#18 - Overnight Bag

 

(Photo-Finish Version)

Albums: Photo-Finish (1978), Notes From San Francisco (2011)

 

What would become the Photo-Finish album was something of a tumultuous affair for Rory Gallagher. It took in two line-ups of the Rory Gallagher band, two recording studios in different continents, a broken thumb, one producer regarded for his work with Neil Young and another who had just worked with Paul McCartney. The result, however, was stunning.

It started with Rory flying into San Francisco in late 1977 with Gerry McAvoy, Rod de’Ath and Lou Martin to work with Elliot Mazer at his studios. Things began to unravel with Rory concluding that the result was decidedly not the sound he was wanting. Remixing didn’t work and, in the end, Rory literally binned the acetate on the day it was due to be played to executives from Chrysalis Records. His day didn’t improve when he broke his thumb trapping it in a taxi door, which had him off guitar for six weeks. And while he was recovering, the line-up of the group with Rod and Lou was formally ended.

Thumb healed; Rory set about looking for a new drummer. Several auditioned, including Brendan O’Neill, Gerry’s friend since school, though it wasn’t the time, with Brendan being a keen jazz drummer and wanting to make a go of things with his own band, Swift. Alex Harvey had recently split his own group, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, and his former drummer Ted McKenna was called in to audition with Rory. It worked out well.

Ted was described by Gerry as being one of the loudest drummers in Europe. Alex perhaps helped in this as he would run up to the drums and shake the cymbals if he felt Ted needed to pack more punch into it! Ted already had a fair bit of intense experience on the road with the SAHB. Rory was about to raise that further. The new line-up had its first live appearance at the Macroom Mountain Dew Festival in June 1978. Ted recalls wondering what he had gotten himself into, staring at his bleeding hands and Rory seemingly on the verge of collapse with exhaustion. Then they went back for an encore...

July and August were taken up with the recording of Photo-Finish at Dieter Dierks studios in Cologne. Rory returned to his old role as producer, with Alan O’Duffy, who had just worked with Paul McCartney on Wings Venus And Mars album, as co-producer. ‘Overnight Bag’ the fifth track on Photo-Finish, was one of the songs kept over and reworked from the Mazer sessions. As a result, the song also appears on Notes From San Francisco, released in 2011 after being remixed by Rory’s nephew Daniel, who has done excellent work in recent years keeping Rory’s fire burning.

‘Overnight Bag’ seems, based on the music alone, quite a jaunty rocker, but the lyrics are in stark contrast. Dónal: “The melodic lyrics of this track describe the lonelier side of life on the road, where Rory spent so much of his time.

“Trapped by a heartache, and freed by my will
Sentenced to wander, so much time to kill
Hear my plea, and rescue me

Packed my sorrows in an overnight bag
But I'll be gone much longer than that
Who knows when, we'll meet again?

Too many sleepless nights, put my soul on edge
And so many restless moods, lay heavy in my head.”

The guitar solo is regarded by fans as one of Rory’s finest, though the poignant lyrics have caused some to ask why Rory wrote them. Dónal, with whom Rory was very close, on being asked about it suggested that at that time, he was often off the road to deal with the managerial side of things while Rory was on tour, and that Rory may have been feeling homesick as a result.

(Notes From San Francisco Version)

Listening to the two versions of the song between Photo-Finish and Notes From San Francisco, you can hear a considerable difference. The original San Francisco version is very busy. Rory’s voice sounds as though it has been double tracked and there is the interplay between his guitar and Lou’s piano. Rory may have had a point about the sessions not sounding like him. It’s very noticeable that Mazer took a complex approach - perhaps going for the radio friendly and chart busting route that had gotten hits with other albums he had worked on.

The thing is, Rory’s sound is very uniquely, well, Rory. He was a musician who knew what he wanted and how to achieve it. He gave his musicians leeway to work their own way to the sound, Rory stepping in with some guidance if he felt they were a little off the mark. As good as Mazer was and Notes From San Francisco is an outstanding piece of work, it’s also notable in its divergence with what Rory was developing.

Trying new things is great for any musician. But an issue arises when record companies tweak the style and sound to what they see fit. It does beg the question what is the point of taking on an artist, only to considerably change them?  A lot don’t even seem to get much say in this process. But Rory had his head screwed on in that he refused to bend to any industry whims. It frustrated a lot of people, but he stayed honest to himself as a musician and that’s part of his drawing power.

‘Overnight Bag’ on Photo-Finish is a much calmer affair, with drums, bass and guitar. And Rory’s vocals having no studio tricks. It’s my personal favourite of both versions, being a little easier on the ear. One interviewer even asked Rory if he had taken singing lessons for working on the album as his vocals seemed stronger than ever on it. Or perhaps it could be that in going back into the studio to redo things, one thing Rory absolutely ensured was that his voice, with no fripperies and tricks, was unmistakably his on Photo-Finish.