A life-long fan of hardboiled crime fiction and pulp noir novels Rory Gallagher adopted many of their tropes into his music. He was a very fine songwriter too: the lyrics of ‘Kid Gloves’, ‘Loanshark Blues’ and ‘Slumming Angel’ are closer in thematic content to the works of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler than to any of his musical peers and they’re delivered with panache and style.
How appropriate then that his key noir-themed songs have been collected and packaged with a novella by modern crime master and Rory fan Ian Rankin, the plot and prose of which take their inspiration from Gallagher songs (his lyrics and titles are woven throughout). It’s a fascinating exercise in literary ventriloquism. Add to this Tim Truman of DC Comics fame’s illustrations and a spoken word Aiden Quinn piece explaining the background to it, and the artefact becomes quite the treasure trove. Did I mention there’s a second CD with rare live versions of some of the tracks too?
At the heart of this highly ambitious venture lies the music of Rory; blues-soaked scorching anthems brimming with menace and danger, where the music of the Mississippi Delta is electrified and energised into noir-rock nuggets to soundtrack the misadventures of secret agents and femme fatales.

Key Track: 'Tattoo'd Lady (Live)'