Sep 13 2008
1971 L.A.Times ‘Whisky A Go Go’ review
New Trio Rocks, Rolls Down Whisky Chimney
All those folks planning to ask Santa for a sleek new powerhouse rock trio with fast lines and lightning trimmings got their wish 74 days early when Rory Gallagher and friends debuted at the Whisky a Go Go Wednesday, and ripped the place up.
Gallagher, whose business is spreading sweet and often manic rock music, is a modest Irish lad with a round genial face, huge eyebrows, a metallic voice and an impressive style halfway between a rampaging steamroller and a spunky squirrel gone berserk. He is the real thing.
Eager to Move
The music has nothing to do with dream, myth, metaphor or the subconscious. It is usually loud and tough-fibered, and Gallagher hits you with it right between the eyes. Best of all, it never takes itself quite seriously enough to lose its rather nice and believable aura of flash.
Some might dismiss Gallagher and company as warmed-over Cream. but Gallagher never wears a gaudy wardrobe of old hats. On songs like “Sinner Man (sic),” “Hands Up,” “Laundromat” and “I fall Apart” he shows a refreshing (and rare) eagerness to move the audience. He does.
The other two thirds of his band are Wilgar Campbell (drums) and Gerry McAvoy (bass). they have brains, taste and inventiveness, and they rock. Gallagher, a whiz on lead guitar, plays with fierceness and the good taste to avoid the stock phrase.
Michael Ross, Los Angeles Times, October 16, 1971
