Rory Gallagher – Deuce (50th Anniversary) (1971/2022) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Includes a new mix of the original album, 9 previously unreleased alternate takes and seven Radio Bremen radio session tracks. A 12 page booklet with a foreword by Johnny Marr of The Smiths, unseen images by the late Mick Rock, essays, and memorabilia from the album recording.

Released in November 1971, just six months after his solo debut, Rory Gallagher’s second album was the summation of all that he’d promised in the wake of Taste’s collapse, and the blueprint for most of what he’d accomplish over the next two years of recording. Largely overlooked by posterity’s haste to canonize his next album, Live! In Europe, Deuce finds Gallagher torn between the earthy R&B of “Used to Be,” a gritty blues fed through by some viciously unrestrained guitar playing, and the jokey, country-billy badinage of “Don’t Know Where I’m Going,” a too-short snippet that marries Bob Dylan to Ronnie Lane and reminds listeners just how broad Gallagher’s sense of humor was. Reflecting the laid-back feel of Rory Gallagher, “I’m Not Awake Yet” is a largely acoustic piece driven as much by Gerry McAvoy’s gutbucket bass as by Gallagher’s intricate playing; “There’s a Light”, too, plays to Gallagher’s sensitive side, while stating his mastery of the guitar across a protracted solo that isn’t simply spellbinding in its restraint, it also has the effect of adding another voice to the proceedings. But such notions of plaintive melodicism are utterly exorcised by the moments of highest drama, a sequence that peaks with the closing, broiling “Crest of a Wave.” With bass set on stun, the drums a turbulent wall of sound, and Gallagher’s guitar a sonic switchblade, it’s a masterpiece of aggressive dynamics, the sound of a band so close to its peak that you can almost touch the electricity. Of course, that peak would come during 1972-1973 with the albums upon which Gallagher’s reputation is today most comfortably set. Deuce, however, doesn’t simply set the stage for the future, it strikes the light that ignites the entire firestorm. – Dave Thompson

Tracklist:
1-01. Rory Gallagher – Used To Be (50th Anniversary Edition) (05:07)
1-02. Rory Gallagher – I’m Not Awake Yet (50th Anniversary Edition) (05:38)
1-03. Rory Gallagher – Don’t Know Where I’m Going (50th Anniversary Edition) (02:49)
1-04. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (50th Anniversary Edition) (04:15)
1-05. Rory Gallagher – Whole Lot Of People (50th Anniversary Edition) (04:57)
1-06. Rory Gallagher – In Your Town (50th Anniversary Edition) (05:46)
1-07. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (50th Anniversary Edition) (03:37)
1-08. Rory Gallagher – There’s A Light (50th Anniversary Edition) (06:01)
1-09. Rory Gallagher – Out Of My Mind (50th Anniversary Edition) (03:06)
1-10. Rory Gallagher – Crest Of A Wave (50th Anniversary Edition) (05:58)
2-01. Rory Gallagher – Used To Be (Alternate Take 1) (05:11)
2-02. Rory Gallagher – Used To Be (Alternate Take 2) (04:56)
2-03. Rory Gallagher – I’m Not Awake Yet (Alternate Take 1) (05:46)
2-04. Rory Gallagher – Don’t Know Where I’m Going (Alternate Take 1) (01:52)
2-05. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Alternate Take 1) (05:31)
2-06. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Alternate Take 2) (04:32)
2-07. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Alternate Take 3) (04:29)
2-08. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Alternate Take 4) (04:31)
2-09. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Alternate Take 5) (04:25)
2-10. Rory Gallagher – Whole Lot Of People (Electric Alternate Take 1) (01:46)
2-11. Rory Gallagher – Whole Lot Of People (6 String Acoustic Alternate Take 1) (03:58)
2-12. Rory Gallagher – Whole Lot Of People (Deuce Session / Alternative Acoustic Take / 1971) (03:41)
2-13. Rory Gallagher – Whole Lot Of People (12 String Acoustic Alternate Take 1) (02:43)
2-14. Rory Gallagher – In Your Town (Alternate Take 1) (09:01)
2-15. Rory Gallagher – In Your Town (Alternate Take 2) (08:01)
2-16. Rory Gallagher – In Your Town (Alternate Take 3) (05:34)
3-01. Rory Gallagher – In Your Town (Alternate Take 4) (06:59)
3-02. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Deuce Album Session / Alternative Acoustic Take / 1971) (03:06)
3-03. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Deuce Album Session Outtake / 1971) (07:37)
3-04. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Alternate Take 2) (06:16)
3-05. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Alternate Take 3) (03:53)
3-06. Rory Gallagher – There’s A Light (Alternate Take 1) (07:15)
3-07. Rory Gallagher – There’s A Light (Alternate Take 2) (07:07)
3-08. Rory Gallagher – There’s A Light (Alternate Take 3) (07:46)
3-09. Rory Gallagher – Out Of My Mind (Alternate Take 1) (02:21)
3-10. Rory Gallagher – Out Of My Mind (Alternate Take 2) (02:06)
3-11. Rory Gallagher – Out Of My Mind (Alternate Take 3) (03:39)
3-12. Rory Gallagher – Crest Of A Wave (Alternate Take 1) (05:35)
3-13. Rory Gallagher – Crest Of A Wave (Alternate Take 2) (05:16)
3-14. Rory Gallagher – Don’t Know Where I’m Going (Home Demo) (04:42)
3-15. Rory Gallagher – Maybe I Will (Home Demo) (03:29)
3-16. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Home Demo) (02:08)
4-01. Rory Gallagher – Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (05:53)
4-02. Rory Gallagher – Crest Of A Wave (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (05:25)
4-03. Rory Gallagher – I Could’ve Had Religion (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (07:12)
4-04. Rory Gallagher – For The Last Time (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (05:53)
4-05. Rory Gallagher – Messin’ With The Kid (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (05:12)
4-06. Rory Gallagher – Don’t Know Where I’m Going (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (02:06)
4-07. Rory Gallagher – Pistol Slapper Blues (Radio Bremen / 21/12/1971) (02:23)