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"…Took Me Out My
Mind…Took Me Out Of My Head…"
Under the supervision of
Donal Gallagher (his older brother and former tour manager) - Irish guitar hero RORY GALLAGHER had his LP
back-catalogue first reissued onto CD between 1998 and 2000. Each of those
RCA/Capo releases came in jewel cases and had previously unreleased bonus
tracks. The campaign culminated with a tremendous outtakes compilation in 2003
called "Wheels Within Wheels".
This latest version of
"Deuce" (his second album) is one of six new remasters released to
coincide with the 40th Anniversary of his Solo career (list below). So what's
different? In a nutshell - cheaper price, upgraded packaging and 2011 mastering
from original tapes. Here are the double-bubble finite details...
Released 16 January 2012 in
the UK (31 Jan 2012 in the USA) - "Deuce" by RORY GALLAGHER is on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88691917372 (Barcode 886919173727) and comes in a card digipak rather than a
jewel case.
The single bonus track "Persuasion" which first appeared
on the 1999 CD reissue has disappeared without mention. It sounded to me
suspiciously like a much later outtake stuck on the end of that reissue so it
would have something previously unreleased on it. There is no mention either in
the slightly reworked liner notes as to why it's been dropped.
1. Used To Be [Side 1]
2. I’m Not Awake Yet
3. Don’t Know Where I’m Going
4. Maybe I Will
5. Whole Lot Of People
6. In Your Town [Side 2]
7. Should’ve Learnt My Lesson
8. There’s A Light
9. Out Of My Mind
10. Crest Of A Wave
The gatefold card sleeve
repros the colour artwork of the original vinyl album (front and rear) while
the booklet is only slightly extended over the previous 1999 foldout inlay (8
pages as opposed to 6). There is a collage of extra photos of Rory taken by MICK
ROCK who took the original atmospheric shots of Rory for the front and rear
sleeve in 1971. The 3-page liner notes of the 1999 version by Shu Tomioka and
Charles Stanford are slightly altered but now only credited to Donal Gallagher?
They also lazily leave the running order in the incorrect way ("I'm Not
Awake Yet" and "Used To Be" when it should be the other way
around). While the packaging is disappointingly lazy - it has to be said that
the card digipak is nice to look at - and retailing at less than six quid (and
even cheaper online) - it's both aesthetically pleasing and more than adequate.
Originally released November
1971 on Polydor 2383 076 in the UK and Atco SD 7004 in the USA - and with all
10 tracks self-penned and self-produced - the songwriting and playing on his
second solo album improved hugely on his unflashy debut album from May of that
same year. For that reason "Deuce" has been a huge fan favourite ever
since - name-checked by such luminaries as Johnny Marr of The Smiths, The Edge
of U2 and Slash of Guns 'N Roses. The greatly talented and much-missed US
comedian Bill Hicks raved about it for years too. The original British vinyl
album in particular (some 40 years after the event) with its easy to damage and
flimsy sleeve has become increasingly expensive in Auctions (much like the
TASTE studio albums from 1969 and 1970). So this budget-priced CD is a great
way of acquiring a rarity at a very reasonable cost. However, the new sound may
present fans with real problems...
The initial 1999 CDs were
'remixed and remastered' by Tony Arnold at Courthouse Facilities in Dorset -
these are 'untampered' versions remastered by ANDY PEARCE and MATT WORTHAM at
Wired Masters in the UK in November 2011 (46:58 minutes total playing time).
Andy and Matt have been involved in and received praise for remasters of Black
Sabbath, Thin Lizzy, Frankie Miller, Wishbone Ash and The Kinks (many of which
I've reviewed). For these reissues the original 1/4 master tapes have been
returned to - therefore giving the fans the album Rory himself would have
approved rather than the slightly 'altered' preceding version. However - unlike
the great sound quality on the first LP I've reviewed in this series - the
results on "Deuce" are very mixed - and in some cases have revealed
flaws on the original tapes hidden by the remix of 1999...
First up is the running order
- the 1999 version put "I'm Not Awake Yet" and "Used To Be"
as Tracks 1 and 2 (the wrong way around) - both songs are finally presented
here in their correct running order. However it's now obvious why they were
reversed on the 1999 version - they were hiding something. "Used To
Be" (which opens the 2012 CD and Download) has a crackling to the guitar
in the first 30 seconds that is very pronounced - the tape is probably
corrupted. If you go back to the 1999 version - it is on there - but mixed to
the background - here it isn't. So as you play the track now - its 'pronounced
distortion' is very disconcerting to say the least. Unfortunately the same
slight crackle is on parts of "Maybe I Will" too - while the acoustic
guitars of "I'm Not Awake Yet" that are on the 1999 remix will make
fans feel that this 'authentic' version is a little bare.
