To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Rory Gallagher’s Deuce sophomore solo album from 1971, a deluxe CD boxset will be released by UMC on Friday September 30. The album is available to pre-order here.
The extensive celebratory release digs deep into the Rory Gallagher Archives and will include a new mix of the original album, twenty-eight previously unreleased alternate takes, a six-song 1972 BBC Radio ‘In Concert’, and seven Radio Bremen radio session tracks. The package will contain a 64-page hardback book with a foreword by Johnny Marr of The Smiths, unseen images by the late Mick Rock, essays, and memorabilia from the album recording. The 2CD and 3LP will be cut down versions from the deluxe box and there will be a special D2C 1LP of the “BBC In Concert – Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972.”
Watch the 50th Anniversary Box Set video below.
"There was one day when I was playing along with the Deuce album which was a complete turning point for me as a guitar player." - Johnny Marr
Released in November 1971, just six months after his eponymous solo debut, Rory Gallagher's second album, Deuce, was the summation of all that he'd promised in the wake of Taste's collapse. Rory wanted to capture the feeling of a live performance, so he would look to record immediately after live concerts while keeping production to a minimum.
He chose Tangerine Studios, a small reggae studio, in Dalston in East London, due it’s history with legendary producer Joe Meek. With Gerry McAvoy on bass guitar and Wilgar Campbell on drums, the album was engineered by Robin Sylvester and produced by Rory. Deuce features many Rory highlights, from the blistering Crest Of A Wave to the Celtic-infused I’m Not Awake Yet.
When asked “How does it feel to be the best guitarist in the world,” Jimi replied: “I don’t know, why don’t you go and ask Rory Gallagher.” - Jimi Hendrix
"There are a million guys who sound like Stevie Ray Vaughan, but I never heard anybody who could really pull off sounding like Rory Gallagher.” - Slash
"As soon as I heard Cradle Rock, I was hooked. I thought, ‘This is what I want to be when I grow up." - Joe Bonamassa
"I really liked Rory, he was fine guitarist and singer and lovely man." - Jimmy Page
"He was just a magician, he’s one of the very few people of that time who could make his guitar do anything it seemed. It just seemed to be magic. I remember looking at that battered Stratocaster and thinking how does that come out of there?" - Brian May
"The man who changed my musical life was Rory Gallagher, I picked up a guitar because of him." - Johnny Marr
"A beautiful man and an amazing guitar player. He was a very sensitive man and a great musician." - The Edge
“An amazing player, very spirited... he had a particular sound using that Stratocaster and he really got it because of the brute force in the way that he played, he just had such a passion about it.” - Joe Satriani
Formats / tracklistings below.
4CD Box Set:
CD1
"Used to Be" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Maybe I Will" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Whole Lot of People" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"In Your Town" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"There's a Light" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Out of My Mind" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Crest of a Wave" - 50th Anniversary Edition
CD2
"Used to Be" - Alternate Take 1
"Used to Be" - Alternate Take 2
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - Alternate Take 1
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - Alternate Take 1
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 1
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 2
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 3
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 4
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 5
"Whole Lot of People" - Electric Alternate Take 1
"Whole Lot of People" - 6 String Acoustic Alternate Take 1
"Whole Lot Of People" - Deuce Album Session / Alternative Acoustic Take / 1971 *
"Whole Lot of People" - 12 String Acoustic Alternate Take 1
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 1
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 2
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 3
CD3
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 4
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Deuce Album Session / Alternative Acoustic Take / 1971*
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Deuce Album Session Outtake / 1971*
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Alternate Take 2
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Alternate Take 3
"There's A Light" - Alternate Take 1
"There's A Light" - Alternate Take 2
"There's A Light" - Alternate Take 3
"Out of My Mind" - Alternate Take 1
"Out of My Mind" - Alternate Take 2
"Out of My Mind" - Alternate Take 3
"Crest of a Wave" - Alternate Take 1
"Crest of a Wave" - Alternate Take 2
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - Home Demo
"Maybe I Will" - Home Demo
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Home Demo
CD4
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Crest of a Wave" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"I Could've Had Religion" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"For The Last Time" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Messin' With The Kid" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Pistol Slapper Blues" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Used To Be" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Out Of My Mind" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"I Could've Had Religion" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Crest Of A Wave" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Messin' With The Kid" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
2CD:
CD1
"Used to Be" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Maybe I Will" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Whole Lot of People" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"In Your Town" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"There's a Light" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Out of My Mind" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Crest of a Wave" - 50th Anniversary Edition
CD2
"Used to Be" - Alternate Take 1
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - Alternate Take 1
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 1
"Whole Lot of People" - 12 String Acoustic Alternate Take 1
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 3
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Alternate Take 3
"There's A Light" - Alternate Take 1
"Out of My Mind" - Alternate Take 3
"Crest of a Wave" - Alternate Take 2
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Crest of a Wave" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"I Could've Had Religion" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"For The Last Time" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Messin' With The Kid" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Pistol Slapper Blues" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
3LP
Side A
"Used to Be" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Maybe I Will" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Whole Lot of People" - 50th Anniversary Edition
Side B
"In Your Town" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"There's a Light" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Out of My Mind" - 50th Anniversary Edition
"Crest of a Wave" - 50th Anniversary Edition
Side C
"Used to Be" - Alternate Take 1
"I'm Not Awake Yet" - Alternate Take 1
"Maybe I Will" - Alternate Take 1
"Whole Lot of People" - 12 string acoustic Alternate Take 1
Side D
"In Your Town" - Alternate Take 3
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Alternate Take 3
"There's A Light" - Alternate Take 1
"Out of My Mind" - Alternate Take 3
Side E
"Crest of a Wave" - Alternate Take 2
"Crest of a Wave" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Don't Know Where I'm Going" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"I Could've Had Religion" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
Side F
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"For The Last Time" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Messin' With The Kid" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
"Pistol Slapper Blues" - Radio Bremen 21/12/1971
1LP Colour (D2C)
Side A
"Used To Be" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Should've Learnt My Lesson" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Out Of My Mind" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
Side B
"I Could've Had Religion" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Crest Of A Wave" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
"Messin' With The Kid" - BBC In Concert - Live at The Paris Theatre, 13 January 1972
(Photo - Mick Rock)