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Albums Of The Week: Rory Gallagher | All Around Man – Live in London

Captured in the Irish blues-rock guitar hero's latter days, these live recordings don't pack the same punch of his raw early work — but compensate with skillful maturity.

THE EDITED PRESS RELEASE:Rory Gallagher’s All Around Man — Live In London is a 23-track live album of recently rediscovered material taken from a previously undocumented period of one of the greatest guitarists of all time. Released on double-CD and triple-LP sets, this exhilarating album is pulled from two nights at the Town & Country Club (now the The O2 Forum) in London in December 1990.

All Around Man – Live In London was recorded during shows that supported Gallagher’s 11th, and sadly, last studio album Fresh Evidence, released in May 1990. This album features captivating live versions of tracks from that album as well as songs from the 1987 Defender album, plus other career favourites. This new album has been mixed from the recently found multi-tracks and mastered at Abbey Road Studios, and the album’s cover is a painting by Irish graffiti artist Vincent Zara, who has stencilled Rory’s image across his home country.

Gallagher’s live performances are a thing of legend. He was an artist that came alive when onstage, and as a result some of his most successful albums are his live outings such as Live! In Europe and Irish Tour ’74. In advance of Live In London, Gallagher had spent an unprecedented six months in the studio making Fresh Evidence (he was known for recording albums rapidly, sometimes in as little as two weeks!). But as always, he was at his live best, demonstrating his love and hunger for performance. The recordings on All Around Man – Live In London are testament to that raw energy.

Gallagher was an Irish musician, songwriter, and producer. He formed the blues-rock trio Taste in 1966 and found success in the U.K. and Europe before pursuing a solo career throughout the 1970s and 1980s, selling more than 30 million records worldwide. Gallagher is known for his virtuoso guitar playing, which strongly influenced other guitarists from Sir Brian May to Slash. Gallagher was listed as the 57th greatest guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine and the Greatest Irish Music Artist by Irish Radio.”