TASTE / Taste ON THE BOARDS Polydor 2679 020 (1970 1st Ed. 2 Record set) NM

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TASTE / Taste ON THE BOARDS Polydor 2679 020 (1970 1st Ed. 2 Record set)

Tracklist

Taste A1 Blister On The Moon 3:26 A2 Leaving Blues 4:15 A3 Sugar Mama 7:14 A4 Hail 2:35 A5 Born On The Wrong Side Of Time 4:00

B1 Dual Carriageway Pain 3:13 B2 Same Old Story 3:32 B3 Catfish 8:04 B4 I'm Moving On 2:29

On The Boards C1 What's Going On 2:44 C2 Railway And Gun 3:33 C3 It's Happened Before, It'll Happen Again 6:27 C4 If The Day Was Any Longer 2:05 C5 Morning Sun 2:34

D1 Eat My Words 3:40 D2 On The Boards 5:54 D3 If I Don't Sing I'll Cry 2:34 D4 See Here 2:59 D5 I'll Remember 2:57

*(all photos are of the actual item)

• Bass – Richard McCracken
• Drums – John Wilson (3)
• Vocals, Lead Guitar, Alto Saxophone – Rory Gallagher

Other Identifiers

• Other (Cat.# Record 1): 2478 064 1969
• Other (Cat.# Record 2): 2478 065 1970

AllMusic Review by Eduardo Rivadavia
     The fact that they, like so many late-'60s contemporaries, were molded in the image of Cream has often been cited to diminish the stature of Irish power trio Taste. But, all things being equal, it's impossible to dismiss their fine eponymous debut based solely on obvious source of inspiration, nor, by any means, the singular talents of the band's creative and performing focal point, vocalist and guitarist Rory Gallagher -- barely 20 years of age upon its release in 1969. After opening with the menacing staccatos and power chords of the forward-looking, proto-metal classic "Blister on the Moon," Taste turn right back around and indulge their retro-fueled Brit-blues influences with a bottleneck run through Leadbelly's "Leavin' Blues" -- a show of contrasts that speaks volumes to the breadth of Gallagher's instrumental versatility. The blues keep coming with the guitarist's self-penned showcase "Sugar Mama" and a more restrained acoustic "Hail," then the hard rock fires are stoked once again with "Born on the Wrong Side of Town" -- a track whose regional folk music accents did much to foment Gallagher's enduring status as a blue-collar, Emerald Isle legend. And so it goes until the album's conclusion: with alternating glimpses of past and future musical tendencies peppering remaining tracks "Same Old Story," "Dual Carriageway Pain" (both gritty blues-rockers showing riffs that sometimes smacked of the then brand-new Led Zeppelin), "Catfish" (a traditional blues standard turned monster jam), and "I'm Moving On" (a spare but spunk-filled Hank Snow cover). Ultimately, it's a stylistic stew that would arguably get honed to better focus and achieve greater distinction from the competition on Taste's second album, a year later. But who's to say that Taste didn't have almost as much influence as Cream on future bands such as Rush, whose early records are quite literally mapped out on this release -- a worthy addition to collections of this exciting period in British rock.
AllMusic Review by Don Snowden
     The second and final studio recording by Irish guitarist Rory Gallagher's neo-Cream trio reins in the playing to focus more on songwriting. The material is a virtual grab bag of blues-rock styles, moving from driving rockers ("What's Going On," "I'll Remember") and basic boogies ("Morning Sun," "If I Don't Sing I'll Cry") to a bottleneck blitz ("Eat My Words") and a pair of acoustic ballads. There's a pronounced jazzy tinge to his spiky guitar and never-again-heard alto sax on the slow blues of the title track and "It's Happened Before, It'll Happen Again," the latter giving the Richard McCracken-John Wilson rhythm section a chance to stretch out and swing fluidly. The lyrics, never a Gallagher strong suit, are pretty simplistic, but the chorus hooks do stick. It could all have added up to one big eclectic mess, but for the often one-dimensional, sometimes ham-fisted Gallagher, the laudable variety turns On the Boards into the high point of his recording career.