Defender of the Faith

Here we are at the beginning of a new decade, yet the old resistant insists on appearing, this time with Fresh Evidence, a new album that Rory is proud of, not so much for its sound suitable for the nineties (technology obliges), but for keeping intact the influence of the old blues.

From a young age, Rory built a special cult that he saw constantly develop into a legion of unconditional fans.

The spearhead of the Irish invasion, like so many others began with the inspiration of Elvis Presley and learnt slowly to the sounds of Lonnie Donegan, Chuck Berry, Muddy Waters and Jerry Lee Lewis. The Impact was his debut as a group in a predominantly rhythm and blues format. In 1967, a drastic reduction in the number of musicians resulted in the Tastea trio fomation that would take London by storm. In the 1970s, Rory decided to pursue a solo career and has had great success on the live scene (where no one has ever been disappointed), taking advantage of the recorded material to launch the LP Live in Europe in 1972, which definitely puts him on top. This was the predecessor to another absolutely obligatory LP that documents his passionate tour in Ireland (Irish Tour 74).

A guitarist, vocalist and composer who has never been a darling of the Irish press, Rory has always kept an unsuspected distance from the rock’n’roll mainstream, never defending his image (Maker and Enemy are famous for their mockery of his rotten Fender and his eternal check shirts) and preferring to take refuge in a daring perfection of his blues, eternally searching for a closeness in sound to the artists he has adored since childhood and who were, after all, the originals. Rory has a great passion for the rhythms of North American music, the ability to provide simple images and describe states of mind.

Fresh Evidence continues to be flooded with “Americana”, from the dedication to the late accordionist Clifton Chenier in “King of Zydeco,” a wink to Texas blues in “Heaven’s Gate” to the r’n’bluesy flavour of the instrumental “The Loop” (name of the Chicago overhead railway).

On the way to two dozen albums  and millions of copies spread overseas, Rory is more and more careful with new recordings, which is evident on the new record, where nothing has been left to chance. Well seen in the sonic realms that some twenty-two years ago he called his own, Rory faces the new era with the talent that has earned him recognition by “sacred monsters” such as Jerry Lee Lewis (double LP in 75 recorded in London where Albert Lee and Peter Frampton also participated), Muddy Waters (London Sessions by CHESS) and even the Rolling Stones (in Holland when Mick Taylor left).

Although his entire discography has been released on CD since 1985, Rory continues to be sceptical of the sound he is getting, which he considers “too clinical.”

For the famous Defender, the monophonic sound is still incomparably flavoured!

* A big thank you to Ellen Petrova for translating this piece for us *