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Gallagher may finally get his due
By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
Bono may one be one of the highest-profile rock stars in the world, but he rarely lends his name to promotional campaigns for other artists. When it comes to Rory Gallagher, though, U2's charismatic singer was happy to make an exception.
That's why the small sticker on the cover of "Wheels Within Wheels," Gallagher's first new album in more than a decade, reads: "One of the top ten guitar players of all time" ? Bono of U2.
It's a brief but sincere tribute from one Irish-bred rock icon to another, even if the name Bono honors is likely to elicit blank stares from fans of such acts as White Stripes, 50 Cent and New Found Glory.
But Gallagher, who died of complications following a liver transplant in 1995 at age 46, remains a vital force abroad. Along with U2, Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy leader Phil Lynott (also deceased), he's one of only four Irish rock artists honored this year with a set of commemorative stamps issued by the Irish government.
A pioneering guitarist, singer and bandleader, Gallagher (pronounced: Gal-uh-HER) was noted for his fiery live shows, constant touring and tireless devotion to blues, rock, country and roots music in general. As the leader of the power-trio Taste in the late '60s and as a solo artist from 1971 on, he paved the way for U2 and numerous other Irish acts that followed.
England's Johnny Marr, who rose to fame as the guitarist in the Smiths, has cited Gallagher's second solo album, 1971's "Deuce," as a record he spent hours listening to and learning from as a teen.
Bob Dylan, another admirer, was such a fan of Gallagher's recording of the traditional blues chestnut "I Could've Had Religion" that he wanted to record a new version together with the Irish musician.
And U2 guitarist the Edge still pays homage to Gallagher, his boyhood idol, on stage.
"Sometimes during sound checks, the Edge will break into the riff from 'Moonchild,' or another song by Rory, just to get me going," said Joe O'Herlihy, who was Gallagher's tour manager before becoming U2's sound engineer in the 1980s.
Gallagher was so popular that, in 1973, he beat out Eric Clapton for top honors in the prestigious Melody Maker readers' poll. Today, his impact in Europe continues to grow.
In Paris, the street Rue de Rory Gallagher was posthumously named after him following a campaign spearheaded by fans and the country's leading concert promoters. In Cork, Ireland, where he grew up, the city center has been renamed Rory Gallagher Place, while downtown Dublin has Rory Gallagher Corner. In Ballyshannon, a plaque in his honor hangs in the hospital where Gallagher was born, which ? fittingly ? is named Rock Hospital.
He is unlikely to enjoy the kind of posthumous commercial success in this country of a Jimi Hendrix or Nirvana, largely because he never scored any chart-topping albums or singles here. But Gallagher's legacy has been given a welcome new twist with the release of "Wheels Within Wheels," his first album of previously unreleased material in 13 years.
Rather than focus on his incendiary electric guitar work, "Wheels" spotlights his love of Celtic folk music. It features an array of acoustic songs that team Gallagher with such notables as contemporary English folk pioneers Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch, Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martin, Irish harpist Marie Ni Chatasaigh, skiffle king Lonnie Donegan and American jazz-bluegrass banjo wiz Bela Fleck.
The album was a labor of love by Gallagher's brother and former manager, Donal, who has also overseen the CD re-releases of nearly all of Rory's previous albums. He's already preparing Rory's next album, an all-blues affair, which will probably feature some of his brother's rousing 1972 collaborations with Muddy Waters.
"I suppose what drives me to a great degree is that I feel a sense of injustice, with respect to Rory's prominence ? or lack thereof ? in the world," Donal said from his London office.
"I'd like to get Rory into the Top 10 at some point. I hope it would be with this album, but it's a tough challenge. He deserves nothing less for his hard work and talent. I'll continue to work to promote his music until I crack it for him. He did his part ? I suppose it's up to the rest of us to do our part now."
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Thank you, Amy!
