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Rating: Overwhelming.
This is the best adjective to define "Irish Tour", elected by Rolling Stones in 1974 as "best live album of the year", and not without reason. The energy released here is indescribable, but it can still be felt. Rory Gallagher, all too underrated, was the best Irish blues guitarist, and had recently released the two excellent studio albums "Blueprint" and "Tattoo" accompanied by bassist Gerry McAvoy, drummer Rod de'Ath, and keyboardist Lou Martin. An important tour, considering the Troubles of the time, but Rory had the courage and determination to perform in a Belfast in the midst of a civil war.
But let's get to the album itself.
A voice announces the entry of Rory and his band and we can hear an electric guitar tuning up, a few seconds and like a stone the riff of "Cradle Rock" arrives and the show begins. All the ingredients are there for a top-notch performance, great instrumental skill combined with grit and sweat, as blues should be played. The leader's guitar has a raw distortion and Our Hero's fingers know how to caress or attack the strings in turn. His voice may not be virtuosic, but it is functional to this hard-tinted blues. And the band is no less, with powerful and precise rhythm that doesn't miss a beat and the keyboards always in motion, not relegated to mere accompaniment but an integral part of the sound, almost smoothing the edges of this edgy song.
Then there are the slow electric blues like the cover of "I Wonder Who" or that of "Too Much Alcohol" where the guitar is free to improvise with taste. And then what about the almost hard rock of "Tatto'd Lady" or the jams "Walk on hot coals" and "Who's that coming". But perhaps the peak of this fantastic album is the cover of Tony Joe White's "As The Crow Flies", where Gallagher performs with the '32 National Dobro, making great use of slide technique in a performance filled with emotional intensity, all sealed by a chilling harmonica solo.
An album to be placed in the category of "The Most Underrated Live Albums in Rock History"; an album that is a must-have if you love blues-laden rock and to do justice to a guitarist and performer like Rory Gallagher who left us too soon but whose humility and sincerity were striking.
P.s.: There is also a DVD version of "Irish Tour" remastered by BGM in 2001 which, in addition to the performances of the record, also features great backstage clips.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Cradle Rock (07:35)
If I was a cradle then you'd let me rock
If I was a pony then you'd let me trot
If I was the atom then you'd split me into three
But when I want to see you, baby
How come you lock your door on me?
If I was a baby you wouldn't let me fall
If I was an outlaw you wouldn't have me caught
If I was a tiger you wouldn't have me caged
If I was somebody else you would act your age
You'll miss out if you leave me out of your day and night
I will try to make you see and hear what I got to say
It's all about me and you, alright
If I was a blind man then you'd make me see
If I was a deaf man you'd give me hears to hear
If I was a lame man you'd give me legs to walk
But if you were true to me, baby
You would listen when I talk
If I was a cradle then you'd let me rock
If I was a pony then you'd let me trot
If I was the atom then you'd split me into three
But when I want to see you, baby
How come you lock your door on me?
03 Tattoo'd Lady (05:02)
Tattoo'd Lady,
Bearded baby,
They're my family.
When I was lonely,
Something told me, where,
I could always be.
Where I could,
Wish for pennies,
If we had any.
You'd meet me down,
At the shooting gallery.
Yes I'm a,
Fair ground baby.
Wonder what made me,
Fall for the pearly queen.
I spent my youth,
Under canvas roof,
As I roamed from town to town.
I'm not fooling,
When I say I got no schoolin',
Never like the class bell sound.
From the caravan,
I hear the fairground band,
Sounding good as they can be.
You know I can't be found,
But if you look around,
Tomorrow we'll be gone by dawn.
Alright...
Now hear it on the loud speaker say,
The fire eater is a real fine sight to see,
Yeah he's a death cheater,
Some kind of central heater,
Be sure to save a seat for me.
Let me tell you 'bout wicked Sadie,
She's no baby,
The law came,
And tried to close her sideshow down.
But soon she had the D.A. cheering,
The police chief wearing,
Her garter for a crown.
I spent my youth,
Under canvas roof,
As I roamed from town to town.
I'm not fooling,
When I say I got no schoolin',
Never like the school bell sound.
From the caravan,
I hear the fairground band,
Sounding good as they can be.
You know I can't be found,
But if you look around,
Tomorrow we'll be gone by dawn.
