Archive Review: Rory Gallagher’s Cleveland Calling, Part Two (2021)

VENUE: Live WNCR-FM radio broadcast from the Agora Ballroom, Cleveland Ohio, sometime in September 1972.

SOUND QUALITY: Meh…you really need to turn it up to hear it, the recording hollow, brittle, and empty-sounding. Just a step above full-blown bootleg status, really, but Gallagher’s vox are easily discernable and his guitar cuts through the muck like a surgeon’s scalpel, but his otherwise talented rhythm section is blurred and slurred into sonic roadkill on most tracks.

COVER: It’s a major label release, so the packaging isn’t too shabby – nice B&W “action” shot of Rory strangling his Stratocaster on the front, a B&W full band photo on the rear cover along with the track listing. The inner sleeve is in color with track listing and credits, and photos of the current in-print Rory Gallagher album catalog (so fire up those credit cards, kids!).

TRACKLIST: 
(Side A) 1. Messin’ With the Kid • 2. Used To Be • 3. Should’ve Learnt My Lesson

(Side B) 4. Laundromat • 5. Pistol Slapper Blues • 6. Banker’s Blues • 7. In Your Town

COMMENTS: Let’s clear up any potential misconceptions about this “Record Store Day” album from the beginning…released on July 17th as part of the second RSD “drop” for 2021, Rory Gallagher’s Cleveland Calling, Part 2 isn’t a two-album set (like it says on the RSD website), it’s a single, seven-song 12” record pressed on a thick slab of 180g wax. There’s no “download card,” as some sources claim (or else my still-sealed copy didn’t come with one…as last year’s predecessor didn’t have a download, I’m pretty sure that Universal went cheap-o again and didn’t include one here, either…). Cleveland Calling, Part 2 features a previously-unreleased radio broadcast of a promotional concert done exclusively for Cleveland’s WNCR-FM. 

Gallagher and his band performed seven songs in the otherwise empty Agora Ballroom on some day in September 1972 (no date listed, but Gallagher opened for Fleetwood Mac in Cleveland on September 8th). The album is a “sequel,” of sorts, to last year’s RSD release Cleveland Calling, a previously-unreleased in-studio acoustic performance for WNCR-FM from August ’72. That album was a resounding success upon its RSD release, peaking at #2 on the Billboard magazine “Blues” chart, a feat matched by this new archival release. Gallagher’s band at the time included bassist Gerry McAvoy (who would remain with Rory until his death in 1995), keyboardist Lou Martin, and drummer Rod de’Ath, the same talented group that would later record Gallagher’s critically-acclaimed 1973 albums Blueprint and Tattoo. 

For those of you unfamiliar with the greatness that was Rory Gallagher, he was an Irish blues-rock guitarist who, after finding inspiration in the music of U.K. hitmaker Lonnie Donegan, picked up the instrument at the age of nine and subsequently fell in love with the blues and rock ‘n’ roll music he heard listening to Radio Luxembourg and the American Forces Network (AFN) on his radio late at night. Influenced by artists as diverse as Muddy Waters, Buddy Holly, and Woody Guthrie, Gallagher taught himself slide guitar, harmonica, saxophone, mandolin, and banjo. His first band that anybody remembers was Taste, a blues-rock power trio formed in 1966 that would release a pair of critically-acclaimed studio albums before breaking up. Gallagher released his self-titled solo debut in early 1971 and followed it up a few months later with his sophomore effort, Deuce, both albums breaking the Top 40 in the U.K. 

Cleveland Calling, Part 2 features one song from Rory’s debut and three from Deuce, alongside a trio of previously-unrecorded tunes that were part of Gallagher’s concert setlist that would appear on his breakthrough1972 album Live In Europe. The Agora Ballroom was a great venue for Gallagher’s “meat and potatoes” approach to rock and blues music, the historic stage hosting notable concerts by talents like Bruce Springsteen, ZZ Top, Boston, Todd Rundgren, Ian Hunter, and many others. Oddly enough, the club’s proximity to popular FM radio station WMMS meant that the station frequently broadcast live shows from the location. Cross-town rival WNCR seems to have pulled a fast one here, broadcasting an exclusive Gallagher performance from the venue.

As for the performance itself, Gallagher and crew bring fire and brimstone to the stage. Opening with Junior Wells’ signature song “Messin’ With the Kid,” Rory does a little noodling guitar intro until the band explodes into a revved-up, amphetamine-fueled Chicago blues jam that hits your ears like a drive-by mugging. Martin’s honky-tonk piano-pounding livens up the performance by offering a counterpoint to the Gallagher’s raging guitarplay. (Note: “Messin’ With the Kid” is incorrectly attributed to Wells but it was actually written by Chief Records founder and producer Mel London, who also wrote hits for Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, and Elmore James). Gallagher’s original “Used To Be” is a bit of a letdown by comparison with the album-opener, but it features some tasty fatback six-string bending by the Irish maestro against a strident, if somewhat smudged rhythmic backdrop. 