Gallagher may finally get his due
By George Varga
POP MUSIC CRITIC
Bono may one be one of the highest-profile rock stars in the world, but he rarely lends his name to promotional campaigns for other artists. When it comes to Rory Gallagher, though, U2's charismatic singer was happy to make an exception.
That's why the small sticker on the cover of "Wheels Within Wheels," Gallagher's first new album in more than a decade, reads: "One of the top ten guitar players of all time" ? Bono of U2.
It's a brief but sincere tribute from one Irish-bred rock icon to another, even if the name Bono honors is likely to elicit blank stares from fans of such acts as White Stripes, 50 Cent and New Found Glory.
But Gallagher, who died of complications following a liver transplant in 1995 at age 46, remains a vital force abroad. Along with U2, Van Morrison and Thin Lizzy leader Phil Lynott (also deceased), he's one of only four Irish rock artists honored this year with a set of commemorative stamps issued by the Irish government.
A pioneering guitarist, singer and bandleader, Gallagher (pronounced: Gal-uh-HER) was noted for his fiery live shows, constant touring and tireless devotion to blues, rock, country and roots music in general. As the leader of the power-trio Taste in the late '60s and as a solo artist from 1971 on, he paved the way for U2 and numerous other Irish acts that followed.
England's Johnny Marr, who rose to fame as the guitarist in the Smiths, has cited Gallagher's second solo album, 1971's "Deuce," as a record he spent hours listening to and learning from as a teen.
Bob Dylan, another admirer, was such a fan of Gallagher's recording of the traditional blues chestnut "I Could've Had Religion" that he wanted to record a new version together with the Irish musician.
And U2 guitarist the Edge still pays homage to Gallagher, his boyhood idol, on stage.
"Sometimes during sound checks, the Edge will break into the riff from 'Moonchild,' or another song by Rory, just to get me going," said Joe O'Herlihy, who was Gallagher's tour manager before becoming U2's sound engineer in the 1980s.
Gallagher was so popular that, in 1973, he beat out Eric Clapton for top honors in the prestigious Melody Maker readers' poll. Today, his impact in Europe continues to grow.
In Paris, the street Rue de Rory Gallagher was posthumously named after him following a campaign spearheaded by fans and the country's leading concert promoters. In Cork, Ireland, where he grew up, the city center has been renamed Rory Gallagher Place, while downtown Dublin has Rory Gallagher Corner. In Ballyshannon, a plaque in his honor hangs in the hospital where Gallagher was born, which ? fittingly ? is named Rock Hospital.
He is unlikely to enjoy the kind of posthumous commercial success in this country of a Jimi Hendrix or Nirvana, largely because he never scored any chart-topping albums or singles here. But Gallagher's legacy has been given a welcome new twist with the release of "Wheels Within Wheels," his first album of previously unreleased material in 13 years.
Rather than focus on his incendiary electric guitar work, "Wheels" spotlights his love of Celtic folk music. It features an array of acoustic songs that team Gallagher with such notables as contemporary English folk pioneers Martin Carthy and Bert Jansch, Spanish flamenco guitarist Juan Martin, Irish harpist Marie Ni Chatasaigh, skiffle king Lonnie Donegan and American jazz-bluegrass banjo wiz Bela Fleck.
The album was a labor of love by Gallagher's brother and former manager, Donal, who has also overseen the CD re-releases of nearly all of Rory's previous albums. He's already preparing Rory's next album, an all-blues affair, which will probably feature some of his brother's rousing 1972 collaborations with Muddy Waters.
"I suppose what drives me to a great degree is that I feel a sense of injustice, with respect to Rory's prominence ? or lack thereof ? in the world," Donal said from his London office.
"I'd like to get Rory into the Top 10 at some point. I hope it would be with this album, but it's a tough challenge. He deserves nothing less for his hard work and talent. I'll continue to work to promote his music until I crack it for him. He did his part ? I suppose it's up to the rest of us to do our part now."
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
Thank you, Amy!
Donal Gallagher