On the up side - "Don't
Know Where I'm Going" is fabulous acoustic Blues and it sounds great.
"Whole Lot Of People" retains the 'live' feel Rory wanted - complete
with him shouting before he goes into that speaker-to-speaker solo. The studio
version of "In Your Town" is a tad beefed up too and I've always loved
the slow feel to "Should've Learned My Lesson" - probably the
best-sounding track on here. The jazzy "There's A Light" has
beautifully sweet Bass from Gerry McAvoy and great swirling guitars/off-centre
vocals from Rory. And I can still remember to this day the excitement and
frustration of trying to copy the acoustic brilliance of the Doc Watson
influenced "Out Of My Head" (lyrics above). I'm sure my teenage
attempts were mirrored by hundreds of other budding guitarists. "Out Of My
Mind" was just so brilliantly musical and showed off his amazing playing
skill for a lad of only 23. The album then ends on a rock high with "Crest
Of A Wave" where the band kicks in with some power.
So if I'm to be brutally
honest - the sound on this 2012 version of "Deuce" (one of his most
beloved of albums) is a tad disappointing - and even dull in places. Ok -
authenticity has been restored - but if its to the listener's loss (and with
the bonus track chopped off) - a punter might feel seriously short-changed
here. But like the soppy fan I am - I took one look at the card digipak - and
bought it anyway! Should you ditch the old version - no - but try to get to
hear this one too - there are sonic upgrades worth having.
Like most Irishmen, I can't
be rational about Rory Gallagher. I saw him and his band as a teenager live in
Dublin in the early Seventies and the experience was mind-blowing. I then
bought every album he ever put out after that and always looked forward to
hearing where his flying fingers would take me next.
Rory was sadly lost to us in
1995 through liver failure - and it still hurts to think that this most
unassuming and brilliant of guitar heroes is gone.
Best we remember him this way
- even if this reissue is flawed.
The Eleven Titles in the
2012 RORY GALLAGHER Remasters Series -
CD Digipaks, Downloads and 'Music On
Vinyl' LPs:
16 January 2012 CD DIGIPAK
and DOWNLOAD:
1. "Rory Gallagher"
(May 1971 debut) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917352
(Barcode 886919173529)
2. "Deuce"
(November 1971 2nd studio LP) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88691917372 (Barcode 886919173727)
3. "Live! In
Europe" (May 1972 1st Live LP) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88691917432 (Barcode 886919174328)
4. "Blueprint"
(February 1973, 3rd studio album) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88691917452 (Barcode 886919174526)
5. "Tattoo"
(November 1973, 4th studio album) – released January 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88691917462 (Barcode 886919174625)
6. "Irish Tour '74"
(July 1974, 2nd Live Set, 2LPs onto 1CD) – released January 2012 on
Sony/Capo/Legacy 88691917472 (Barcode 886919174724)
27 February 2012 VINYL:
1 to 6 above also released 27
February 2012 on Limited Edition 180-gram vinyl versions on the "Music On
Vinyl" Label
24 September 2012 CD DIGIPAK
and DOWNLOAD:
7. "Against The
Grain" (October 1975, 5th studio album) – released September 2012 on
Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461492 (Barcode 887254614920)
8. "Calling Card"
(August 1976, 6th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88725461472 (Barcode 887254614722)
9. "Photo-Finish"
(October 1978, 7th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88725461462 (Barcode 887254614623)
10. "Top Priority"
(September 1979, 8th studio album) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy
88725461452 (Barcode 88725461452)
11. "Jinx" (April
1982) – released September 2012 on Sony/Capo/Legacy 88725461432 (Barcode
887254614326)
22 October 2012 VINYL:
7 to 11 above also released
22 October 2012 on Limited Edition 180-gram vinyl versions on the "Music
On Vinyl" Label
PPS: Most of the eleven above
have been reissued since 2012 in standard jewel cases but have different
catalogue numbers and barcodes. The jewel case version of "Deuce" for
instance is Barcode 886919369625 and also has the restored artwork, picture CD
and expanded booklet of the digipak 2012 issue. But if you want the 'digipak'
repro artwork versions – be sure to use the Barcodes provided above when
ordering...
