Kevin Welch – Beneath My Wheels
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Posted On July 1, 1999
Kevin Welch is one of the most underappreciated songwriters of the ’90s. He possesses an indelible talent for getting to the heart of whatever subject he chooses to cover. With a keen eye for the fine details of life and a wide palette of musical styles, he has compiled an enviable catalog of superb melodies and heartwarming narratives.
Beneath My Wheels, Welch’s first release in four years, twists and turns from sly blues to fervent rockers to tranquil ballads with engaging self-confidence. Although his fellow Dead Reckoning labelmates take part in the proceedings — Mike Henderson’s guitar playing, as always, is an important part of Welch’s distinctive sound — Welch chose to use some players he met in Scandinavia for a large part of Beneath My Wheels (they even recorded some of the tracks in Copenhagen). The new blood and change of surroundings seems to have inspired Welch to new heights.
By opening proceedings with the electric blues and gospel hybrid “Everybody’s Gotta Walk” featuring members of the Fairfield Four, Welch announces that this record is traveling miles from where he’s been before. The exquisite ballad “Fold Your Wings” sizzles with rare passion made more powerful by Welch’s smooth yet smoky vocals; “Full Moon Over Christiania”, a furious anthemic rocker with slashing guitar, is unlike anything he’s ever done.
Lyrically, Welch strikes to the core of common feelings on songs such as “Five Million One Thousand Miles”: “I heard a guy sing a song the other night/About truck stop pay phones and Texaco lights/I knew exactly the feeling you get/When it’s you last chance to call her and she ain’t home yet.” And from the album’s title track: “Kingdom comes, and there is still so much to be done/If you stop your singing, and if the wind lies still/You’ll hear the whining, beneath my wheels.”
Welch has finally produced the masterpiece he’s long had in him. Beneath My Wheels is full of uncommon musical variety and starkly beautiful images that resonate long after the disc has finished playing.
