Eric Clapton once described Rory Gallagher as “the man who got me back into the blues.” Though he never reached the same “household name” fame as Clapton or other contemporaries, Irish guitar legend Gallagher led a movement back to blues roots that began with his band Taste and continued on throughout his solo career from 1971 to 1994. To commemorate 50 years since Gallagher began his recording, UMC has released a new collection that mines the vaults of the celebrated singer and instrumentalist in search of his most bluesy fare. Appropriately titled Blues, the set features a wealth of unheard content. A 16-track standard edition of the collection arrived on May 31 on CD, 2-LP black vinyl, and UDiscover Store-exclusive 2-LP blue vinyl. An expanded, deluxe 3-CD edition is also available now.

The 3-CD edition boasts 36 tracks, 27 of which are previously unreleased. Each disc demonstrates the breadth of Gallagher’s talent with its own theme — electric blues, acoustic blues, and live blues. Among the many rarities from the vault are never-before-heard session takes, rare concert material, unreleased radio sessions, a live outtake of “You Upset Me” with Albert King, and even a cover of “Born Under A Bad Sign” performed by Rory and Jack Bruce in 1991. The collection also includes Rory’s guest spots with the likes of Muddy Waters, Chris Barber, and Lonnie Donegan. The deluxe edition of Blues will also include an extensive booklet full of previously unpublished pictures and an essay by blues-rock historian Jas Obrecht.

All the configurations of Blues are out now. We’ve got order links for each below, along with a full track listing and a preview of “Nothin’ But The Devil,” an unreleased track from the 1975 sessions for Against The Grain.

Rory Gallagher, Blues (UMC, 2019)

1-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP black vinyl: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2-LP blue vinyl: UDiscover Store
3-CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada

1-CD / 2-LP

Side A:
1. Don’t Start Me Talkin’ (Unreleased track from the Jinx album sessions, 1982)
2. Nothin’ But The Devil (Unreleased track from the Against The Grain album sessions, 1975)
3. Tore Down (Unreleased track from the Blueprint album sessions, 1973)
4. Off The Handle (Unreleased session Paul Jones Show, BBC Radio, 1986)

Side B:
5. A Million Miles Away (Unreleased BBC Radio 1 Session, 1973)
6. Leaving Town Blues (from Peter Green tribute album Rattlesnake Guitar, 1994)
7. I’m Ready (Guest spot on Muddy Waters’ London Sessions, 1971
8. As the Crow Flies (Unreleased track from Tattoo album sessions, 1973)

Side C:
1. Who’s That Coming (Acoustic outtake from Tattoo album sessions, 1973)
2. Should’ve Learnt My Lesson (Acoustic outtake from Deuce album sessions, 1971)
3. Prison Blues (Unreleased track from Blueprint album sessions, 1973)
4. Secret Agent (Unreleased acoustic version from RTE Irish TV, 1976)

Side D:
5. What In The World (Unreleased track from Glasgow Apollo concert, 1982)
6. Garbage Man Blues (Unreleased track from Sheffield City Hall concert, 1977)
7. Born Under A Bad Sign (Unreleased track from Rockpalast 1991 with Jack Bruce)

3-CD:

Disc 1 — Electric Blues:

1. ‘Don’t Start Me Talkin’ (Unreleased track from the Jinx album sessions 1982)
2. ‘Nothin’ But The Devil’ (Unreleased track from the Against The Grain album sessions 1975)
3. ‘Tore Down’ (Unreleased track from the Blueprint album sessions 1973)
4. ‘Off The Handle’ (Unreleased session Paul Jones Show BBC Radio 1986)
5. ‘I Could’ve Had Religion’ (Unreleased WNCR Cleveland radio session from 1972)
6. ‘As the Crow Flies’ (Unreleased track from Tattoo album sessions 1973)
7. ‘A Million Miles Away’ (Unreleased BBC Radio 1 Session 1973)
8. ‘Should’ve Learnt My Lesson’ (Outtake from Deuce album sessions 1971)
9. ‘Leaving Town Blues’ (Tribute track from Peter Green ‘Rattlesnake Guitar’ 1994)
10. ‘Drop Down Baby’ (Rory guest guitar on Lonnie Donegan’s Puttin’ On The Style album 1978)
11. ‘I’m Ready’ (Guest guitarist on Muddy Waters London Sessions album 1971)
12. ‘Bullfrog Blues’ (Unreleased WNCR Cleveland radio session from 1972)

Disc 2 — Acoustic Blues:

1. ‘Who’s That Coming'(Acoustic outtake from Tattoo album sessions 1973)
2. ‘Should’ve Learnt My Lesson’ (Acoustic outtake from Deuce album sessions 1971)
3. ‘Prison Blues’ (Unreleased track from Blueprint album sessions 1973)
4. ‘Secret Agent’ (Unreleased acoustic version from RTE Irish TV 1976)
5. ‘Blow Wind Blow’ (Unreleased WNCR Cleveland radio session from 1972)
6. ‘Bankers Blues’ (Outtake from the Blueprint album sessions 1973)
7. ‘Whole Lot Of People’ (Acoustic outtake from Deuce album sessions 1971)
8. ‘Loanshark Blues’ (Unreleased acoustic version from German TV 1987)
9. ‘Pistol Slapper Blues'(Unreleased acoustic version from Irish TV 1976)
10. ‘Can’t Be Satisfied’ (Unreleased Radio FFN session from 1992)
11. ‘Want Ad Blues’ (Unreleased RTE Radio Two Dave Fanning session 1988)
12. ‘Walkin’ Blues’ (Unreleased acoustic version from RTE Irish TV 1987)

Disc 3 — Live Blues:

1. ‘When My Baby She Left Me’ (Unreleased track from Glasgow Apollo concert 1982)
2. ‘Nothin’ But The Devil’ (Unreleased track from Glasgow Apollo concert 1982)
3. ‘What In The World’ (Unreleased track from Glasgow Apollo concert 1982)
4. ‘I Wonder Who’ (Unreleased live track from late 1980s)
5. ‘Messin’ With The Kid’ (Unreleased track from Sheffield City Hall concert 1977)
6. ‘Tore Down’ (Unreleased track from Newcastle City Hall concert 1977)
7. ‘Garbage Man Blues’ (Unreleased track from Sheffield City Hall concert 1977)
8. ‘All Around Man’ (Unreleased track from BBC OGWT Special 1976)
9. ‘Born Under A Bad Sign’ (Unreleased track from Rockpalast 1991 w/ Jack Bruce)
10. ‘You Upset Me’ (Unreleased guest performance from Albert King album ‘Live’ 1975)
11. ‘Comin’ Home Baby’ (Unreleased track from 1989 concert with Chris Barber Band)
12. ‘Rory Talking Blues’ (Interview track of Rory talking about the blues)