Riding Shotgun: 35 Years on the Road with Rory Gallagher and "Nine Below Zero"

It has been a while since I read the book but am finally getting down to writing a review. The man to me was the best Guitar player to ever live, specially when seen live. Gerry does a fine job of telling the reader what it must have been like to be on Stage so many nights with such a great Musician. There are great stories that make you wish that you could still see them live today. When I read the end it made me think of the live version of A Million Miles Away which me seems to be how his last days must have been.

This book is a recollection of Gerry McAvoy's adventure with Rory Gallagher and his personal insights of life on the road. I was very surprized that he felt he was a 'hired hand' and not very close with this amazing musician. It was a book I could not put down and finished it in 2 days. If you know anything about Rory Gallagher, then it is a must read.

first saw Rory in '72. nothing like him on the guitar or stage. followed him ever since. by far the most interesting read on him ive read. if you want to know about the off stage Rory you must read this book.

Rory Gallagher is well served by this biography. In addition to having played with him for 20 years, McAvoy through his Ulster RC upbringing and long standing involvement across the years with so many Irish musicians is ideally suited to also comment on the Irish rock scene and events over the period of this book, primarily the 1960s to 1990s and why Gallagher is so revered.The co-written book is delivered at a pace that makes for an easy read over its 300 plus pages and while the personal aspects of McAvoy's life on the road get repetitive the truth becomes pretty clear that drink and sex (not too much in the drugs area because of Gallagher's views like an Irish Zappa on the subject) are what oiled their rock'n'roll lifestyle. McAvoy may not admit it easily in the book but his forte was being a reliable workhorse which matched completely Gallagher's style and workmanlike approach to recording and performing, the latter being his popular strength with endless touring.Given the poor quality of all else written to date about Gallagher (including his brother's Donal liner notes to his CD releases) this personal close up delivers what will probably be the most honest depiction (warts and all) of the man. Early bad experiences with the manager of Taste (Eddie Kennedy) seem to have compounded an already shy personality where nobody was trusted and loyalty was everything after that group fell apart when on the verge of breaking through. Mixed with a stubborn mentality and an inability to make music friendships or personal relationships easily, Gallagher avoided people who might have helped him (especially on the managerial and record production side) and used people he could control, especially on the band members and financial aspects. The inevitable result was that when times were good it all worked and pulled together but when the going got harder (especially in the 80s and early 90s) the man had no support mechanisms to help protect or save him from his own demons, especially drink with the pharmaceutical drugs he was then being prescribed.Lots of interesting stories and snippets of the consequences of this approach (such as the story of declining to appear at The Band's Last Waltz show because he had prior bookings and the auditions as Mick Taylor's replacement in the Stones, which always seemed unlikely to happen given differing personal lifestyles) simply leave you thinking the man's strengths may have contributed to his check shirt/denim jeans and battered Stratocaster image and everyman popularity but left him exposed and alone towards the end and his early death.

I'm not sure I can improve much on the review left by Siriam which I agree with completely. This is currently the definitive account of the life and music of Rory Gallagher and it's doubtful whether we will ever get to know more about him, especially given his shy and at times reclusive nature. My only slight criticism would be that given the involvement of a professional writer (in the form of journalist Pete Chrisp), I think it could have been better written in places. But I am being a bit picky and otherwise this stands as a really excellent, honest but warm tribute to the wonderful Rory Gallagher.