#11 Wheels Within Wheels

 

Album:  Wheels Within Wheels, 2003

See also: Notes From San Francisco, 2011

Late in 1977, following a hefty world tour, Rory Gallagher and his band headed straight from Japan to San Francisco to record what, by all accounts, was a highly anticipated album. The late Elliot Mazer had been brought in as producer, with work taking place at Mazer’s studios, His Master’s Wheels.

Mazer already had rather an impressive track record, having worked with Lightnin’ Hopkins, Neil Young, Chubby Checker, Bob Dylan, The Band, and several others. He and Rory first crossed paths during the latter days of Taste, when Jake Holmes, another artist Mazer produced, joined Taste on tour and Elliott accompanied him. Some plans were put forward for Rory to record his debut solo album with Mazer producing it, though that never came to fruition. Years later, following the Calling Card album, Chrysalis were enthusiastic about Rory recording an American album, and Mazer travelled to Cork to discuss the project with Rory.

Work began in November 1977, carrying on through to almost Christmas. It appeared the sessions were a success, but as time went on, Rory became increasingly dissatisfied. Back home in Ireland for Christmas Rory confided in Dónal his concerns about how the music sounded, thinking that remixing may iron out the kinks. However, that was not to be the case, and in the end, Rory literally binned the album, just as it was due to be played to a gathering of executives at Chrysalis. It was while Dónal was at that meeting, Rory wound up in hospital with a broken thumb, after accidentally closing a taxi door on his right hand!

 During his recovery time, Rory decided to re-record the album with a new line-up, leading to the brilliant Photo Finish album. As previously mentioned in this series’ Shadow Play article, some of the songs from the Mazer sessions were kept, while others were put to one side in favour of new material. One of the songs left off of Photo Finish was ‘Wheels Within Wheels’.

 In his later years, Rory discussed his ambitions to put out an acoustic album in several interviews. Sadly, it was not to be, and eventually Dónal began producing an album of Rory’s acoustic work that became Wheels Within Wheels, released on March 1, 2003. The title track is perhaps one of the most striking songs Rory ever wrote. At the time of the album’s release, Shiv Cariappa wrote an excellent article about the project, in which Dónal discusses the title track: “To me it was such a beautiful song… …It was a turning point in Rory’s life. In a spiritual sense, he probably knew of his own destiny: about [eventually] fading away.”

 It is certainly a highly philosophical song, not only touching on fading out, but also loss, yearning, loneliness, and the way in which we just get tangled up and hurt by something that hits us hard:

"Wheels within wheels,
Confused what you feel a little bit.
Rules within rules,
Won't hide the hurt I have felt."

 The lyrics are very brief and to the point, but the effect they can have on the listener is immense. They are heart breaking. And Rory’s poignant vocals hammer the impact in even more. Had he kept this on Photo Finish, it no doubt would have gone down as one of his most popular songs. You can imagine him holding an audience even more in the palm of his hand by including it in the acoustic section of his live shows.

 The coupling of Rory’s acoustic guitar with Lou Martin’s piano on the acoustic version of the song is breath-taking. Lou seemed capable of tuning into something Rory needed like no other pianist. And if you didn’t think the acoustic version was a treat enough, Notes From San Francisco, released May 17, 2011, features both this version and an electric version. Literally, you cannot beat ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ with the full line-up of Gerry McAvoy, Lou, and Rod de’Ath, complete with a classic searing Rory guitar solo and even more impassioned vocals. Notes From San Francisco is partly made up recordings that Rory scrapped, though as Dónal has pointed out, he would not have been averse to their release with the right remix. The second disc of the album is a compilation of live performances, with Ted McKenna, at San Francisco’s The Old Waldorf, from December 1979.

 Though he opted not to release it in his lifetime, posthumously, ‘Wheels Within Wheels’ has become highly regarded as one of Rory’s greatest songs.