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Rory Gallagher — Defender (1987) Japanese Remastered Reissue

Rory Gallagher — Defender (1987) Japanese Remastered Reissue

   Rory Gallagher — Defender (July 1st, 1987) Japanese Remastered Reissue
Born: 2 March 1948, Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland
Origin: Cork, Ireland
Died: 14 June 1995, London, United Kingdom
Notable instruments: 1961 Sunburst Fender Stratocaster
Album release: 1 July 1987
Recorded: 1987 at The Point, Olympic, West Three, Music Works and Redan Studios
Record Label: Capo–Demon
Duration:     55:43
Tracks:
01. Kickback City      4:51
02. Loanshark Blues      4:29
03. Continental Op      4:34
04. I Ain’t No Saint      5:00
05. Failsafe Day      4:25
06. Road To Hell      5:31
07. Doing Time      4:08
08. Smear Campaign      4:49
09. Don’t Start Me Talkin’      3:37
10. Seven Days      5:16
11. Seems To Me (Bonus Track)      4:54
12. No Peace For The Wicked (Bonus Track)      4:05Personnel:
≡♠≡   Rory Gallagher — vocals, guitar, harmonica
≡♠≡   Gerry McAvoy — bass guitar
≡♠≡   Brendan O’Neill — drums
Invited guests:
≡♠≡   John Cooke — keyboards
≡♠≡   Lou Martin — piano on “Seven Days”
≡♠≡   Bob Andrews — piano on “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’”
≡♠≡   Mark Feltham — harmonica on “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’”
Credits:
≡♠≡   Bob Andrews Keyboards, Piano
≡♠≡   Donato Cinicolo III Photography
≡♠≡   John Cooke Keyboards
≡♠≡   Mark Feltham Harmonica
≡♠≡   Rory Gallagher Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Harmonica, Multi Instruments, Producer, Vocals
≡♠≡   Lou Martin Keyboards, Piano
≡♠≡   Gerry McAvoy Bass
≡♠≡   Alan O’Duffy Assistant Producer, Associate Producer, Producer
≡♠≡   Brendan O’Neil Drums
≡♠≡   Giovanni Scatola Remastering
≡♠≡   Phil Smee Cover Design, Design, Sleeve Art
≡♠≡   Sonny Boy Williamson II ComposerDescription:
Author: Donal Gallagher
≡♠≡   Rory was never a man to sit back and let the world slip by. The 70’s saw him release 10 albums in as many years, work with a great many of his heroes and tour the world. Although his recorded output in the 1980’s was more sporadic he still toured constantly, playing some of the first rock gigs behind the iron curtain as well as cementing his live reputation in Europe and the US.
‘Defender’ his third album of the 80’s, was the first release on his own label. Capo offered him the complete artistic freedom he needed, enabling him to produce the music as he wanted. He admitted “I’m not that organised, but I want anything that I’m doing to be under control, and I want the final say on things”.
≡♠≡   At a time when much of the charts consisted of overproduced / synthesiser–heavy music, Rory continued to pursue his own sound, to the joy of his fans. ‘Defender’ released in ‘87 went straight to the top of the independent charts, proving whichever way the musical ‘fashion’ shifted, an artist of the calibre of Rory will always shine through.
Review by Hal Horowitz, Allmusic.com / Score: ***
≡♠≡   Released five years after his last effort (an eternity for the prolific Irish blues guitar slinger who had been churning out at least an album a year throughout the ‘70s), Defender is another quality blues–rock offering. Although Gallagher is in fine tough form here and it was his debut release for his own indie label, there is little difference between this and some of his less stellar ‘70s albums like Top Priority and Photo–Finish. The pounding, guitar–heavy opener “Kickback City” sounds more like hairy rockers Bad Company than anything approaching the deep Chicago and country blues Gallagher dearly loved. The quality picks up substantially as the volume subsides on “Loanshark Blues,” but by–the–books crunch–rockers like “Failsafe Day” and the unfortunately titled “Road to Hell” don’t bode well for Gallagher moving out from an increasingly formulaic pigeonhole. There are a few corkers here like "Continental Op,” a blazing riff that stands with Gallagher’s best work and revisits his familiar cloak–and–dagger theme. The swampy, less abrasive “I Ain’t No Saint” also pushes the quality up a few notches, as does his gritty version of Sonny Boy Williamson’s “Don’t Start Me to Talking,” the bluesiest song on the disc and one of the few times he pulls out his greasy slide. “Seven Days” is the lone acoustic track and it’s a good one, with piano and harp accompaniment and Gallagher singing like he means it as he takes the part of a criminal fleeing from the electric chair. The 2000 reissue adds a pair of rugged bonus tracks (along with a cleaner sound mix), which are actually better, or certainly as good as the best cuts on the rest of this competent but hardly essential Rory Gallagher disc.
Discography:
≡♠≡   Rory Gallagher — 1971
≡♠≡   Deuce — 1971
≡♠≡   Live in Europe — 1972
≡♠≡   Blueprint — 1973
≡♠≡   Tattoo — 1973
≡♠≡   Irish Tour ‘74 — 1974
≡♠≡   Against the Grain — 1975 Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 October 2009)
≡♠≡   Calling Card — 1976 Rolling Stone review at the Wayback Machine (archived 1 October 2009)
≡♠≡   Photo–Finish — 1978
≡♠≡   Top Priority — 1979
≡♠≡   Stage Struck — 1980
≡♠≡   Jinx — 1982
≡♠≡   Defender — 1987
≡♠≡   Fresh Evidence — 1990
Website: http://rorygallagher.com/≡♠≡≡♠≡≡♠≡________________________________________≡♠≡≡♠≡≡♠≡

Rory Gallagher — Defender (1987) Japanese Remastered Reissue

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