This album captures one of Ireland’s most loved musicians in his favorite setting, live on stage. Perfectly capturing the live connection between the audience and performer, Irish Tour is not only one of Rory Gallagher’s best albums but is surely one of the best live albums ever released.
Mott has always rated this album very highly. The star of the album has to be lead vocalist Dave Byron. In the world of heavy rock, nobody had a voice with such range. Just listen to him pleading on ‘Come away Melinda’ or riding the magic carpet ride of ‘Dreammare.’
Although all of the songs on this collection are recorded live, they are not all from the same concert. In fact, they are not even all from the same year or line-up. The songs kick off with nine from the Raindances tour with Sinclair and Collins on board. All musicians in this incarnation of the band excel.
Although every track is a guitar instrumental, there is more variety on a Peter Banks album than there are colours in a box of Smarties. They range from the sledgehammer licks of ‘Fathat’ to the delicate acoustic work on the delightful ‘Fade to Blue,’ or the tragic beauty of a song like ‘As Night Falls.’
If you like guitar driven power trio rock, low down, dirty, sleazy rawk and roll, with snarled, vicious vocals, guitar licks that kick you straight in the head, guitar solos that make you realize why guitars are called axes, a bass guitarist that drives every song into your brain, every bass player should be called Big George, a drummer who has never heard the word subtle, you have a sense of humour and like a good time, then this is the album for you.
In 1974, Nazareth recorded their fifth studio album, “Rampant”, again with Roger Glover at the production controls. This time the boys decided to do a full-out hard rock album, laying the template for all guitar-driven rock bands for the future.
When Bowie created Ziggy Stardust, he created a monster that would take him on one of the most exciting roller-coaster rides in the history of the entertainment industry. this album had a profound effect on the history of rock ‘n’ roll.
Pick out your air guitar, crank the volume, start at the beginning, and work your way through. Far better for you than going to the gym.
Hanoi Rocks should’ve been huge. At the beginning of the eighties, Motley Crue, Poison, and not even Guns and Roses were hip enough to look over the top of Hanoi Rocks’ platform boots. “Two Steps From The Move” was released in 1983 to mass critical acclaim.
After inventing the heavy metal tag in the bikers’ anthem ‘Born To Be Wild’ and flying the anti-drug cause in ‘The Pusher,’ John Kay and the boys turned their attention to the anti-war campaign with their smash hit album “Monster.”
