Rory Gallagher, in 1978, had scrapped plans for an album he recorded in California earlier that year (finally released by Eagle in May of 2011 as Notes From San Francisco), changed his direction, and reorganized his band. Photo-Finish is the result. Primal…feral…with a hard rock edge, it would be the album that Rory had been dreaming about: a return to the immediacy and pulse-pounding drama of his stage shows. With only bassist Gerry McAvoy and drummer Ted McKenna, Rory lashes out 11 originals with spit and polish including what would become live favorites "Shin Kicker, "Shadow Play" and "Mississippi Sheiks."

A year later, Top Priority had Rory working out his studio chops to deliver what many critics think is one of his greatest albums. "Follow Me" became a concert must. "Philby" has him playing a sitar he borrowed from Pete Townshend of The Who (which he also uses on "Bad Penny"). "Off The Handle" has him blowing some mighty angry blues harp. With McAvoy and McKenna sticking to him like a second skin, Rory again eschews covers for 11 tightly-wound originals.

The Gallagher/McKenna/McAvoy triumvirate proved to be a tight machine of epic proportions. It was obvious touring globally had sharpened their chops to pinpoint precision. Rory had already made two of hard rock's greatest live albums in Irish Tour and Live In Europe (both also reissued as part of this project), so sensing a definite demand for another installment, he kicked off the 80s' with the live Stage Struck. Starting off with the biker anthem "Shin Kicker," this 71-minute grabber includes first-time-on-record live versions from Calling Card (1976), Photo-Finish and Top Priority.

It would be nearly three full years from his last studio effort but Jinx, originally released in April of 1982, Rory's Gallagher's first 1980s studio album, would ultimately prove to be his last studio album for almost six years. Jinx pulls out all the stops: Saxophonists Dick Parry (from Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon) and Ray Beavis, keyboardist Bob Andrews, and drummer Brendan O'Neill complement Rory on 11 scintillating tracks, including fan favorites "Big Guns," "Bourbon," and "Easy Come, Easy Go." (check out the roots-reverent cover of bluesman Louisiana Red's "Ride On Red, Ride On").