On The Boards
(42/100 Greatest Irish Albums)

After the explosiveness of Taste’s eponymous1969’s debut, On The Boards is a more exploratory and disciplined exercise than its rowdy older sibling. Underpinned by Rory Gallagher’s commitment to pure r’n’b, it nevertheless ranges wider than the debut, from the direct but effective acoustic pleasures of ‘See Here’ to the smoky jazzblues of ‘On The Boards’. ‘If I Don’t Cry I’ll Sing’ verges on pop, with Rory’s throaty anguished vocals to the fore. But it was ‘What’s Goin On’ that became the album’s standard-bearer. The band play with exemplary tightness throughout, earning them kudos among their supergroup contemporaries. This, however, was Taste’s swan song with Rory going solo at the end of the world tour the band had undertaken to promote what remains an outstanding blues rock record.