Nothing so dramatic marked any track on Disc Two, “Studio” recordings, performed again with a rotating cast of supporting players. Again, the opening tracks are straight-up blues numbers like "Race the Breeze," "Hands Off," and "Feel So Bad." The principal difference between these performances and those recorded in concert is length—many five minutes or less on the second disc. It’s not all pure blues--"Seventh Son of a Seventh Son" and the keyboard spiced "Daughter of the Everglades" are beautiful recalls of the music of ‘70s FM radio. "Crest of a Wave" is a change of pace selection, a low-key rock ballad. Likewise the jazz jumper "They Don't Make Them Like You" stands out. But it would be hard to get a more low-down, dirty torcher than “The Last Time" or get more reminiscent of Buddy Guy or B. B. King than "It Takes Time." In the main, this is a set you’d expect to hear in a Chicago nightclub, not in a London studio. And that’s the power of the blues.
The last of these reissues, and the final posthumous collection, is Wheels Within Wheels, an assortment of acoustic tracks assembled by Donal Gallagher in 2003 to create the album Rory never got to make in his lifetime. It includes previously unreleased cuts, many from live performances from the 1970s. To say it offers a different side of Rory Gallagher is an understatement—it’s gentle and versatile and demonstrates Gallagher could be electrifying without being plugged into an amp.
Choosing standouts would be a matter of taste. “Flight to Paradise” and “Bratacha Dubha” are lovely Celtic-tinged instrumentals with double-tracked finger-picking. “She Moved Thro’ the Fair” should remind Page fans of his “White Summer” and “Black Mountain Side” strumming for the Yardbirds and Led Zeppelin. From 1975, “Lonesome Highway” is folk/rock with interesting percussion support. Collaborations include "Deep Elm Blues" and "The Cuckoo" with Roland van Campenhout while jamming together at the Ghent Festival in the late 70s. One delight for Gallagher must have been "Goin' To My Hometown" with skiffle king Donegan, one of the pivotal influences on the young Irish devotee. They really get down home on that one, as with “Blue Moon of Kentucky” with guitar, banjo, harmonica, and everything but a washtub for a good ole' fashioned country jam.
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