Notes From San Francisco

Irishman Rory Gallagher (1948-1995) was a hard-rock / blues-rock guitarist, singer, and songwriter, notable mainly in the mid-to-late 70s... a contemporary of Paul Rodgers, Mick Taylor, Pat Travers, and others of the sort. This package includes both a studio album and a live concert album. None of the tracks are bad, but many are pretty much the same (fast, hard rock with lots of showy blues-scale guitar solos). It’s a little dated, but damn entertaining. I’ve indicated some tracks that I think stand out, but play anything and you likely won’t be disappointed. Insert art includes cool vintage postcards of SF.

No FCC issues.

CD 1: Studio album, not previously released, recorded 1978 in San Francisco
1 Medium fast. 70s hard rock but with added sax and boogie-woogie piano. (4:26)
2 Medium fast. Loud. A few years later, this might be a Van Halen song. (4:45)
3 Mid tempo. Guitar & organ. About a mobster’s girlfriend. Sort of silly. (4:42)
4 Mid tempo. Lots of guitar and drums. (5:56)
5 ** Slow. Singing & playing (electric but soft) are much like a Clapton ballad. (3:40)
6 *** Blues-rock. Well crafted melody. Among his best singing efforts on here. (4:46)
7 Super fast. Showy virtuoso guitar solo. A little bit country. (5:19)
8 * Mid tempo. Angry lyric and singing. Varying guitar playing styles, all good. (5:45)
9 *** Slow. Among better guitar solos, beautiful clear tone. Powerful blues singing. (5:43)
10 *** Mid tempo. Alt version of #5. Singing is better. Guitar solos are crunchier. (3:55)
11 * Fast. Fuzzy guitar; furious drumming; a bit of funky organ. (3:49)
12 Fast, raunchy rocker. Driving bass and drums. Lots of fancy fingering on the frets. (4:22)


CD 2: Live concert, recorded December 1979 at The Old Waldorf in San Francisco
1 * Fast, loud, hard rocker. Epic guitar solo midway through. (6:25)
2 Fast, hard, red-neck rock. Amusing. (3:42)
3 * Slower Texas-style blues with monster guitar licks, like Johnny Winter or SRV. (7:01)
4 Mid to fast blues rock. Song doesn’t stand out, but there’s some real big guitar. (4:43)
5 Fast and loud. More of the same. (4:35)
6 Fast and loud. Still more guitar and drums. (6:49)
7 ** Mid tempo blues rock. Some Jimi-like riffs and singing. (6:11)
8 Fast, shit-kickin’, car chasin’ southern rock. Showy solos. (3:51)
9 ** Mid tempo. Chicago style electric blues. Title song of an earlier studio album, and one of his better-known numbers. Audience calls out the hook in the refrain. (5:51)
10 Very fast. Back to the standard stuff as before. Blistering guitar solo. (5:11)
11 ** Super fast. Traditional blues, done by Canned Heat, others. Epic guitar solo. (5:38)
12 *** Sounds like the Stones interpreting Frankie Ford. Great rock and roll tune. (3:39)