The scorching, Chicago-styled blues of “Should Have Learnt My Lesson” closes out the album’s first side, the song’s languid tempo disguising a fiery heartbeat and truckloads of emotion channeled through Gallagher’s strings and Martin’s subtle keyboard flourishes. It’s a captivating performance made all the better by Gallagher blue-eyed soul vocals. “Laundromat,” the lone song here from his debut album, roars out of the grooves to open side two, the song’s mix of raucous British blues and jazzy undertones providing a clever bit of songwriting alchemy. Gerry McAvoy’s bass and drummer Rod de’Ath are more discernable here, providing a rhythmic backbone for Gallagher rowdy performance and soaring solos. 

A cover of legendary bluesman Blind Boy Fuller’s “Pistol Slapper Blues” never made it onto a proper Gallagher studio recording, its only contemporary appearance coming on the guitarist’s Live In Europe (it would later appear as a bonus track on the CD reissue of Irish Tour ’74). Gallagher seems to have treated live albums like studio work anyway, his setlists peppered with new originals and cover songs that he’d seldom revisit. Fuller’s Piedmont blues classic is provided a spry acoustic setting here, with Gallagher’s inspired vocals rising above his elegant fretwork. The Big Bill Broonzy song “Banker’s Blues” is cut from similar cloth, Gallagher’s half-spoken vocals accompanied by melodic harmonica, subtle piano, and filigree acoustic guitar. Deuce’s “In Your Town” closes the set with a booger-rock frenzy driven by Martin’s rollicking keyboards and Gallagher’s stinging, energetic guitar solos.

While he never built more than a cult following stateside during his lifetime, Gallagher nevertheless forged an influential and modestly-successful career, releasing eleven studio and three live albums over roughly 20 years as a solo performer. Gallagher died of complications from a liver transplant in June 1995, but his unassailable catalog of music influenced artists as diverse as Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Gary Moore, and Joe Bonamassa, among many others. In the wake of his death, Rory’s brother Dónal has kept the guitarist’s legacy alive with a steady stream of high-quality live and archival releases. He may have dug deep into the vaults to find the performance featured on Cleveland Calling, Part 2 but it’s a worthy addition to the artist’s canon and a necessary addition to the collections of Rory’s avid fans. Grade: A (Chess Records/Universal Music, released July 17th, 2021)

Review originally published by the Original Live! Music Review website...

Also on That Devil Music:
Rory Gallagher’s Cleveland Calling review
Rory Gallagher’s Irish Tour review
Rory Gallagher’s The Beat Club Sessions review

Vinyl Review: Big Bill Broonzy's The Midnight Special (2020)

BIG BILL BROONZY
The Midnight Special: Live In Nottingham 1957

Side One:
1. This Train
2. Trouble In Mind
3. Willie Mae
4. In the Evening
5. Glory of Love
6. The Midnight Special
7. What King of Man Jesus Is

Side Two:
1. Keep Your Hand Off It
2. Nobody’s Business
3. Hey! Bub
4. The Feasting Table
5. C.C. Rider
6. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
7. Goodnight Irene

Chicago Blues Legend Big Bill Broonzy

Chicago blues legend “Big Bill” Broonzy was a bridge between the rural, Delta-influenced country blues of the 1920s and ‘30s and the more urbane, sophisticated “big city” blues created in hotbeds like Chicago, Detroit, and St. Louis during the 1940s and ‘50s. Although not as well-known as near-mythical contemporaries like Robert Johnson, Charley Patton, or even Son House, Broonzy’s influence can be heard in the music of those touched by his kindness, giants of the genre like Muddy Waters and Willie Dixon, whose careers he helped when they first arrived in Chicago. Although he died in 1958 at the age of 65 years old, Broonzy’s music also inspired a generation of British rockers like Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones, John Lennon of the Beatles, Dave Davies of the Kinks, and guitarists Rory Gallagher and Eric Clapton, among many others.

Born, literally, on the banks of the Mississippi River, Broonzy moved with his parents to Chicago as a teenager in 1920, picking up the guitar and learning to play from older bluesmen like Papa Charlie Jackson. Broonzy began recording in the mid-‘20s and by the early ‘30s he was a commanding figure on the Chicago blues scene who would help define the city’s early sound. Capable of playing in both the older vaudeville styles (ragtime and hokum) and the newly-developing, more sophisticated Chicago style, Broonzy was a smooth vocalist, accomplished guitarist, and a prolific songwriter.

