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Elly Roberts reviews
Virgin/EMI
- Released: Sept 2006
- Rating: 10/10
- Format: 3-CD set
Gary Moore is real rock royalty.
From his time with Skid Row, Gary Moore Band to Thin Lizzy, Moore wasregarded as a finger-busting rock guitarist. These CDs will dispel that myth.Along with luminaries Eric Clapton, Albert Collins, BB King, Peter Green, CarlosSantana, Paul Kossoff and Jimmy Page, he possesses an immaculate touch.
In 1993, ex-Cream bassist Jack Bruce said, “Gary Moore should be regarded asa national treasure.” Albert King said of him in 1990, “My new favouriteguitar player, the best in Europe.” Former Thin Lizzy band mate PhilLynott went a step further in 1978, “Gary Moore is the best rock guitaristin the world.”
Yes, of course he can turn an axe into flames, but he, unlike like many ofhis contemporaries, has discipline. At no time, does Moore display gratuitousexhibitionism. Everything he does is measured, even during his more freneticmoments, which have been many in the studio and on stage. Thrown in, is styleand great technique.
Singles stopped charting in 1995, the last one being a cover of FleetwoodMacs classic Need Your Love So Bad. Despite his reputation,commercially, it was the ’80s and ’90s that sealed his status. 1979s debutsingle Parisienne Walkways, opens CD 1, eventually leading to thehead-banging ear-splitting solo on Frees Wishing Well.
Spread over 3 discs and 45 tracks, theres a huge wealth of his expansiverepertoire, whether theyre covers, collaborations or originals. A list of allthe tracks can be found at the Amazon link above.
Effectively divided into three parts, Rock, Blues and Live we get raspingsingles Over The Hills And Far Away, Empty Rooms, Wild Frontier (CD1).For the remainder, were left with CD 2, the Blues catalogue featuring thespellbinding addition of Albert King on Oh Pretty Woman and BB Kingon a brassed-up Since I Met You Baby, with the gentle I LovedAnother Woman providing the highlight.
Finally, Live, (presumably anentire concert from Detroit) is 1 hour 16 minutes of Moore at his inimitablebest, proving hes not just a studio-based technician. It closes where itbegan, with an extraordinary Parisienne Walkways check the hangingnote in the mid section: mind-blowing!
Switching Rock-Blues codes comes effortlessly, though at heart, he remainsa Bluesman: the evidence is all here on his most comprehensive compilationto date.
Feast yourself on 3 hours of class.
Weblink:Gary-Movie.com
Elly Roberts passed away in 2011, but he was a man who was so passionate about all types of music and loved meeting his musical heroes, such as Mick Hucknall at a book signing at the Trafford Centre, Manchester in 2007.
A former teacher and also a music journalist, DJ and radio presenter on local community station Calon FM, plus appearances on BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Cymru and BBC Radio 2, Elly started doing reviews for DVDfever.co.uk in 2004 and he did the majority of the CD and concerts reviews on the website.
I know also that he loved getting away for the summer to Spain and I hope that wherever he is now he is enjoying the hot sunshine and, as one of his friends has said on his Facebook page, that he is interviewing his musical heroes.