Rory Gallagher
Stage Struck

The idea one has of Rory Gallagher, guitarist/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist, is that of a coach who, while sometimes changing tactics or game plans, always remains faithful to his own idea of football and tries to apply it in every type of context, even at the risk of appearing somewhat anachronistic compared to the current times.

Well, after Calling Card from 1976, good old Rory returns to the "power trio" formula with loyal Gerry McAvoy on bass and the vibrant Ted McKenna on drums, and with this renewed band, he records in the studio two excellent Hard Rock albums like Photo Finish in 1978 and a year later the equally excellent Top Priority, and especially a Live album, the third and last of the series, also considered fundamental for the history of global Rock/Blues (to the extent that it is considered by the magazine "Rock Hard" as one of the 500 Rock and Metal albums of all time), namely Stage Struck, recorded between November 1979 and February 1980 and officially released on November 2 of the same year.

Compared to previous Live productions, above all the fabulous "Irish Tour '74" (also available in a double remastered CD edition from 2018), here we have on one hand less sonic experimentation, but on the other hand a Hard Rock guitar soaked in Blues by the genius of Ballyshannon, which decidedly takes on the role of an absolute protagonist.

The platter (later "expanded" in the 2018 reissue with 3 "Bonus Tracks", so to speak, as we'll see later) begins with the scorching "Shin Kicker" in which Rory's six strings are already "on fire", so to speak, immediately followed by the fast yet intense "Wayward Child".

A moment of relative calm is provided by the Rock/Blues of "Brute Force And Ignorance", but promptly interrupted by another powerful Hard Rock discharge represented by that "Moonchild" from the album "Calling Card", which in this Live version offers searing solos.

This thrilling Hard Rock ride continues with the wild "Follow Me" marked by the powerful initial riff, which pours into another pair of breathtaking solos by Rory's Sunburst Stratocaster. An equally successful piece is "Bought And Sold" taken from the album "Against The Grain" of 1975 with another irresistible Rock/Blues pace.

"The Last Of The Independence" compared to the studio version contained in "Photo Finish" is, however, a concentrate of speed and power with another pair of high-level solos, while the finale is all for the sumptuous and engaging Hard Rock of "Shadow Play" which beautifully closes another Live album that's nothing short of essential and which every fan of the Irish guitarist should absolutely own in their collection.

The last note is reserved for the 3 "Bonus Tracks" mentioned earlier: the first is the classic yet well-done Hard Rock of "Hellcat", the second is a beautiful version of "Bad Penny", and the third is, finally, "Keychain", which distills about 5 and a half minutes of pure Hard Blues with even some hints of Heavy Metal especially in the second solo of the piece itself.