Good Album for Fans of Gary's Music
TommyElf | Denton, TX | 06/29/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album showcases the best of Gary's earliest works, and provides a few examples of how difficult it was to listen to him sing. Standout songs on this album include the title track for "Back on the Streets", the awesome fusion pieces of "The Scorch", "All Skin and Bone", and "Wardance" - along with his masterpiece "Parisienne Walkways". But even with these excellent pieces of work, there are a few dogs on this Greatest Hits collection as well. The $deity-swful "Castles" and "Song For Donna" showcase the worst of Gary's voice. He does an excellent job with working on his voice later in his career - but these two songs definitely show the need for improvement.Honestly, as a Greatest Hits album, this falls somewhat flat for anyone other than a Gary Moore or Colosseum II fan. My rating is a four of five stars, but I am also a fan of Gary's."
Interesting Gary Moore Compilation
Chappa | Olympus Mons, Mars | 12/27/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Released in 1996, this is a good overview of Moore's work with jazz-fusion band Colosseum II led by drummer Jon Hiseman. There are 15 tracks included with five taken from Moore's 1979 solo album "Back On The Streets" and the remaining ten come from the Colosseum II albums "Electric Savage" and "Wardance" both originally released in 1977. The booklet has a very informative essay with details about Moore's career all the way up to the 1990's talking about his then current blues direction.
The song selection is good but some favorites of mine are absent like from Gary's solo album, the rocker "Fanatical Fascists" and I would have preferred "What Would You Rather Bee Or A Wasp" instead of "Hurricane".
From "Wardance", it would have been cool to have "The Inquisition" instead of "Fighting Talk" and from "Electric Savage" it was definitely "Intergalactic Strut" in place of "All Skin & Bone"!
Still the material here is excellent with the stars being the fusion workouts "The Scorch", "Put It That Way", "Major Keys", "Desperado", "Star Maiden/Mysterioso/Quasar", the jazzy/R&B ballads "Song For Donna", "Castles", the other amazing ballad "Parisienne Walkways" and the slow blues arrangement of the Thin Lizzy standard "Don't Believe A Word" both featuring Phil Lynott from Thin Lizzy on vocals!
Colosseum II:
_Electric Savage_(1977)
"Put It This Way"
"The Scorch"
"Desperado"
"All Skin & Bone"
"Lament"
_Wardance_(1977)
"Castles"
"Wardance"
"FIghitng Talk"
"Major Keys"
"Star Maiden/Mysterioso/Quasar"
Gary Moore:
_Back On The Streets_(1979)
"Back On The Streets"
"Don't Belive A Word"
"Song For Donna"
"Hurricane"
"Parisienne Walkways"
There are better Gary Moore compilations out there but from a Colosseum II perspective, this is a great one since you get five songs out of those two albums ("Electric Savage"/"Wardance") that are hard to find!
Thanks for taking the time to read!
Later..."
Track Listings (15) - Disc #1