While the back sleeve bills this as a “remastered soundboard recording” recorded in Cork, Ireland in 1990, there’s little doubt in my mind that it’s actually the audio portion of an officially-released video of an ‘89 concert: Live In Cork VHS, issued in the US by Griffin Music in 1994, or Live At The Cork Opera House, which appeared in Britain in the PAL format in ’99. It’s definitely not a true soundboard as one quick listen to the between-song applause reveals – let’s settle for “professional line recording,” maybe? Someone feel free to post any additional info on the source of this if they have any that’s relevant as I don’t own the video and can’t make a comparison.
One online reviewer described the video thusly:
“Rory Gallagher is captured here in all his blistering guitar glory! If you like blues rock n' roll, this is the video, folks. There's a nice mix of new and older material on show here and as usual, Rory makes it all effortlessly entertaining. From the rocking beginning with 'Continental Op'-Rory's tribute to crime novel exploits- through to the exquisite acoustic picking on 'Western Plain' and 'Wanted Blues' and finishing off in tremendous style with the showstopping 'Messin' with the Kid' and a dynamite version of 'Loanshark Blues' this concert is simply a must. Rory was a guitar genius and a brilliant performer, and this film captures the sheer power of the man in full flow.”
It is a superb concert, and the sound is, for the most part, quite good. Here and there are some hints of distortion, which would suggest that not a great deal of care was made in achieving the VHS-to-disc transfer since it practically sounds like tape saturation. That said, I don’t think many Gallagher fans will be disappointed. Packaging is nominal, just a few tasteful photos adoring a two-panel insert and 1-sided tray panel. -- OSWALD
