Con la "Fase 2" dell'emergenza Covid-19 appena iniziata da un po' di giorni, è stata mia intenzione acquistare un libro che mi ha permesso di poter finalmente abbracciare convintamente la causa del grandissimo musicista irlandese che risponde al nome di William Rory Gallagher, ossia "Rory Gallagher: Il Bluesman con la camicia a quadri" scritto dall'ottimo Fabio Rossi e, conseguentemente, ho deciso di continuare la ricerca alla sua assai pregevole discografia e l'attenzione è ricaduta immediatamente su questo "Live! In Europe" pubblicato nel lontano (ma non troppo!) 1972.
Dopo l'avventura breve ma intensa con i Taste, il giovane quanto deciso Rory compone due ottimi album solisti, l'uno l'omonimo "Rory Gallagher" a inizio 1971 e l'altro eccellente "Deuce" di pochi mesi più tardi, e poi decide con il suo "power trio", composto dall'ottimo Gerry McAvoy al basso e da Wilgar Campbell alla batteria, di dare sfogo alla dimensione a lui indubbiamente più congegnale, quella, cioè, del live e nel 1972 vede la luce questo primo, strepitoso album "in presa diretta" con il Tour europeo che il grandioso chitarrista intraprese in quell'anno praticamente in mezza Europa (e una tappa della quale ebbe persino luogo a Milano sempre in quell'anno, precisamente presso il "Teatro Lirico" il 12 febbraio).
L'album in questione si compone di 7 eccellenti tracce (più due di bonus aggiunte nella versione rimasterizzata su CD del 2018) che mettono in luce un Rory Gallagher in forma smagliante e capace di "matare" gli spettatori dei suoi adrenalinici concerti con la sua leggendaria Fender Stratocaster modello Sunburst del 1961 (originariamente appartenuta, per la cronaca, un certo Buddy Holly, non un nome qualsiasi!). Si parte al massimo la classica "Messin' With The Kid" con bella sei corde di Rory che scalda decisamente i motori, seguita dall'altrettanto scatenata "Laundromat" tratta dall'album d'esordio, che accenna un Hard Rock potente ed incisivo quanto basta per mandare già in estasi l'adorante suo pubblico.
I classici canoni Blues tornano a bomba con "I Could've Had Religion" in cui a dominare la scena è la strepitosa "slide guitar" di Rory e con un altro classico, questa volta a firma Fulton Allen, che porta il nome di "Piston Slapper Blues" con cui dimostra anche imbacciando la chitarra acustica di essere nettamente una spanna superiore rispetto alla grande maggioranza dei suoi colleghi.
Ma il pezzo migliore di tutto l'album è rappresentato indubbiamente dalla magnetica "Going To My Hometown" con il solito, monumentale Rory al mandolino dove emerge però anche la (fin troppo sottovalutata) vena cantautorale dell'irlandese che in questa canzone ci fornisce, infatti, uno spaccato della propria infanzia ai tempi della sua permanenza a Cork con la famiglia.
"In Your Time", tratto da "Deuce", è, invece, un pezzo qui riprodotto con energia con un altro inappuntabile assolo di Rory a metà brano, mentre l'epilogo è affidato a un classico ri-arrangiato sempre dal magico tocco di Rocy quale "Bullfrog Blues" che chiude di fatto un album Live che può esser considerato non solo imprescindibile punto di partenza per capire il valore assoluto di un Musicista con la maiuscola troppo spesso dimenticato e bistrattato in vita da certa critica, per così dire, "perbenista", ma soprattutto per comprendere appieno quella "magia musicale" che solo i cosiddetti "Seventies" potevano riservare.
Un'ultima nota riguarda i due "bonus-track" contenuti nella versione rimasterizzata in CD "What In The Word" e "Hoodoo Man" che confermano la magnifica predisposizione del genio irlandese al Rock/Blues più sanguigno e viscerale in assoluto.
Elenco tracce testi e video
01 Messin' With the Kid (06:25)
What's this I hear going all around town?
The people are sayin' you gonna put the kid down
Lordy, what your doing?
You call it what you want,
I call it messin' with the kid.
