Gallagher & Lyle

Gallagher & Lyle - Willie & the Lap Dog - 1973 - A&M

Willie & the Lapdog has the early 1970s rustic British folk-influenced rock feel associated with Pete Townshend and Ronnie Lane's early solo work. These comparisons are hardly a surprise, given that Townshend himself plays harmonica on the LP, and that Gallagher & Lyle would join Ronnie Lane's Slim Chance shortly afterward. Still, approximating the feel of work by major artists is one thing; matching it is another. And while Gallagher & Lyle's material here has a pleasing wistful, informal ambience, the songs aren't anything on the order of what Townshend and Lane were coming up with for their own rootsy solo endeavors. These are mostly easygoing ambles that drift by without leaving too much of an impression, sometimes going into more serious introspective and slightly bluer moods on tracks like "Home" and "Hotel Constantine," and adding orchestration for just one song, the closing "Thoughts from a Station." The use of harmonica, harmonium (on a cut actually titled "Harmonium"), and accordion adds to the archaic feel, though some of the harmonica riffs on "Give a Boy a Break" veer uncomfortably close to some that were used on George Harrison's "Apple Scruffs." © Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Willie and the Lapdog, Gallagher and Lyle's second album, is the fruit of a more folk-influenced duo, and therefore quieter and possibly more at peace with the world around it. Produced with great care by ex-Beatles engineer Glyn Johns, and with appearances by Pete Townshend on Bass Harmonica, and one of McGuinness Flint's namesakes, Hughie Flint, on drums, Willie has a homey feel, as if it is being played to an small audience gathered around a campfire on a warm summer's night. The instrumentation is appropriately sparse, and the songs, which come together to tell a heartfelt story, are imaginatively written and performed. The duo's singing is tremendous throughout. © Alan Haber

A ridiculously underrated album from the great Scottish folk rock duo, Gallagher & Lyle. There are eleven beautifully crafted songs on this sadly, forgotten album. Benny Gallagher, & Graham Lyle never truly got the credit they so richly deserved for their musicianship and brilliant songwriting. Try and listen to the duo's "Seeds" album, which is another neglected album from two of the greatest somgwriters ever to emerge from Britain

FROM 1973 ALBUM NOTES

"Willie and the Lapdog takes on a cohesive aura, depicting various aspects of man's journey from youth to old age, the way he misuses the former and dwells upon the latter, the way he relates to life and its passing acquaintances, and its music, which always seems to provide sustenance when all else fails."

TRACKS

1 Willie
2 Home
3 Give a Boy a Break
4 Sittin' Down Music
5 Dan
5 Among the Birks
7 Jesus Save Me
8 S.S. Man
9 Hotel Constantine
10 Lap Dog
11 Harmonium
12 Thoughts from a Station

All songs composed by Benny Gallagher, & Graham Lyle

MUSICIANS

Benny Gallagher, Graham Lyle - Guitar, Vocals
Hughie Flint - Drums
Bruce Rowland - Percussion, Drums
Pete Townshend - Harmonica

ABOUT GALLAGHER & LYLE / ALBUMS / "Willie & the Lapdog"