Yeahh...
Tattoo'd Lady,
Bearded baby,
They're my family.
When I was lonely,
Something told me, where,
I could always be.
Where I could,
Wish for pennies,
If we had any.
You'd meet me down,
At the shooting gallery.
Tattoo'd lady........
04 Too Much Alcohol (08:28)
Yeahhh...
Too much alcohol,
Yeahhh....
I went down on 31st Street,
To pick up a jug of alcohol,
Well, I went down on 31st Street,
To pick up a jug of alcohol.
Ahhh.........
Told the man to put in some water,
But he wouldn't put in a drop at all.
I was drinking my straight alcy,
And I went walking on down the street,
Well, I was drinking my straight alcy,
And I went walking on down the street.
Yeahhh....
Well, my eyes got so heavy,
I nearly fell half asleep.
Well, I like sherry brandy,
My baby sure like gin,
Well, that little girl I got,
Sure put me in the,
Spin I'm in.
Well, I went down on 31st Street,
To pick up a jug of alcohol.
Yeahhh....
I told the man to put in some water,
But he wouldn't put in a drop at all.
Whisky make me drowsey,
And gin can make you think,
Well, a common cold can kill ya,
But, my baby tell me to drink,
I went down on 31st Street,
To pick up a jug of alcohol,
Yeahhh....
I told the guy to put in some water,
But he wouldn't put in a drop at all,
One hundred per cent alcohol,
Well, let me have some.
Well, I like sherry and brandy,
My baby sure likes gin,
And that little girl I got,
Sure put me in,
The spin I'm in.
I went down on 31st Street,
To pick up, pick up a jug of alcohol,
Yeahhh....
I told the man to put in some water,
But he won't put in a drop at all.
Ninety one per cent,
Better make it ninety two,
Ninety three per cent,
Ninety four, that'll do,
Ninety five,
Ninety six,
Ninety seven per cent,
Ninetyeight,
Bartender that's ninety nine,
Make it one hundred per cent,
One hundred per cent,
One hundred per cent,
Wanna try some,
I wanna try some,
One hundred per cent,
Then I won't feel a thing at all.
05 As the Crow Flies (05:51)
Well, it ain't too good,
The way you treat your man,
It's less than good,
It sure ain't kind,
It's your mistake,
You'll see in time,
When I'm gone, when I'm gone.
Well, it's been so long,
Since I felt that glow,
The flame was bright,
But it's burning low,
I should be gone,
But I'm slow to go,
Serves me right, serves me.....
It doesn't seem clear,
What happens from here and now,
You've called the tune, but maybe soon,
Someone must pay for the piper.
Well, it ain't too late,
To change your mind,
For it's time you knew,
Just where I stand,
Well, let me know,
'Cause I got plans,
From now on, from now on, from now on.
06 A Million Miles Away (09:35)
This hotel bar is full of people, the piano man is really laying it down
The old bartender is a high as a steeple, so why tonight should I wear a frown? (Yes, I'm a...)
Million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay
Why ask how I feel how does it look to you?
I feel hook, line and sinker, I lost my captain and my crew
I'm standing on the landing, there's no one there but me
That's where you'll find me, looking out on the deep blue sea
This hotel bar is full of people, the piano man is really laying it down
The old bartender is a high as steeple, so why tonight should I wear a frown?
The joint is jumping all around me and my mood is really not in style
Right now the blues want to surround me but I'll break out after a while
Well, I'm a million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay
Why ask how I feel, well, how does it look to you?
I feel hook line and sinker, I lost my captain and my crew
I'm standing on the landing and there's no one there but me
That's where you'll find me, looking out on the deep blue see
There's a song on the lips of everybody, there's a smile all around the room
There's conversation overflowing, so why must I sit here in the gloom?
This hotel bar lost all its people, the piano man has caught the last bus home
The old bartender is asleep in the corner, so why must I still be here, I don't know
Well, I'm a million miles away, I'm a million miles away
I'm sailing like a driftwood on a windy bay
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By Ali76
Imagine a less polished and shiny Clapton... sweaty and drunk, violently abusing the guitar in every way and spitting dirty blues in the face of his audience.
You need a live album and, for this writer, 'Irish Tour' is a great album that every guitarist, but not only, anyone who loves blues/rock, should have!
