Customer Reviews

Photo Finish

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Imagine, if you will, this blues based rocker opening for Rush. I like Rush but in 1982 this guy waxed the Canadian trio without having the big screen video or light show. He did it on the power of his performances and the songs of this incredible album!!!

"Photo Finish" is not normally recognized as Rory's best but I find it hard not to be with knock-outs like: "Shin Kicker", "Brute Force and Ignorance", "Cloak and Dagger" and "Missippi Sheiks". If you ever hear a review bitching that this isn't Rory Gallagher than the reviewer be damned. Blues is great but these studio performances show Rory expanding beyond his normal repertoire and doing it quite successfully.

His blues were true but his blues/rock kicked butt. The down and dirty songs of a real "street fighter".

(This review applies to the CD version.) Ten stars for the music, five stars for the remastering, but zero for the remixing. Like all of Rory's albums, this is a great one. If I were to choose one as his best, this would be it. The LP version of this album was my introduction to Rory, and it instantly made me a fan. Rory was in a class by himself, and his talent was on a higher level than anything I had heard before. This album is a classic and is one of my all-time favorites. Rory displays his talent on the mandolin and blues harp, and he creates riffs and solos from his Stratocaster as if it were a part of him. Every track is outstanding. While it is more rock-oriented than other releases, Rory still stays true to his blues roots.

BUT -- the remixes on this CD are NOT the original LP versions. A few differences are slight and merely annoying, but unfortunately some are great, to the detriment of the music. From what I have learned, Rory's brother Donal entrusted to recording engineers Colin Fairley and Tony Arnold the task of remastering the album for CD release after Rory's death. For whatever reason, they also remixed it to the extent that the content and sound of most of the tracks have been very noticeably altered. A reading of the credits and the third paragraph of the enclosed liner notes will reveal that Rory did not make these remixes, and they did not have his approval -- they were made two years after his death. They are instead the misguided work of Fairley and Arnold.

Here is a partial list of the ways the CD versions are different from the LP originals:

Shin Kicker - ending doesn't fade out completely like the original (one of only two instances in which the CD version may be as good as or better than the original).

Brute Force & Ignorance - different notes sung at 2:32 through 2:33.

Cruise on Out - different word sung at 2:54 ("step" instead of "groove"); ending begins to fade out, unlike the original.

Cloak & Dagger - different mix on guitar overdub.

Overnight Bag - the CD version may be better than the original. This track is a beautiful Celtic-flavored ballad with acoustic guitar overdubs. This version has a line added at 2:56 through 3:12 that had been omitted in the original, making it slightly longer. No other noticeable changes, thankfully.

Shadow Play - echo has been added to vocals.

The Mississippi Sheiks - excessive, muddy-sounding bass, and added reverb. Bass is much cleaner and tighter on the LP.

The Last of the Independants - echo has been added to vocals.

Fuel To The Fire - Fairley and Arnold did a LOT of damage here. Rory's guitar tone is distorted, there is excessive muddy bass and lots of added reverb, and there are overdubs where none existed on the LP original. Rory wrings a moving Celtic-flavored solo from his Stratocaster on this track, but the factors listed above completely destroy the mood of what was, in its original version, an outstanding blues song. This version is vastly different from the original, which is much cleaner and better in every way.

Despite all the negativity, for those who have the original LP, this CD is worth having for the bonus tracks (even though they are not essential), the liner notes, the remastering, and the longer version of Overnight Bag. Just try to overlook the horribly executed remixing efforts of recording engineers who chose to disrespect the greatness of a classic album from a Guitar Master, and for whatever reason, put their own spin on it. For those who have heard only the CD version of this great album - this is NOT what Rory originally released. Get an LP copy to hear what this album is supposed to sound like. Fuel to the Fire and The Mississippi Sheiks in particular sound much better in their original versions.

Photo Finish is perhaps the late Rory Gallagher's finest album. Strong from the beginning to the end, the tracks are filled with energy and the enthusiasm of musicians who love what they are doing. For this album, Rory went with a three-piece band, reducing or eliminating keyboards, and pushing his guitar sound up right up front. Long time bass player Gerry McAvoy, and drummer Ted McKenna complete the musical trio. The sound is harder and grittier than previous albums like "Calling Card". The music definitely has a "live" sound, with Rory making heavy use of a flanger. This recording contains some of Rory's fastest up-tempo tunes.

Known primarily for playing traditional blues, Rory breaks out of that box with some straight rock tunes that rank among his best songs ever. "Shadow Play" is a masterpiece, with some nice cord changes and a perfect solo. "Shin Kicker" is another song sure to get you moving. "Cruise On Out" is probably the fastest tune Rory ever recorded. The light-hearted "Last of the Independants", is a fun "mobster" story song. "Overnight Bag" is a soulful mid tempo number with a fine Gallagher vocal.

Even on the slower bluesy numbers Rory keeps his sound electric, sticking with his strat. No acoustic numbers this time out. "Fuel to the Fire" is a highlight, pure electrically charged blues, melodic and filled with emotion. On "Cloak And Dagger", Rory is having so much fun he takes a couple of solo breaks, the second features some tasteful slide. As for the extra tracks, "Early Warning" is a nice up-tempo addition, and "Juke Box Annie" is a throwback blues number that is unlike any of the other songs on the album.

