SPILL BOOK REVIEW: JULIEN BITOUN – GALLAGHER’S GUITARS: THE RORY GALLAGHER COLLECTION

JULIEN BITOUN – GALLAGHER’S GUITARS: THE RORY GALLAGHER COLLECTION

MOTORBOOKS

BOOK REVIEW BY AARON BADGLEY

In the introduction he wrote for Gallagher’s Guitars: The Rory Gallagher Collection, Johnny Marr writes a great deal of Rory Gallagher’s collection of guitars, mostly vintage and some very unique. “First and foremost, Rory’s love of unusual guitars was a sign of his passion as a fan,” wrote Marr. Marr, knowing a thing or two about guitars is right on point. Gallagher was searching for the sound, and he achieved it with his collection of guitars.

This new book was carefully detailed and written by Julien Bitoun, with stunning photographs by Eleanor Jane. These guitars were Rory Gallagher’s pride and joy, and he used them for recording, on stage, or for jamming. He collected guitars but they were not museum pieces to him.

Gallagher’s Guitars: The Rory Gallagher Collection takes the reader back to the beginning. As a child in Ireland who fell in love with the early days of rock ‘n’ roll, Gallagher wanted to play. His first acoustic guitar he obtained at the age of 9 (he had an Elvis Presley ukulele prior to getting his first guitar). There is a photo of the old, and slightly beaten up acoustic, but it looks (and probably) sounds so historic now. The book is in chronological order of his guitar work and acquiring. It is interesting to read about his guitar work during his days with Taste, and onto his solo career.

There are so many interesting facts and stories (the Stratocaster he bought in 1961 is rumoured to be the first one ever on Irish soil). This is not a simple catalogue of guitars, but rather each one is shown and discussed.  It is interesting how Gallagher looked back as he continued with his career into the 1990s. He continued to search out and play vintage guitars, usually with vintage amps as well. It would seem he was searching for a sound, which he usually got with his Stratocaster. Even in his last session, recordings that were part of a tribute to Fleetwood Mac’s founder Peter Green, he used a guitar from 1965.

The detailed photography is outstanding. Some of the pictures almost make the reader want to reach out and turn the knobs, or feel the wood, or play a string or two. The photos that accompany the text (or the other way around) is what sets this book apart from merely being a discography and listing of guitars. Bitoun tells the stories and Jane provides the equally exquisite photo. This is a brilliant coffee table book, it is informative, well written and beautiful to look at.

With support from Gallagher’s family, Gallagher’s Guitars: The Rory Gallagher Collection, is essential reading for Gallagher fans or anyone who has an interest in the history of guitars. It is an extremely well written and well researched book, and a lovely tribute to a brilliant (and I would say in North America very underrated) artist. For me, Bitoun sums it up perfectly at the end, “Rory was a precursor of the relic decades before Stevie Ray Vaughan, a pawnshop guitar aficionado decades before Jack White, and a genuine lover of any instrument that could bring him any kind of inspiration.” Gallagher was true original and way ahead of his time.

ISBN-10: 0760398488
ISBN-13: 978-0760398487 

PURCHASE TITLE VIA