Rory Gallagher
Defender

THE REVIEW

As mentioned, the Eighties were difficult years for an artist of Rory Gallagher's caliber, as he was grappling with increasingly complex health conditions, due to his openly admitted dependence on alcoholism. Nevertheless, from a purely artistic point of view, our artist, who always viewed the famous "success at any cost" as smoke in the eyes, goes on his way and, defying the often gaudy musical fashions of the time (in my view, at least) and the explosion of genres like Heavy Metal and its derivatives Glam Metal and so on, five years after the release of the excellent "Jinx", along with the always close-knit duo McAvoy-O'Neill, brings to light in 1987 (the year of my birth, as if by chance!) this yet another Rock/Blues gem named Defender.

As in the case of Jinx, the choice of a random title is simply not: with this, Rory's intention was to once again reiterate his stubborn resistance to any kind of musical choice that led to so-called "easy money" (thus "making a matching pair" with his Against The Grain of 1975), thus setting himself as a defender of his Rock/Blues roots from which, in fact, this latest album of excellent quality literally sprouts.

The survey begins with "Kickback City", the usual Rock/Blues piece à la Rory in which our artist distinguishes himself with the usual, impeccable work on the Stratocaster, and the same mood is followed by the equally valid "Continental Op" dedicated to the homonymous work of the narrator Dashiell Hammett (of whom Rory was a fan) which also presents an equally solid sound without any slippage.

With "Loanshark Blues" and, above all, with the magnificent "I Ain't No Saint" the dusty Blues paths beaten by that "sacred monster" of Chicago Blues which is John Lee Hooker are re-traveled with results in this case decidedly excellent as well.

"Failsafe Day" is another great muscular Rock/Blues piece supported by a series of excellent riffs and by the rocky yet perfect rhythm section of the McAvoy-O'Neill duo that is brilliantly proposed again in the subsequent "Road To Hell" which already by its title might appear as a citation of the famous "Highway To Hell" by the glorious AC/DC of the Bon Scott Era, but in reality is a powerful track that winks at Southern Rock by ZZTop and friends in some passages.

With "Doing Time", another excellent track, the quality continues to remain very high, and the same goes for "Smear Campaign" which once again reveals his passion for espionage-themed "B-Movies".

The cover of the great Sonny Boy Williamson's "Don't Start Me Talkin'" features Mark Feltham, from the band Nine Below Zero and a friend of McAvoy and O'Neill, here authoring a beautiful harmonica solo, and who will later become a regular collaborator on the subsequent album "Fresh Evidence" three years later.

With the superb acoustic Country/Blues of "Seven Days", Lou Martin's electric piano returns "by popular demand", flawlessly accompanying Rory's acoustic style, excellently closing a Rock/Blues album with Hard Rock tinges of incredibly solid demeanor that leaves absolutely no chance from the very first listen.

Worth noting from the 2018 CD reissue is the addition of two more Rock/Blues tracks like "Seems To Me" and "No Peace For The Wicked", confirming, if it was still necessary, the great consistency of this record work.