Broonzy began recording for Paramount in 1927, but it was his work for Bluebird Records during the 1930s, including playing behind talents like Tampa Red, Washboard Sam, and John Lee “Sonny Boy” Williamson, that helped define the popular sound that was known as “The Bluebird Beat.” In 1938, Broonzy performed at John Hammond’s “Spirituals To Swing” concert in New York City as a last-minute replacement for the late Delta bluesman Robert Johnson. The appearance introduced an entirely new audience to his music, winning him a small role in the film Swingin’ The Dream alongside Benny Goodman and Louis Armstrong. When the post-war blues boom rendered Broonzy’s quaint homegrown style a thing of the past, he re-invented himself as a singer of authentic folk-blues and became one of the first blues artists to tour Europe, developing a new and appreciative following among blues-crazed British teens.

Big Bill Broonzy’s The Midnight Special: Live In Nottingham 1957

Chicago bluesman Big Bill Broonzy

The Midnight Special: Live In Nottingham 1957 documents one of Broonzy’s late-career concerts, this one in Nottingham, England and possibly one of the bluesman’s last-ever performances before his death a year later. The album was mastered from original analog tape by Dave Gardner at Infrasonic Mastering and is surprisingly good, given the antiquated vintage of the recording. A sound engineer can only work with what they have on tape, and recordings from the ‘50s generally don’t have much sonic dynamic to enhance, but Gardner did a fine job here, Broonzy’s vocals and guitar sounding slightly muffled, but distinct enough to be entertaining and better than many dodgy 1990s-era live recordings I’ve heard. And make no mistake, Broonzy’s performance this night was, indeed, very entertaining.

The folk-blues “songster” runs through a setlist here of blues, folk, and Gospel standards, imbuing each with his unique character and charisma. The traditional “This Train” is a perfect showcase for Broonzy’s nimble-fingered fretwork, the song’s up-tempo arrangement complimented by Broonzy’s hearty vocals. The bluesman’s original “Willie Mae” is a similarly upbeat tune with wiry guitar licks and moaned lyrics while a cover of Leroy Carr’s “In the Evening” is provided a smoldering, passionate vocal delivery that is punctuated by Broonzy’s jazzy picking. “The Midnight Special” is a traditional Southern folk tune popularized in the 1930s by the great Leadbelly, and later recorded by everybody from Bob Dylan and Little Richard to the Beatles and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Broonzy’s jaunty reading of the old chestnut is highlighted by his warm vocals and spry guitar strum.

Broonzy’s original “Keep Your Hands Off Her” is mistitled here, the song originally released as a single in 1935 by Bluebird Records and it’s a fine example of the light-hearted “hokum” blues style with buoyant guitar picking and upbeat, double-entendre lyrics. The traditional “Ain’t Nobody’s Business” was recorded with some success by blueswomen like Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith in the 1920s, and Broonzy’s version here plays up the song’s vaudeville roots with a brilliantly-upbeat performance and jazzy guitar-playing. “The Feasting Table” is one of a handful of Gospel “spirituals” included on The Midnight Special, this one leaning more towards a raucous tent revival in its energetic reading and scattershot guitarplay.

Although the song’s true origins are shrouded in mystery, Broonzy released “C.C. Rider” (a/k/a “See See Rider”) as a single in 1934. Ragtime pianist Jelly Roll Morton recalled hearing the song as far back as 1901, and Broonzy claims to have been taught the song by a former slave when he was but 10 years old. The song is no worse for the wear, however, and Broonzy’s infectious reading here is enhanced by an inspired mix of blues, jazz, and country twang. The Midnight Special closes with two performances from an “informal backstage session,” the spiritual “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot” and Leadbelly’s folk-blues standard “Goodnight Irene.” The former is a reverent, fervid performance with Broonzy’s wailing voice staggering at first before breaking into a joyous noise while the latter song is provided a loose, almost rowdy reading with nearly-bellowed vocals and scraps of accompanying guitar.

The Reverend’s Bottom Line

Big Bill Broonzy’s The Midnight Special: Live In Nottingham 1957 offers an impressive representation of the artist’s immense instrumental talents, his on-stage presence and crowd-pleasing patter, and his innate ability to interpret a wide range of then-contemporary musical styles. As mentioned above, the album’s sound quality is better than one could hope for, and the artist’s performance displays why Broonzy was held in such high regard by his peers.

There is precious little “live” Broonzy available for blues fans; just a mere handful of albums now commanding collectors’ prices, and just one of a similar vintage – Southland’s The Historic Concert Recordings CD captures an 18-song Belgium performance from 1957 – which was released in 1990 and has been out-of-print nearly as long. Org Music’s vinyl release of The Midnight Special is the first appearance of this particular show that I could find, and is available on both shiny black wax from Org Music or pressed on coral-colored vinyl, available exclusively from Vinyl Me, Please (links to both below).

If you’re an old-school blues fan unfamiliar with the artist’s charms, you owe it to yourself to check out The Midnight Special, which provides an engaging introduction to Big Bill Broonzy. If you’re already a fan of Broonzy’s music, then what are you waiting for? Get it! (Org Music, released July 24th, 2020)

Buy the vinyl! Org Music link

Buy the colored wax! Vinyl Me, Please link