Not my favourite Rory lp but contains some of his big numbers: Shadow Play and Brute Force & Ignorance were live favourites.Rob wrote:
Rory Gallagher - Photo-finish. Great album that seems overlooked. Cloak and Dagger and Shadow Play are true hard rock classics!
Mississippi Sheiks & Last of the Independants are also great tracks.
A bit over produced in my opinion.
I don't think his studio lps really captured the magic of Rory in the same way that his live performances did, mind you there are gems on every one of the studio lps and I think he was a really underrated songwriter too, see Tatoo'd Lady for example.
I like Top Priority, Tatoo and Calling Card from his early period but also later stuff from Defender and Fresh Evidence when he was back recording more blues based material.
Just got this today and am stunned at how good it is: Cheers Dermot
The BBC sessions is also worth a listen imo: Has a live and a studio disc, not sure if it's available on vinyl
As an aside, I remember going to a memorial lecture on Rory by Marcus Connaughton here in Cork a few months after his death and they played some of the BBC live recordings on video. At the end, it got a standing ovation! Powerful stuff.