''Blueprint'' is the third studio album and fourth album overall by Irish guitarist

Rory Gallagher William Rory Gallagher ( ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995) was an Irish guitarist, singer, songwriter, and producer. Due to his virtuosic playing, but relative lack of fame compared to some others, he has been referred to as "the greatest ...

, released as a

vinyl record A phonograph record (also known as a gramophone record, especially in British English), or simply a record, is an analog sound storage medium in the form of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove. The groove usually starts nea ...

in 1973. With his first band

Taste The gustatory system or sense of taste is the sensory system that is partially responsible for the perception of taste (flavor). Taste is the perception produced or stimulated when a substance in the mouth reacts chemically with taste receptor ...

and with his solo band up to this point Gallagher was one of the first guitarists to lead a

power trio A power trio is a rock and roll band format having a lineup of electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit (drums and cymbals), leaving out a second rhythm guitar or keyboard instrument that are often used in other rock music bands that are quartet ...

lineup. With ''Blueprint'' Gallagher included a keyboardist for the first time.

Background

For ''Blueprint'' Gallagher replaced drummer

Wilgar Campbell Wilgar William Campbell (1946 – October 1989) was an Irish blues rock musician, best known for his role as drummer with Rory Gallagher in the early 1970s. Career Early career Campbell played with Belfast band The Method, who moved to London in ...

with

Rod de'Ath Roderick Morris Buckenham de'Ath (; 18 June 1950 – 1 August 2014) was a Welsh musician, best known for his role as drummer with Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher in the 1970s. Career With Rory Gallagher De'Ath was playing with the band Killing ...

and decided to add

Lou Martin Louis Michael "Lou" Martin (12 August 1949 – 17 August 2012) was a piano and organ player from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was an original member of the London-based band Killing Floor, and also worked with fellow Irish musician Rory Galla ...

, the keyboardist from de'Ath's previous band Killing Floor. This four-piece lineup was to be one of Gallagher's most successful resulting in many of his most popular songs and documented in live film and TV appearances on shows such as ''

Rockpalast ''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and jazz ...

'' and the ''

Old Grey Whistle Test ''The Old Grey Whistle Test'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''Whistle Test'' or ''OGWT'') is a British television music show. The show was devised by BBC producer Rowan Ayers, commissioned by David Attenborough and aired on BBC Two, BBC2 from 1971 ...

.'' The band would play together for five years. Blueprint, as with all the studio albums recorded by the Gallagher quartet illustrated Gallagher's eclectic musical influences. The album title and artwork were taken from the

blueprint A blueprint is a reproduction of a technical drawing or engineering drawing using a contact print process on light-sensitive sheets. Introduced by Sir John Herschel in 1842, the process allowed rapid and accurate production of an unlimited number ...

of a Stramp "Power Baby" amplifier that had been custom designed for Gallagher in Hamburg. "It was compact enough to fit into the small luggage compartment of a Volkswagen Beetle" recalled Gallagher's brother and manager Donal.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rory Gallagher except where indicated. Side one #"Walk on Hot Coals" – 7:04 #"Daughter of the Everglades" – 6:14 #"Banker's Blues" (

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1903 – August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African American audiences. In the 1930s ...

) – 4:47 #"Hands Off" – 4:32 Side two #"Race the Breeze" – 6:55 #"Seventh Son of the Seventh Son" – 8:26 #"Unmilitary Two-Step" – 2:50 #"If I Had a Reason" – 4:31 CD bonus track #

"Stompin' Ground (alt version 10)" – 3:32 #"

Treat Her Right Treat Her Right was an American rock group, formed in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, in 1985. The band originally featured Mark Sandman on "low guitar," Billy Conway on cocktail drum, David Champagne on guitar, and Jim Fitting on harmon ...

" (

Roy Head Roy Kent Head (January 9, 1941 – September 21, 2020) was an American singer, best known for his hit song "Treat Her Right". Career Roy Kent Head was born in Three Rivers, Texas and achieved fame as a member of musical group The Traits from ...

) – 4:01

Personnel

*Rory Gallagher –

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

mandolin A mandolin ( it, mandolino ; literally "small mandola") is a stringed musical instrument in the lute family and is generally plucked with a pick. It most commonly has four courses of doubled strings tuned in unison, thus giving a total of 8 ...

saxophones The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to pro ...

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

Gerry McAvoy John Gerard McAvoy (born 19 December 1951) is a Northern Irish blues rock bass guitarist. He played with blues rock musician Rory Gallagher between 1970 and 1991, and then with Nine Below Zero until 2011. Biography McAvoy was born in Belfast, ...

–

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

–

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, some guitar *

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

;Technical *Phil Dunn – engineer *Andrew Pearce – mastering *Andy Stephens, Phil Dunne – engineer *Mark Jessett – art direction *Tony Arnold – remastering

References

External links

Rory Gallagher official site
{{Authority control 1973 albums Rory Gallagher albums Albums produced by Rory Gallagher Polydor Records albums