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Gary Moore: Still Got The Blues 1990, Virgin Records, CDV 2612 CyberHome: www.Gary-Moore.com Gary Moore first received widespread attention and national radio air time with his definitive hard electric blues effort Still Got The Blues. Up until this point in time (about 1990), Gary Moore was more or less an underground musician with a considerable following among blues guitarists. The title track received much air time, and rightfully so. "Still Got The Blues" has all the charactacteristics inherent in Gary Moore's electric blue style that embraces such legendary blues players such as Albert Collins, Albert King, BB King, and a plethora of other old timers. Gary's trademark is integrating this traditional blues with more modern guitar technique, feel, and heavy effects in a standard, traditional blues format. These things together achieve a driving, biting, hard-hitting effect that is always balanced with heart or gut wrenching melodies. Gary Moore is a true visionary who demonstrates a vision that has one foot firmly set in traditional blues and the other stepping forward in progressive stylism and technique. Still Got The Blues demonstrates the wide range of Gary Moore's blues style coverage. Gary's playing centers around bittersweet melodies and themes on some tracks. The soulful melodies are balanced with Gary's hear-felt singing and overpowering, blazing lead work. On other tracks, Gary lets it loose with some driving blues tunes built around blues riffs. Moore is not so traditional that he will rule out any type of technique or phrasing and it is exactly this open-mindedness that makes Still Got The Blues a landmark in electric blues. The progressive, blazing lead work and heavy tones that Moore integrates are always balanced with his sense of proportion and foundations in musicality and melody. Gary Moore has excellent judgement in this balance and is always right on the mark. Though the entire album is a solid effort from beginning to end, my favorites include "Moving On", "Walking By Myself", "Too Tired", and "That Kind Of Woman". The real standouts on the CD are the title track "Still Got The Blues" and "All Your Love", the old Otis Rush standard that Gary covers with an unmistakeable vision and drive that are all his own. Still Got The Blues is the CD that first put Gary Moore into the world class spotlight and earned him recognition as a blues master, as well as a great following among guitarists. Moore was the first blues- centric player to transcend the boundaries of blues in his appeal because he seemlessly integrates classically flavored melodies and guitar technique from other genres. Among the many guitarists that I have met, Gary Moore is the one that they all agree on, despite their preferences for genre or style. And, Still Got The Blues is the definitive Gary Moore effort. A must have for any blues collection!!! 1) Moving On 2) Oh Pretty Woman 3) Walking By Myself 4) Still Got The Blues 5) Texas Strut 6) Too Tired 7) King Of The Blues 8) As The Years Go Passing By 9) Midnight Blues 10) That Kind Of Woman 11) All Your Love 11) Stop Messin' Around ~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~ Gary Moore: Blues Live 1993, Virgin Records, CDVX 2716 CyberHome: www.Gary-Moore.com If you liked Still Got The Blues, you are going to love Blues Live. Gary Moore unleashes a barage of live blues ballads and wailing lead work. Gary Moore is in his element when playing live and his stylistic interpretation of the blues is very evident in its raw live form. Blues Live is high-energy blues featuring blistering fretwork that conquers listeners with a vengeance and blues presence that Gary Moore shares only with Stevie Ray Vaughan. Moore demonstrates his mastery of contrapuntal blues phrasing, laying to waste any doubters of his capabilities. Gary tears it up on most of the tracks, but really sets the stage on fire on "Cold Day in Hell", "Walking By Myself", "Too Tired", "Still Got The Blues", "Since I Met You Baby", and a very raucous version of "Further On Up The Road", an old favorite covered by The Band and Eric Clapton. And, "Parisienne Walkways" will squeeze your heart with its bittersweet classical melody and heart-gripping lyrics even harder than "Still Got The Blues", if you can imagine that being possible. Blues Live is a solid effort from start to finish delivering high-powered and melody-oriented blues with earth-scorching guitar work the likes of which have not been seen since Sherman left Atlanta for the sea. Blues Live is live blues at its best and the way the blues was meant to be played. No blues collection should be without this one!!! 1) Cold Day In Hell 2) Walking By Myself 3) Story Of The Blues 4) Oh Pretty Woman 5) Separate Ways 6) Too Tired 7) Still Got The Blues 8) Since I Met You Baby 9) The Sky Is Crying 10) Further On Up The Road 11) King Of The Blues 12) Pariesienne Walkways 13) Jumpin' At Shadows ~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~ Gary Moore: Back To The Blues 2000, Sanctuary Music, SANCD 072 CyberHome: www.Gary-Moore.com Gary Moore proves that his well has not yet run dry with his 2001 release Back To The Blues. Gary returns with more of his signature blues melodies, demonstrating that he has still got a thing or two up his sleave that he hasn't shared with us before. Back To The Blues opens with "Enough Of The Blues" that bridges the transition from acoustic traditional blues to the brand of bone- crunching, electric blues that Gary Moore pioneered. The contrast between the traditional sounding acoustic opening and the heavy electric variations that follow really accentuates Gary Moore's vision in his interpretation of the blues. Gary opens up the throttle on "Cold Black Night" breaking out the wah-wah to mix it up with the rest of the aggressive guitar work on this track. "Picture Of The Moon" delivers the classically-influenced, bittersweet, melodic, heart-felt blues ballad track on this CD that has become Gary Moore's trademark. The next track, "Looking Back", is a flirty track about love at first hindsight with a traditional blues format and Gary's raucous guitar fills. "The Prophet" follows with some soulful and haunting melodies keying off of a harmonic minor, classically-oriented, blues progression reminiscent of a Chopin melody played over a minor based progression with a gothic gospel feel. This is some of Gary's finest melodic invention to date with a melody that changes following the underlying harmonic minor chord progression. Back To The Blues continues to establish Gary Moore's electric blues legacy of heavy texturing balanced with unearthly bittersweet melodies. If you had forgotton about Gary Moore after Still Got The Blues, you really should check this one out and rediscover the prolific blues prodigy, Gary Moore. 1) Enough Of The Blues 2) You Upset Me Baby 3) Cold Black Night 4) Stormy Monday 5) Ain't Got You 6) Picture Of The Moon 7) Looking Back 8) The Prophet 9) How Many Lies 10) Drowning In Tears ~ Christopher Ruel ~ www.ChrisRuel.com ~ Chris@ChrisRuel.com ~
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