Too often dismissed as wimpy, middle-of-the-road lightweights, Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle are in actuality class A songwriters and performers; their recorded legacy, distinguished by classy, hook-filled numbers, is merely the cap on a career that also includes a stint in McGuinness Flint, during which they wrote two of the greatest folk-and-country-tinged songs in pop history, "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues," and scribed for Mary Hopkin (her version of the terrific "International" is classic and superb). Gallagher and Lyle may be better known by some more for covers of their material than for the original versions of their songs, such as "A Heart in New York," one of Art Garfunkel's best solo recordings. Amazingly, the duo charted only twice in America, landing at number 49 and 67, respectively, on the Billboard pop singles chart with "I Wanna Stay With You" and "Heart on My Sleeve." Hardly a brush with chart longevity, and hardly fair considering the high quality of the music. Out of the eight original albums Gallagher and Lyle recorded and released during their time together (a few live recordings and many greatest hits albums appeared after they broke up) came many wonderful songs, some of which are contained on the three records under discussion here. Two of the duo's best albums, The Last Cowboy and Love on the Airwaves, are the homes for "Keep the Candle Burning," "Song and Dance Man," "Mhairu," "Love on the Airwaves," "The Runaway," "Every Little Teardrop," "Had to Fall in Love," and "Never Give up on Love." Any songwriter worth his salt would do well to have a song as great as any of these in his catalogue. Gallagher and Lyle's seemingly effortless songwriting, deceptively simple yet somehow complex, examines human emotion with great wit and a tremendous sense of melody. The harmony singing is always emotionally involving. They are the best interpreters of their own material, and it is a shame they were never a bigger success here in the United States. I wish they had stayed together longer, but separate careers eventually beckoned (Lyle went on to co-write such songs as "What's Love Got to Do With It" for Tina Turner). &So leave it to a record company in Edinburgh, Scotland to re-release Gallagher and Lyle's complete catalog on CD. Straight reissues with no bonus tracks, they are budget priced and easily obtainable from import specialists. They are, one and all, most welcome, remastered with great care and they sound fabulous. If you're not a fan, try one and I know you'll be instantly hooked. Where to start? Among the three albums on review here, either The Last Cowboy or Love on the Airwaves will do, especially when you consider the songs I noted above. I have a soft spot for Cowboy, but, really, either album is a good first purchase. Airwaves is perhaps a bit slicker than Cowboy, but not to the album's detriment. It is perhaps more polished than its predecessors, but it's also more confidently performed. Willie and the Lapdog, Gallagher and Lyle's second album, is the fruit of a more folk-influenced duo, and therefore quieter and possibly more at peace with the world around it. Produced with great care by ex-Beatles engineer Glyn Johns, and with appearances by Pete Townshend on Bass Harmonica, and one of McGuinness Flint's namesakes, Hughie Flint, on drums, Willie has a homey feel, as if it is being played to an small audience gathered around a campfire on a warm summer's night. The instrumentation is appropriately sparse, and the songs, which come together to tell a heartfelt story, are imaginatively written and performed. The duo's singing is tremendous throughout. There is no substitute for excellence. Here are three excellent albums from one of soft-pop's greatest duos. Devour immediately. © Alan Haber, March 6, 2005, www.buhdge.com/hot%20buhdge/gallagher_and_lyle_one.htm

BIO

The pop duo phenomenon that spawned such acts as Simon & Garfunkel, Brewer & Shipley and Seals & Crofts was pre-dated by the duo formed by songwriters, guitarists and vocalists Benny Gallagher and Graham Lyle. Initially attracting attention as songwriters of Dean Ford & the Gaylords' single, "Mr. Heartbreak's Here Instead," Gallagher & Lyle went on to record as a duo and members of McGuinness Flint and Ronnie Lane's group, the Last Chance Band. Gallagher and Lyle continued to balance their performances and recordings as staff songwriters for the Beatles' Apple label, writing "Sparrow" and "International" for Mary Hopkin. The title track of their sixth duo album, Breakaway, was later covered by Art Garfunkel. Gallagher & Lyle first played together in Largos, a small town in Argyle, Scotland., near Glasgow. Relocating to London in 1967, the duo became full-time writers at Apple. Three years later, they joined with Tom McGuinness and Hughie Flint to form McGuinness Flint. Although they recorded two successful singles, "When I'm Dead and Gone" and "Malt and Barley Blues," the group disbanded in 1971. Recording their self-titled debut duo album for Capitol, Gallagher & Lyle switched to the A&M label by their second effort. Their first release on A&M, however, was a reissue of their debut album. In the spring of 1974, Gallagher and Lyle joined Ronnie Lane's Last Chance Band, remaining with the group until May 1974. The duo balanced their work with the band with additional duo albums, How Come and The Last Cowboy. They continued to record on their own following the breakup of the group. Breakaway was released in 1975, Love on the Airwaves in 1977 and Show Down in 1978. Switching to the Phonogram label, they recorded their final album, Lonesome No More in 1979. Following a tour to support the album, the duo went their seperate ways. Lyle continued to write, in collaboration with Terry Britten, reaching his peak with "What's Love Got to Do With It," covered by Tina Turner, and "Just Good Friends," recorded by Michael Jackson. © Craig Harris, All Music Guide