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Rating: With the "Phase 2" of the Covid-19 emergency having just begun a few days ago, it was my intention to purchase a book that finally allowed me to wholeheartedly embrace the cause of the great Irish musician known as William Rory Gallagher, namely "Rory Gallagher: Il Bluesman con la camicia a quadri" written by the excellent Fabio Rossi, and consequently, I decided to continue the search for his very fine discography and my attention immediately fell on this "Live! In Europe" released in the distant (but not too distant!) 1972.
After the brief but intense adventure with Taste, the young and determined Rory composed two excellent solo albums, the self-titled "Rory Gallagher" in early 1971 and the other excellent "Deuce" a few months later, and then decided with his "power trio," composed of the excellent Gerry McAvoy on bass and Wilgar Campbell on drums, to give vent to the dimension undoubtedly most congenial to him, that is, the live performance. In 1972, this first, stunning "live" album was born with the European Tour that the great guitarist undertook in that year practically across half of Europe (one stop of which even took place in Milan in that year, precisely at the "Teatro Lirico" on February 12).
The album in question comprises 7 excellent tracks (plus two bonus tracks added in the remastered 2018 CD version) showcasing a Rory Gallagher in splendid form, capable of "matare" the audience of his adrenaline-pumping concerts with his legendary 1961 Sunburst model Fender Stratocaster (originally belonging, for the record, to a certain Buddy Holly, not just any name!). It kicks off with the classic "Messin' With The Kid" with Rory's spirited six-string definitely warming up the engines, followed by the equally unleashed "Laundromat" from the debut album, which hints at a powerful and incisive Hard Rock just enough to already send his adoring audience into raptures.
The classic Blues canons come back strongly with "I Could've Had Religion" where Rory's stunning "slide guitar" dominates the scene, and with another classic, this time by Fulton Allen, named "Piston Slapper Blues" where he demonstrates that even armed with the acoustic guitar, he is undeniably a cut above the vast majority of his peers.
But the best piece on the entire album is undoubtedly the magnetic "Going To My Hometown" with the usual monumental Rory on mandolin, where the (far too underestimated) singer-songwriter vein of the Irishman also emerges. In this song, he provides us with a glimpse of his childhood during his time living in Cork with his family.
"In Your Time," from "Deuce," is a piece reproduced here with energy, with another impeccable solo by Rory midway through the track, while the epilogue is entrusted to a classic rearranged by Rory's magical touch as "Bullfrog Blues," which effectively closes a Live album that can be considered not only an essential starting point to understand the absolute value of a Musician with a capital M too often overlooked and mistreated in life by certain critics, so to speak, "mainstream," but also to fully understand that "musical magic" that only the so-called "Seventies" could offer.
A final note concerns the two "bonus tracks" contained in the remastered CD version "What In The World" and "Hoodoo Man," which confirm the magnificent predisposition of the Irish genius to the rawest and most visceral Rock/Blues ever.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Messin' With the Kid (06:25)
What's this I hear going all around town?
The people are sayin' you gonna put the kid down
Lordy, what your doing?
You call it what you want,
I call it messin' with the kid.
You told me you loved me
You told me a lie,
I love you woman till the day I die
Lordy, what you doin
You can call it what you want
I call it messin' with the kid
You took the kids' car and drove all around town
Tellin' everybody you're gonna put me down,
Lordy, what you doing
Call it what you want
I call it meson' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Lordy what you doing
You call it what you want,
I call it messin' with the kid
You told me you love me
You told me a lie
I love you woman till the day I die
Took my car and drove all around town,
Tellin' everybody you gonna put me down
Lordy what you doing,
I call it messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
02 Laundromat (05:07)
What do you think of that?
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass by be sure to drop my bag
Come 'round and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
Right through to the end
Right through to the end
What do you think of that?
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass you should drop my bag
But I don't have no clothes to clean,
to put inside the machine
It was the craziest place I've ever been
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
Say I told you so
Maybe bad times come and go
You don't know that right now but then you'll never know
What do you think of that
I'm on the street like an old stray cat
If you should look for me you'd know exactly where to go
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me, with me to the end
What do you think of that
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass by drop right in
But I have no clothes to clean
To put inside the machine
It was the craziest place I've ever been
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
03 I Could've Had Religion (08:39)
I could've had religion, I could religion
But my little girl wouldn't let me pray
I swear to the world she drove my spirit away
She drove my spirit away, she drove my spirit away
I could've had religion, I could've had religion
But my little girl wouldn''t let me pray
I tell the truth, she drove my spirit away
She drove my spirit away
I could've been, I could've been a preacher,
But I changed my mind the other nigh
The woman I have now, she would not treat me right
She would not treat me right
I've been a bad man, as bad can be
Gonna pray to the Lord above to send his blessing on me
I want some mercy, you got set my soul free
Set my soul free, Please..
I could've had, I could've had religion
But my little girl wouldn't let me pray.
Well, demon woman, you sent the devil my way,
You sent the devil my way.
Oh Lord above please send my fire,
Send your mercy right down to me.
That woman set the devil on me,
She set the devil on me,
She set the devil one me,
She set the devil on me.
Could've had religion
06 In Your Town (09:48)
Look out baby, your man is back in town
Look out baby, your man is back in town
Look out baby, I won't stand no messin'`round
The first man I wanna see is the Chief Police,
bring that man right over here
I wanna speak (?) my peace
I wanna 'cause no trouble, no fuzz, no fight,
but you look out man, you know this is Saturday night
The second man I wanna see is the old fire chief,
bring that man right over here
Stand him right in front of me
I wanna cause no trouble, no fuzz, no fight
see this match, I might set this place alight
So look out...
The third man I wanna see is the old D.A.,
he was the man who sent me away
Twenty two years, twenty three days, twenty four minutes
I was locked away
You come along baby, ask me where I've been,
up-the-river-holiday (?), up in Sing Sing
One cold floor, four bare walls,
that's all they gave me, nothing else at all
Sing Sing, Sing Sing, Sing Sing,
when I came out I could not feel a thing...
Now I'm back in your town,
in your town, in your town, in your town...
07 Bullfrog Blues (06:48)
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
You had to sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
My mother got em,
My father got em,
My sister got em,
My brother got em.
I woke up this morning,
My grandmother had them too,
Well, don't you know about that,
I got the bullfrog blues.
Bullfrog
My mother got em,
My father got em,
My sister got em,
My brother got em.
I woke up this morning,
My grandmother had them too,
Well, don't you know about that,
I got the bullfrog blues.
Called up my doctor,
Was not feeling so well,
Well, I called up the doctor,
Was not feeling so well.
He looked inside his bag and said,
"Well, well"....
You don't need no doctor,
You don't need no pill,
You don't need no doctor,
You don't need no pill.
Just take my advice,
It'll surely cure your ills.
Head on down to New Orleans,
Prettiest place you ever seen,
Get on down to the river bend,
That's where the music never ends.
Open your ears,
Don't you feel good?
Get yourself one helluva shot of rhythm 'n' blues.
Go on down to new Orleans,
The greatest place you ever been,
Head on down to the river bend,
Dig the music of the Cajun bands,
Honky-tonk piano,
Make you feel good,
Open your ears,
To rhythm 'n' blues.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
You had to sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
You had to sit there laughing,
Laughing just to keep from crying.
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