Rory Gallagher - The Best Of Rory Gallagher At The BBC (2024) CD-Rip

As the name suggests, this is a compilation of Rory Gallagher's many appearances on the BBC, spanning from the early 70s to the mid-80s, and as expected, the sound quality is consistently excellent. Many versions of tracks from 1973-1974 also appear on the Irish Tour '74, considered by many to be Rory's best live album. These tracks are just as impressive here, but in much better quality, so it's nice to listen to them like an old friend who appears to us with a renewed face and in great shape after the past years.
Other gems have also been extracted from the archives. Special attention should be paid to "Used to be" from the 1971 album "Deuce", which is certainly one of Rory's best studio albums. Here he's still playing with the first trio to blast a funky blues storm, with Jerry McAvoy in particularly great form. Another pleasant surprise is "Banker's Blues" from 1973, featuring Rory on acoustic guitar and harmonica, superbly fingering, and the recently joined Lou Martin on acoustic piano. Great.
The second half of the set is taken from a 1979 concert at The Venue in London. The band returned in a trio format with Ted McKenna on drums, providing a denser rock groove. There's a lot of guitar boogie in some tracks, which seems a bit intrusive, but it's a decent mix, and the searing "Keychain" is a highlight of the performance. Several tracks are taken from the album "Top Priority", which at the time was noted as a shift towards heavier blues rock.
Interestingly, the tracks are not in chronological order, so maybe someone arranged them so that they sound like a fantasy concert by Rory, spanning his entire career. Anyway, if you like Rory, you'll know what you're getting, and there's a lot to love here in decent quality, unlike the many RG bootlegs that were recorded under a hollow coat 50 yards away. This set is a compilation of the best songs from a much larger set of 20 CDs (18 CD + 2 Blu Ray) with the same title, covering every session of Rory for the BBC - apparently more than anyone else!