You told me you loved me
You told me a lie,
I love you woman till the day I die
Lordy, what you doin
You can call it what you want
I call it messin' with the kid
You took the kids' car and drove all around town
Tellin' everybody you're gonna put me down,
Lordy, what you doing
Call it what you want
I call it meson' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Lordy what you doing
You call it what you want,
I call it messin' with the kid
You told me you love me
You told me a lie
I love you woman till the day I die
Took my car and drove all around town,
Tellin' everybody you gonna put me down
Lordy what you doing,
I call it messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin with the kid
Messin' with the kid
Messin' with the kid
02 Laundromat (05:07)
What do you think of that?
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass by be sure to drop my bag
Come 'round and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
Right through to the end
Right through to the end
What do you think of that?
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass you should drop my bag
But I don't have no clothes to clean,
to put inside the machine
It was the craziest place I've ever been
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
Say I told you so
Maybe bad times come and go
You don't know that right now but then you'll never know
What do you think of that
I'm on the street like an old stray cat
If you should look for me you'd know exactly where to go
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me, with me to the end
What do you think of that
I'm sleeping down at the laundromat
If you should pass by drop right in
But I have no clothes to clean
To put inside the machine
It was the craziest place I've ever been
Oh, come around and meet my friends
They'll be there with me right through to the end
03 I Could've Had Religion (08:39)
I could've had religion, I could religion
But my little girl wouldn't let me pray
I swear to the world she drove my spirit away
She drove my spirit away, she drove my spirit away
I could've had religion, I could've had religion
But my little girl wouldn''t let me pray
I tell the truth, she drove my spirit away
She drove my spirit away
I could've been, I could've been a preacher,
But I changed my mind the other nigh
The woman I have now, she would not treat me right
She would not treat me right
I've been a bad man, as bad can be
Gonna pray to the Lord above to send his blessing on me
I want some mercy, you got set my soul free
Set my soul free, Please..
I could've had, I could've had religion
But my little girl wouldn't let me pray.
Well, demon woman, you sent the devil my way,
You sent the devil my way.
Oh Lord above please send my fire,
Send your mercy right down to me.
That woman set the devil on me,
She set the devil on me,
She set the devil one me,
She set the devil on me.
Could've had religion
06 In Your Town (09:48)
Look out baby, your man is back in town
Look out baby, your man is back in town
Look out baby, I won't stand no messin'`round
The first man I wanna see is the Chief Police,
bring that man right over here
I wanna speak (?) my peace
I wanna 'cause no trouble, no fuzz, no fight,
but you look out man, you know this is Saturday night
The second man I wanna see is the old fire chief,
bring that man right over here
Stand him right in front of me
I wanna cause no trouble, no fuzz, no fight
see this match, I might set this place alight
So look out...
The third man I wanna see is the old D.A.,
he was the man who sent me away
Twenty two years, twenty three days, twenty four minutes
I was locked away
You come along baby, ask me where I've been,
up-the-river-holiday (?), up in Sing Sing
One cold floor, four bare walls,
that's all they gave me, nothing else at all
Sing Sing, Sing Sing, Sing Sing,
when I came out I could not feel a thing...
Now I'm back in your town,
in your town, in your town, in your town...
07 Bullfrog Blues (06:48)
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
You had to sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
My mother got em,
My father got em,
My sister got em,
My brother got em.
I woke up this morning,
My grandmother had them too,
Well, don't you know about that,
I got the bullfrog blues.
Bullfrog
My mother got em,
My father got em,
My sister got em,
My brother got em.
I woke up this morning,
My grandmother had them too,
Well, don't you know about that,
I got the bullfrog blues.
Called up my doctor,
Was not feeling so well,
Well, I called up the doctor,
Was not feeling so well.
He looked inside his bag and said,
"Well, well"....
You don't need no doctor,
You don't need no pill,
You don't need no doctor,
You don't need no pill.
Just take my advice,
It'll surely cure your ills.
Head on down to New Orleans,
Prettiest place you ever seen,
Get on down to the river bend,
That's where the music never ends.
Open your ears,
Don't you feel good?
Get yourself one helluva shot of rhythm 'n' blues.
Go on down to new Orleans,
The greatest place you ever been,
Head on down to the river bend,
Dig the music of the Cajun bands,
Honky-tonk piano,
Make you feel good,
Open your ears,
To rhythm 'n' blues.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
Well, did you ever wake up,
With them bullfrogs on your mind?
You had to sit there laughin',
Laughin' just to keep from crying.
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
Well, did you ever wake up,
With that one woman on your mind,
You had to sit there laughing,
Laughing just to keep from crying.
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