Customer Reviews

Fresh Evidence (Reis)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first started lisning to rory about fifteen years ago,I owed his first four albums an two with taste,when buddah released his stuff I bought the early seventy albums on cd, an found that the remastering an packaging to be exceptional,I started buying his other releases an before I knew it I had them all,fresh evidence an the rest of rorys catalog our awesome!!!,there our no disapointments, it just amazes me that he never made it as big as clapton or the stones,even they had some duds along the way,nice price great remastering,an packageing bonus tracks an liner notes,an above all the music of rory gallagher!!!!

If you got hooked on The Flannel King's early-70s work (BLUEPRINT, CALLING CARD, DEUCE, etc) then it's near-impossible to dislike anything he ever did, including an album like this from late in his career/life when it was obvious he was in declining health. Even running on fumes, Rory's work never betrayed his art or his fans - his heart was always true. FRESH EVIDENCE, while not his best, is still worth buying and playing over and over - if for no other reason to hear a master guitar player outwit his infirmities with cunning, experience and pure feel. No, you won't find a 'Cradle Rock' on this set -or even a 'Shin Kicker'- but listen to 'Middle Name' and you'll hear a stripped-down minimalism so slinky and nasty you might not notice or care that the roof-raising long solos are behind him. And there are a pair of instrumentals included here that will leave teeth marks in your ass: the sound of a guitar warrior going down fighting. Five years he's gone and I still miss this guy.

It's simple impossible to find one bad, or even average, Rory Gallagher album. All his albums are phenomenal. Of course in some of them there are a few weak tunes, but they are made good due to Rory's immense passion when playing and singing.

In FRESH EVIDENCE, Roy flerts with a more modern production and drum sound. We are in 1988 here. This is not his best album (CALLING CARD is, followed close by a lot of others, like DEUCE and PHOTO PHINISH), but it's no an album recommend only for his fans: anyone new to Gallagher may begin his collection buying ANY of his albums. The guy is genius. God bless his soul.

It's hard to understate just how much Rory Gallagher's honest rendering of blues-infused rock are missed. Unlike many of his contemporaries, such as Eric Clapton, who softened their stance or others who embraced showboating over substance, Rory was always a denim and flannel poster child who drained every ounce of emotion from his guitar.

His final studio session, "Fresh Evidence," again shows Rory to be on a mission to put his stamp on every style of blues. He succeeds better than one might imagine, in part to his skills, in part to his understanding of the music he loved, and in part to have a crack band surrounding him.

It's hard to pick favorites among such diverse tracks as Kid Gloves, Heaven's Gate, The Loop, and Slumming Angel, but I might have to go with the ironically titled Ghost Blues because Rory, his long-time bassist Gerry McAvoy, and drummer Brendan O'Neil create a wall of sound so tight it might repel water.

A few stumbles, notably The King of Zydeco, do not detract greatly from another excellent effort, and despite 20 plus years of mining the blues, Rory still found a way to keep things fresh and lively.

Is this Rory's best album? No. Is it a very high quality blues album? Oh, heck yes! In fact, Slumming Angel ranks as one of the best songs in his catalog. I dare say that you won't be disappointed in this album. Give it a try.

Somehow I missed out on Rory Gallagher's music until recently. After picking up his fantastic signature "Irish Tour" album, I began collecting more and more of his stuff. It's all good and this one is great too - six albums later and I've yet to be anything less than amazed by this great talent. In my opinion he is as good as anyone on guitar. All things Rory are good. If you are a fan and don't have "Fresh Evidence" yet - then get it!

There is so much good music around its hard to hear it all, but I try to. I came rather late on Rory Gallagher's bandwagon as I was more into jazz while he was in his heyday. I'd heard him around, but it wasn't until I heard Fresh Evidence back when it was first issued that I started to pay any serious attention to him.
I don't know very well his earlier albums that many proclaim as being superior to this, but if that is so they must be great indeed! There is so much to like here its hard to pick a place to start. So I'll do it from the beginning. Gallagher charges hard right from that point with a searing Kid Gloves. That is followed by The King of Zydeco, a stupendous accordion tinged tribute to Clifton Chenier deeply evocative of the music of South Louisiana. Other favorites include Middle Name, the rousing Heaven's Gate, and another nod to Cajun blues on the bonus track Never Asked You For Nothin'. That doesn't mean I don't like the others! There is no filler, Fresh Evidence is a smashing success.
The reissue comes with an insert that contains album info including a short piece on how it came to be, a couple of pictures, and the track-listing with a laudatory sentence or two summarizing the spirit of each track. Whether you are well-versed in Gallagher's oeuvre or a just a casual fan, Fresh Evidence is a recording that merits a place in your collection. Pick it up while it is still available.

I can't get over the first two songs on this album just to begin with, "Kid Gloves" surely is one of the best rockers I've heard, okay, blues, whatever, it is so descriptive, it's about a boxer sprung from San Quentin and now in fights he is expected to throw a fight, "I'll do anything but dive" and the raucous piano solo, wow... and then, that's followed up by "The King of Zydeco", yes, Zydeco is sort of like Cajun but it's Creole I'm told, just pair that beat with Paul McCartney's cajun styled "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" from Run Devil Run, you've got to hear that one and I think, wow, what a double-header. Alexis is an instrumental tribute to Alexis Koerner, famed pioneer of British Blues which merits mentioning though I don't think it is one of the CDs top tracks, I mean I'm not even sure if anyone has songs comparing to some of the best on this CD. In fact, all of these songs just excel, I've had earlier Rory Gallagher albums, I think this album reflects his evolution. Others call the '70s album his classic period, okay, that might be true but this equally is unmissable, in fact, it might be different but just as good. Some I believe want blues of the style of the '60s British blues revivalism but this is way better than any of those I've heard, respectfully, Yardbirds, Clapton, and the Bluesbreakers. Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones? Forget it, they aren't even in the same ball park, this is real and truly compares with the great masters. Perhaps the great early works of the Animals and Them might only be worthy of comparison to Rory Gallager. If I listen to Rory's "Blueprint" album it might sound akin to Cream but this is totally Rory.

"Heaven's Gate" has to be at least a 3rd masterpiece of the album I'd highlight, it has so much depth, breadth, feel and width to it, I can barely think of any artist who has anything to compare. "The loop" seems to be another widely hailed song, sort of sounds a bit like something off of John Mayall's Jazz Blues fusion and strangely sounds quite a bit like the theme to bandstand but that is to say, this is a bit of a traditional jazz type number like those where you hear the whole band introduced and then play a bit of their instument be it bass, drums, etc. "Ghost Blues" has some acoustics early on that sound a bit similar to those on Blind Faith's "can't find my way home" and some "train" harmonica playing as well.

THIS IS RORY'S FINAL STUDIO ALBUM, AND A VERY SAD GOODBYE IT IS TOO.THE WEARINESS AND ILLNESS THAT PLAGUED THIS UNPARALLELED MUSICIAN IN THE LAST YEARS OF HIS LIFE ARE EVIDENT THE LETHARGY THAT PERMEATES EVERY SONG.I PREFER TO THINK OF HIS PREVIOUS ALBUM "DEFENDER" AS HIS EPITAPH-NOT UP TO HIS CLASSIC SEVENTIES PERIOD,BUT VERY SOLID NONETHELESS...REST IN PEACE,RORY