DVD Reviews

Rory Gallagher: Irish Tour '74 (Blu-Ray)

I don’t know why but I don’t tend to do much with the music DVD/Blu-rays I receive before putting them in the player. I look to see who the artist is and the title of the release but if I don’t know who the artist or band is, I don’t look them up before delving into the disc. This was the case with Rory Gallagher. I had never heard of him and couldn’t really say I’d ever heard his music before. After having given this release an initial look and listen I can honestly say that Rory Gallagher… bloody rocks!

Directed by the seminal music feature filmmaker Tony Palmer, Irish Tour ’74 captures Rory Gallagher – the man, his music and the magical connection with his live audience to perfection. During the heightened periods of heavy violence and political unrest in Ireland, when other artists dared not come near the place, Gallagher was resolute about touring Ireland winning him the adoration and dedication of thousands of fans, and in the process, becoming a role model for other aspiring young Irish musicians, spearheading the entire Irish rock movement.

Song List:

1. Walk on Hot Coals
2. Tattoo’d Lady
3. Who’s That Coming
4. A Million Miles Away
5. Going to My Home Town
6. Cradle Rock
7. As the Crow Flies
8. Hands Off
9. Bullfrog Blues

Audio is available in DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 Stereo. While the DTS-HD track is likely the way to go with some ambience via the surrounds, deep low end and a very nice warm sound, purists will be happy to hear that the 2.0 track is almost as good (without the surrounds of course).  I haven’t made up my mind on which I prefer. I’m the kind of person who generally prefers their original aspect ratios and original audio tracks but there’s something about the added depth of the soundscapes low end provided by the 5.1 track. While the packaging lists subtitles of English, Dutch, Spanish and French, these are only available for the documentary.

The video is somewhat of a mixed bag. First it’s presented in 1080i and not 1080p which I found odd as this looks as though it was shot on film i.e. 24 fps. Unless their footage was old video footage (the likely original conversion for television broadcast) and not the original film stock, I’m kinda baffled as to the choice of formats. It is, fortunately enough, presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. There has been some restoration to the picture but you can still spot some print damage at times. The picture is soft, grainy and not as detailed as most Blurays. That being said, it does have some adequate contrast levels and a clarity that allows you to enjoy the picture. Considering this was some guerilla filmmaking and not a high gloss big budget picture, and the fact that it’s from 1974, the picture actually looks better than I would have expected.

In the extras department we actually get a few unexpected pieces. First up is the documentary “Music Maker” which runs almost 30 minutes in length. It’s mostly an interview spliced with footage from a concert. It is here that we get the extra songs “Toredown”, “Laundromat”, “Pistol Slapper Blues”, “Don’t Know Where I’m Going” and a different version of “Bullfrog Blues”. The video shows even more grain and is softer than the feature but that’s expected as I’d guess it was shot on video. I didn’t see any of the damage that you would expect if it had been shot on film. “In Your Town” is a piece of home movie footage of the 1974 Japanese tour randomly edited together. It doesn’t have screen specific audio but rather has some live Gallagher music playing over top. The Japanese footage is often out of focus, extremely grainy or in too little light to get a decent enough amount of detail for the picture. The final and possibly greatest extra is the full length commentary from brother Donal Gallagher and bassist Gerry McAvoy. It’s quite interesting to hear the two reminisce about the times and try and figure out where certain things were shot. Considering they weren’t involved in the “making” of the film short of being in it, I was surprised to find that they talked non-stop and about so many different things.

With resemblance to Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix (blues meets rock), the music of Rory Gallagher is sure to make some new fans. For those of you who think I’m bonkers for not knowing who he is, you’ll be pleased to know that this release is not only very entertaining but sounds great. It’s everything a fan could ask for from such a release. I highly recommend fans pick this release up at their earliest convenience. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Review By Rob Harding