Rory Gallagher: Live at Montreux

Album Review

Think blues-rock guitar, and such names as Stevie Ray Vaughan and Eric Clapton immediately come to mind. In a perfect world, another gentleman would be high up on the list: Rory Gallagher. For reasons unknown, this Irish blues guitarist never received the attention and commercial success that he so rightfully deserved. But it certainly wasn't due to lack of talent on his part, as exemplified throughout the 2006 compilation, Live at Montreux. Also issued around the same time as a DVD, Montreux features several highlights from a quartet of shows (1975, 1977, 1979, and 1985), and serves as a fine sampler for the heights that Gallagher often reached on the concert stage. Things certainly get started on a high note with the barnstorming "Laundromat" (on which Gallagher plays like a man possessed), as the tasty blues licks keep on coming, especially such standouts as "Do You Read Me," "Mississippi Sheiks," and "Shin Kicker." Yet not all of Montreux is high energy blues-rock, as Gallagher shows his acoustic side on such selections as "Out on the Western Plain" and "Too Much Alcohol." From front to back, Live at Montreux is a fine sampler of Gallagher on-stage.