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Gary Moore.
 Gary
Moore is a blues guitarist. It's taken the Belfast-born, now
Brighton UK-resident guitarist some time to get there, so a
spotted musical history is inserted for your reference: Early
success with the early 70's power trio Skid Row. Time in the
jazz-rock of Colosseum ll. A couple of stints in Thin Lizzy,
one the greatest hard rock bands ever. A series of hard rock
albums 1982-84. Top 5 UK hit with 1985's Out In The Fields.
A couple of Celtic influenced albums, 1987's 'Wild Frontier'
and 1989's 'After The War.'
However, it was 1990's 'Still Got The Blues' and its successor 'After Hours' (featuring guest appearances from blues legends Albert King, BB King and Albert Collins) that proved to be the watershed. Moore has just released yet another hard-rock, blues-inspired album called 'Power Of The Blues' whose 13 tracks, a mix of originals and covers, were recorded live and fresh in a scant nine days.
"Blues purists have given me a hard time," Moore sighs, "but Albert King and Albert Collins said that I could play the guitar. It's all to do with the emotion: it's going to be my way. The current line up [Darrin Mooney on drums and Aussie Bob Daisley on bass] is the way the blues was done, three guys in a room playing."
The current line recently played two big Irish shows supporting Bob Dylan, who according to Gary is a "quiet chap," noting that he is now a professor, both of us having a small giggle over the photos of Bob nodding off receiving his honorary doctorate.
Moore's had the odd knock for playing a heavier style of blues than the purists might like. "Sure," Moore agrees, arguing that his style had evolved from his hard rock days with Thin Lizzy and Skid Row, a sound "...which spilled over into 'Still Got The Blues' with its big fat rock guitar sound."
Moore recorded 1994's 'BBM' with the Cream rhythm section of Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce. One of the definitive highlights of 'Power Of The Blues' is Getaway Blues, a very bass-heavy track with massive Cream overtones. I ask whether this is perhaps something of a homage? "Cream, or sour milk," is the light hearted response. "I jumped at the chance to play with those guys. Jack Bruce is a hero of mine and Bob Daisley's. I grew up with Cream. This is going for the raw blues sound."
A bit like the recording process then. "Laying down 13 tracks
in nine days is the only way to do this sort of stuff, you've
got to let it happen. I Can't Quit You Baby saw Bob and
Darrin practice it for half an hour, did one rehearsal and then
put it down in one take."
This led to a discussion on reality TV shows based upon the ability (or lack thereof of) the winners to reap success. Moore was disparaging to say the least. "I'm so sick of them. They're all arseholes who haven't got enough attention from mummy and have gone on telly to get some."
He was appalled to hear that INXS are currently planning a reality show to find a new singer. "When did playing music become a competition?" he snarls. "When I was a kid everyone was playing something for the fun of it. These kids just don't realise it's a big marketing exercise where they're told what to do day in day out and then dropped when they're finished with. Gareth Gates [UK Pop Star runner up who sang a woeful cover of Unchained Melody] has been dropped by his record company after one album. The kids get sucked in by the show business of it."
There are no plans for an Australian tour at the moment, although Moore has good memories of his last visit in 1978, playing Memorial Drive with Thin Lizzy. "We spent three weeks in Australia to play five gigs," he remembers, fondly. "Got invited to a lot of parties, and judged beauty contests."
All contemporary styles of music can lay their roots to the blues. That Gary Moore continues to explore and expand the blues boundaries is exemplary at the least.
Mark Liebelt
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'Power Of The Blues' is out now through BMG.
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