Rory Gallagher (1948-1995), for the uninitiated, was regarded as one of the best and most influential guitarists in the world. If interested, you can read about that on his wikipedia page and/or in his bassist Gerry McAvoy’s book Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero.
This post is mainly to introduce those unfamiliar with Rory, or reacquaint/remind those who are, to 12 of his best songs. These range from a live version of Shinkicker, wherein he exudes near-manic energy and exuberance to the ethereal Edged in Blue to the yearning Moonchild to the acoustic fingerpicking tour de force Barley and Grape Rag and beyond.
Rory was a virtuosic instrumentalist, excellent songwriter, and good singer. He had literally dozens of very good songs; these are the “must-hear” dozen of those:
Shinkicker (Rory was bursting with so much energy while performing this, it’s a wonder that he didn’t spontaneously combust)
A Million Miles Away
Bad Penny
Barley and Grape Rag
Crest of a Wave
Edged in Blue
Follow Me
Moonchild
My Baby, Sure (an unusual but highly entertaining “country-rock” tune from Rory’s best studio album, Against the Grain, which was not on the vinyl but was released later as a CD bonus track )
Philby (electric sitar, anyone?)
Shadow Play
Tattoo'd Lady
Of the rest of his songs, the following are the first runner-ups (almost best-ofs): Country Mile, Cradle Rock, Last of the Independents, Laundromat, The Loop, Souped-Up Ford, Walk on Hot Coals, Wayward Child, and Let Me In as well as practically everything else on his 1975 album Against the Grain.
NOTE: Rory also played in an Irish power trio called Taste prior to performing under his own name. They had three songs, in particular, that you might want to check out; they are What's Going On, Born on the Wrong Side of Time and Blister on the Moon.