Rory Gallagher - Notes From San Francisco / 2CD set

2018 European CD reissue, originally released in 2011.

In November 1977, after completing a 6 month world tour, Rory Gallagher and his band flew straight from their last show in Japan to San Francisco to begin working on a new album, with famed American producer Elliot Mazer (Neil Young – 'Harvest', Janis Joplin – 'Cheap Thrills', The Band – 'The Last Waltz'). Mazer recalls that the sessions grew “tense”, as Gallagher wasn’t happy with the mixing process, describing them as “too complicated”, and by the end of January 1978 he shelved the whole record and broke up his band of the past 5 years.

Fast forward to 2010 and Rory’s brother and manager, Dбnal, allowed his son & Rory’s nephew, Daniel, to recover the album from the Gallagher archive and begin the process of mixing it with his engineer. Rory said in 1992 he hoped the album would surface one day but only if it were remixed and now we finally get to hear this never before issued studio album from a key period of Gallagher’s career, an album that would have been released between ‘Calling Card’ and ‘Photo Finish’. This is truly a ‘Holy Grail’ release for Rory’s fans.

CD 2 is also another fabulous discovery, a blistering live album taken from four nights at The Old Waldorf, San Francisco December 1979. In the audience Van Morrison, on stage Rory Gallagher (guitar/vocals), Gerry McAvoy (bass) and Ted McKenna (drums).

Daniel Gallagher chose to add the live side to highlight why Rory chose to shelve the studio album and reduce his band back down to a three piece. As Rory often said he wanted to get back to ‘meat and potatoes rock & roll’. Rory’s desire to get back to the stripped back, three piece line up of his earlier solo and Taste work may in part be down to his attendance at the infamous Sex Pistols show at The Winterland Ballroom. While mixing the studio record in January 1978, Rory Gallagher went along to the show and was completely blown away by the Pistols energy and fury, he described it ''As close to Eddie Cochran as you’re going to get.''