Rory Gallagher Wheels Within Wheels Review by Gary Hill
Here we have a posthumous collection of cuts from Rory Gallagher. Essentially these are all acoustic based recordings, but one song, “Lonesome Highway,” has some electric guitar. All the tunes work quite well and this is a killer collection.
This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2011 Volume 5 at lulu.com/strangesound.
Track by Track Review
Wheels Within Wheels
There’s a pretty, but energized acoustic guitar motif that’s balladic and quite tasty making up the musical elements here.
Flight To Paradise This is an intricate and powerful bouncy acoustic guitar solo. It’s killer.
As The Crow Flies An old time, down home, rocking blues motif makes up this killer track. It’s very old school and has some great slide guitar built into it.
Lonesome Highway The only tune on the disc to feature electric guitar, this is sort of the 1960s psychedelia meets blues style that was popular in the ‘70s. It’s a killer tune on a disc that has no weak material. There’s a guitar solo later in the cut that really reinforces that psychedelic connection.
Bratcha Dubha Here we get another acoustic guitar solo that’s both intricate and folky.
She Moved Thro' The Fair/ Ann Cran Ull The opening motif here calls to mind some of Jimmy Page’s acoustic guitar music. From there it gets more folky as it continues.
Barley & Grape Rag This is an old time rag-time cut with a lot of old school blues built in. It reminds me of something Country Joe and the Fish might have done.
The Cuckoo Combining blues and folk music into one killer jam, this is one of my favorite pieces on show. It’s extremely effective.
Amazing Grace For some reason I’ve always hated this song (meaning the song and not this particular rendition). This blues based instrumental telling is considerably different from any other version I’ve heard and I really don’t mind it.
Walkin' Blues Here’s a down home blues tune that’s intricate and powerful and features some killer guitar work. I’m again reminded of Jimmy Page at times.
Blue Moon Of Kentucky There’s some country built into this smoking hot acoustic blues track.
Deep Elm Blues
This has a train blues kind of feeling to it. It’s a down home blues number that’s quite cool.
Goin' To My Hometown And here’s another bouncing acoustic jam. It’s got a lot of energy and is just plain fun.
Lonesome Highway Refraining This is an acoustic guitar instrumental based on the earlier cut.