Continuing to produce the best music of his career, Rory's next two studio recordings "Top Priority" and "Jinx" followed in the same musical direction established here, more of a rock sound than blues. Both are fine recordings, but neither has quite the fire or raw energy of Photo Finish.

Rory was very unpretentious, a "blue collar" blues player, who took to the stage usually wearing just jeans and a flannel shirt. Playing from the gut, pouring his sweat into the music, he was largely unknown, except to a small group of loyal fans. He has passed on, but his spirit lives on in his music, and I will always be appreciative of the influence he had on my own modest efforts on the guitar.

not every every record benefits from being digitized. they don't sound right. this reissue of rory gallagher's 'photo finish' does. in fact, it sounds even better. imagine, one of roy's best, now even better, on compact disc.

It's hard to describe a work of this magnitude without resorting to hyperbole. This, along with the follow-up album Top Priority, was the finest hour of one of the great musicians in blues/rock history. For anyone who is unfamiliar with the man's music it's a perfect place to start. For those who love his music but know little about the man, check out Dan Muise's book on Rory (plus Marriott, Derringer & Trower). It provides great insight into the sorrow that seems to have fuelled much of the songwriting. The book implies that Rory had a heartbreak in his life that he never fully recovered from. You can hear and feel the pain in songs like 'Overnight Bag' and 'Fuel to the Fire'. But there is also a lot of energy and joy to be found here, like on 'Shin Kicker' and 'Brute Force and Ignorance'. As for the guitar playing, it is nothing short of incredible. Gallagher was one of those who prove that when you have complete command of the instrument, you don't have to play at 200 MPH to be thrilling. His solos can take you to faraway places in your heart & mind. I know, I know, the hyperbole. But listening is believing.

As a budding teenaged music fanatic in the mid-seventies, I often heard the name Rory Gallagher whispered reverently among musicians, critics and fans far-hipper than I.

Deciding to find out what all the fuss was about, I found a copy of 'Sinner...and Saint' in a cut-out bin somewhere in Chicago and took it home. Disappointed by its flat production and so-so songs, I filed it away and promptly forgot about it, and Rory Gallagher.

Four or five years later, while a college student in central Illinois, I happened across 'Photo Finish'. Being in an experimental mood, I forked over four or five bucks and took it back to my dorm room.

Man. What a revelation! The songs and Rory's playing leapt-off of the vinyl. Rarely had I heard a record lead-off with anything like "Shin Kicker" and "Brute Force And Ignorance". I was floored.

To make a long story short, I became a Rory Gallagher convert that afternoon. And 'Photo Finish'? I pretty-much wore it out.

Which is why I was so thrilled to see Buddah's re-issues. The sound is wonderful, allowing Rory's stripped-down, unadorned music to really take wing and fill a room in all its glory.

And track-to-track, this is undoubtably his best album. He never sounded so assured. Rarely does 'Photo Finish' falter. Steaming blues, Stax-inspired ballads, full-bore rockers--it's all here. And all good. And all drenched in Rory's sinewy and unflinchingly-honest guitar playing.

As shy and unassuming as Rory was in life, 'Photo Finish' remains equally-vivid and attention-grabbing in his passing.

Rest in peace, Rory. You were a wonder.

I'll second everything in the previous reviews. "Photo Finish" is a showcase for Gallagher's incredible virtuosity, running the gamut from pedal-to-the-metal ravers to slow, reflective pieces. "Shin Kicker" and "Brute Force" are personal favorites, but there is not a weak track to be found. I had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Rory after a show at Toad's Place near Yale U in the late 70s, on the "Top Priority" tour, absolutely smoking performance. He played one of Jimi Hendrix' old Strats that still had burn marks on it. I own practically everything he ever recorded, including some old Taste LPs; I even named my son Rory!

One of the unsung discs of the late Rory Gallagher's canon. The energy and intensity bristle and leap from the speakers. Rory had stripped the band down and recorded as a trio, which only benefitted the songs and performance. "The Mississippi Sheiks" contains transcendant slide guitar and references to great blues artists like Peg Leg Howell and Bo Carter. DO YOUR SELF A FAVOR ...BUY THIS! We miss you , Rory!

I am listening to this CD as I write and am struck with the speed and ease tha guy moved over a guitar neck. "Cruise On Out", "Shin Kicker" (a favorite from his live shows) both showcase the ease in which he and his band created a mood that energized his audiences. His grasp of the blues was so elemental. Hard clean riffs that were backed by some of the best slide guitar ever. I would have loved to have heard Rory and Duane Allman with a couple of acoustic or steel guitars and a bottle neck...

Rory Gallagher is a genius. His ability to mix traditional blues with rock is a gift. The songs on this CD are fantastic. There isn't a throwaway track to be found. I believe this is the first recording after he simplified the band to a three piece and I think it works! Gallagher was asked to join the Rolling Stones. He played guitar for Muddy Waters' London Sessions. What else do you need to know? He rocks. His music will live one forever.