''Defender'' is the thirteenth album and tenth studio album by Irish musician

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 ...

. Coming after a five-year hiatus from the recording studio, it was his first album released on the Capo label. The song "Continental Op" was inspired by the nameless fictional detective created by

Dashiell Hammett Samuel Dashiell Hammett (; May 27, 1894 – January 10, 1961) was an American writer of hard-boiled detective novels and short stories. He was also a screenwriter and political activist. Among the enduring characters he created are Sam Spade ('' ...

, and was dedicated to Hammett.

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rory Gallagher except where indicated. Side one #"Kickback City" - 4:49 #"Loanshark Blues" - 4:27 #"Continental Op" - 4:33 #"I Ain't No Saint" - 4:58 #"Failsafe Day" - 4:23 Side two #"Road to Hell" _ 5:32 #"Doing Time" - 4:06 #"Smear Campaign" - 4:47 #"

Don't Start Me Talkin' "Don't Start Me Talkin'" (also called "Don't Start Me to Talkin'") is a blues song written and performed by Sonny Boy Williamson II. It was Williamson's first single recorded for Checker Records, and reached number three in the US ''Billboard'' ...

" (

Sonny Boy Williamson II Alex or Aleck Miller (originally Ford, possibly December 5, 1912 – May 24, 1965), known later in his career as Sonny Boy Williamson, was an American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter. He was an early and influential blues harp st ...

) - 3:35 #"Seven Days" - 5:14 CD bonus tracks, also included as a bonus 7inch single on some issues of the LP #"Seems to Me" - 4:52 (Bonus) #"No Peace for the Wicked" - 4:09 (Bonus)

Personnel

*Rory Gallagher –

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 ...

guitar 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 ...

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 Belfas ...

–

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 ...

*Brendan O'Neill –

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 ...

Invited guests *John Cooke –

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 ...

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 ...

–

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

on "Seven Days" * Bob Andrews – piano on "Don't Start Me to Talkin'" * Mark Feltham – harmonica on "Don't Start Me to Talkin'" ;Technical *Alan O'Duffy – production associate *Dónal Gallagher – executive producer

References

External links

Rory Gallagher's Official Site
{{Authority control 1987 albums Rory Gallagher albums Albums produced by Rory Gallagher