«……………he was one of the few rock artists who you felt that you knew forever. The distance that the stage always creates didn’t matter – some above and others below -, because when Rory picked up his guitar and began to sing with his sweet and broken voice, you knew, unequivocally, that he was addressing you………… ….

……………His technique as an instrumentalist was drawn from the sources of 50’s rock and English white blues, forming a very personal and direct style, whose main virtue was to communicate, to easily reach the interior of those who listened to him. Always.

And seeing Rory perform was like becoming friends with him. He gave the impression that the energy transmitted by his music had no limit, that his batteries were fed by the vibrations that the public sent him.

I have seen him sweaty, after a two-hour concert, looking at the audience with those eyes – lively and innocent – and asking if they still wanted to receive the full flow of sound energy that his music caused.

Almost all famous guitarists have something that distinguishes them from others and that is usually linked to their way of playing. Some are almost aristocrats, others are distinguished by their toughness or their speed; there are those that have become classics of a style and a few are catalogued as authentic innovators of the six strings. With the guitar, Rory was a tireless worker, a real hard worker, one of those who truly enjoy their work. He was the type of person who, when he performed, connected with the entire audience with amazing ease; as if it were the most normal thing in the world for musicians and audience to have a good time in unison. It is true that this is the goal, but it is no less true that very few achieve it.

I have experienced enough concerts to be able to perceive when the magic of live shows appears, that communion that, without realising it, is established between those who play and those who listen in such a way that the border between one and the other is diluted thanks to the very music. Achieving this is not easy, and there are few artists who achieve it, Rory always achieved it.

It is not about overwhelming people with watts of light and sound, or leaving them speechless thanks to the modern technologies applied to the show; but about something as basic as connecting directly with people’s sensibilities, of course, to achieve this you have to have a very, very big heart.

The instrumentation of the bands that Rory Gallagher put together was almost always very simple, almost Spartan: bass, drums and guitar; no more, following the tradition of the best groups of the late 60s. Occasionally a Hammond organ or a harmonica was included, but this did not break the general scheme of the group.

Direct, hard and simple sound, without the addition of effects of any kind, based on the chords of an almost ancestral rock that had the flavour of what is genuine, authentic. Sometimes, Rory would leave the electric guitar to take up the acoustic or Spanish and became the punchiest “singer-songwriter” you can imagine. Only with his voice and his guitar did he know how to give a new dimension to the concert, which became a real party among friends. I’m not going to single out any album from his long career, since to fully appreciate Rory’s music the logical path is to see him perform. The vinyls are, in this case, an insufficient testimony to value his music with justice……………..

……………..Do you have his voice in mind?; He didn’t have a powerful voice, but it was suggestive, with a melancholy edge. It always seemed like he wasn’t going to make it to the next register, but he always did. Simple, direct and sincere, this was the rock played by Rory Gallagher, one of those heroes who began in the 60s and never changed his love for music for other more material loves. Now they tell us that the Grim Reaper has taken him, we will have to believe it, what a pity! In this case, it’s not enough for me that his albums will allow us to remember the spirit of his music. That’s not enough for me. Because the best thing that Rory leaves behind is the memory of his presence, his musical lashes that came to infect us with the spirit of authentic rock. And this is irreplaceable. So, we just have to say, “Goodbye, friend! We hope we have been a worthy audience for you.”