and Jinx have all been remastered, feature bonus tracks, new photographs (and in some cases, enhanced sleeves) plus fresh liner notes written by the late guitarist s brother, Donal. These reissues are the latest phase of an ongoing campaign to repackage and re-promote Rory s entire body of work, a project instigated when BMG Records struck a deal with Donal Gallagher s Capo label in 1998.
The series kicked off in September of that year with the relaunching of Deuce, Photo Finish, Fresh Evidence, Irish Tour and Calling Card, followed in February 1999 by Defender, Top Priority, Live In Europe, Against The Grain and Rory Gallagher. Next came last August s blazing 20-track double CD set BBC Sessions a compilation of previously unreleased live and studio material drawn from archive sessions recorded by the BBC between 1971 and 1986, effectively the first newly originated Rory material in a decade. To date, the rejuvenated back catalogue has racked up over a million units in sales.
The Gallagher legacy is undoubtedly ripening from his beginnings with the proto power trio Taste through a string of seminal solo works (including classics such as Shadow Play , Follow Me and Moonchild ) to a career as one of the most consistent touring acts in Europe not to mention completing no less than 30 campaigns across America the guitarist gradually became renowned as the quiet giant of Irish rock n roll. Indeed, one could say he occupied a place on the pantheon similar to Neil Young, not just in his lack of sartorial flash, but the sheer fire in his playing and a dogged refusal to pander to the whims and vagaries of the music industry.
Viewing David Heffernan s new six-part history of Irish music From A Whisper To A Scream, one can clearly see the seismic impact Rory Gallagher s music had on Irish rock when the form was still in its infancy. As novelist Pat McCabe indicates, there was something incredibly authentic about Gallagher. He didn t care about image, he didn t care about money. I mean, we all dressed like Rory Gallagher . . . this was a man who was after the truth and whenever he hit a chord he vanished to a place where an artist should be.
This quality was recognised by everyone from Jimmy Page to the Rolling Stones (who head-hunted him to replace Mick Taylor) to Bob Dylan.
Dylan was a massive fan of his, confirms Peter Flatt of PPR Publicity, who came on board the Gallagher campaign last year. One of the first gigs that Dylan came to see Rory play, he tried to get backstage, and Donal, who was the tour manager at the time, didn t recognise him and wouldn t let him in. And he didn t tell Rory because Rory was a huge Dylan fan! And then about 10 years later Dylan came along to another show in America and said, Aren t you Rory s brother? You didn t let me in 10 years ago! Apparently Dylan never forgets!
Speaking of troubadours, Rory Gallagher s sit-down sets, particularly tunes like Out On The Western Plain , were the stuff of legend even this writer, who was but a scut when the slide maestro was in his prime, recalls a sizzling unplugged interlude at a Kilkenny gig in 1983. Diehards have been baying for a Gallagher acoustic album for years, and that now looks set to become a reality: the final Rory re-release will be an artefact entitled Wheels Within Wheels, and according to Peter, it s a bit like the BBC sessions, it s a newly originated release of acoustically recorded tracks. Everyone seems to know about this album!
Finally, Rory s legendarily battered Strat, an instrument that always looked like it had just been run over by a tractor, will soon be immortalised in all its decrepitude.
Fender have just spent the last year or so developing an exact replica of Rory s famous Strat, the one that s completely beaten up, Peter confirms. I ve seen the photos of it, and this guy over at Fender in America has spent the last year or more replicating every single scratch. They re doing a limited run, but they ll all sell like hot cakes. Donal has been very closely involved with that particular project, he was showing me the photos and basically, you can t tell which one s the brand new copy version and which one s Rory s original guitar. It s completely mad!
Blueprint, Tattoo, Stage Struck and Jinx are all available through BMG.