Not everyone can be a Gallagher! Because people will be quick to compare you to the melodic genius of some (Noel Gallagher) or the technical brilliance of others (Rory Gallagher). And if, on top of that, you’re a guitarist, a bluesman, and Irish, then there’s absolutely no room for leniency! But the placid Johnny Gallagher couldn’t care less about any of that, because his music speaks for itself—and more than once, as evidenced by this compilation featuring the cream of his recordings since his debut album released in 1997!

Johnny Gallagher’s quiet confidence is anything but feigned, for, as the saying goes, “he was immersed in music from a very young age.” His mother, a hairdresser, composed music in her spare time, while his father—his absolute idol—had founded a band with his brother in 1959 that enjoyed its heyday in Ireland. That’s the backdrop—the foundation of a structure that is now firmly established. Initially drawn to the drums (starting at age 9 in the local marching band in Bundoran, County Donegal), he even went on to join his father’s band, with whom he toured the U.S. by the time he was 12. This didn’t stop him from studying the mandolin and banjo at the same time, not to mention the violin and cello, as the insatiable classical music lover he was! All of this long before the guitar (and bass), on which he is now an undisputed master! And singing—which his natural shyness had long turned into an impregnable fortress!