Search - Gary Moore :: Old New Ballads Blues

Gary Moore!

R9 | Sacramento, CA USA | 05/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

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Gary Moore! What a wonderful new album from this incredible musician!



His singing has continued to get better, either from coaching, practice, age, or some combination. This is a really well-sung album. And of course, his playing is just always spot-on and so highly fired-up.



He has continued to build his talent and energy as a guitarist! ... and that amazing driving fire that underlies everything is just as complete as ever. He pours his full personality into this music.



You might think that Gary "jams" lots of his playing. However, if you go back and listen to any of the cuts off of "Still Got The Blues", for example, and then find live versions of the same cuts, you will quickly see that he leaves nothing to chance. His composition is planned in detail, but the execution is still so entirely inspired that it comes out as spontaneous jam - the best of both worlds.



Gary uses a horn section on a couple of songs to great effect and I like the range of tones, such as the semi-clean leads on the remake of Midnight Blues (2006). Gonna Rain Today is flat-out beautiful.



To me, Gary is the most meaningful blues/rock player of all time. He did it with great talent, discipline and lots of focused work. This album continues fully in his track record of excellent, beautiful art.



Gary, if you ever read amazon reviews, man, you did it again. This album is just a treasure and I'm just grateful you made another one!



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Gotta love him.

cocre | Cayce, SC United States | 01/16/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Much improved voice, same great guitar. Slow album, especially on his two remakes. Country sound on No Reason To Cry (beautiful solo). This CD would have been a 6 stars had he mixed in a thunderstorm to the background of Gonna Rain Today."

One of Gary's Better Blues-Rock efforts

Cory B. | Arizona | 10/23/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The great Gary Moore has released several blues-rock CD's in the last few years. This strong 2006 effort is one of his best. Moore's improved vocals here enhance the album as he sings most of the material with a little more soul and polish than usual. While Gary will never rank among the greatest of blues vocalists, his electrifying guitar playing is matched by very few in the world of rock and blues.



Gary follows his usual pattern here of hard rockin' covers of blues classics mixed in with his own original blues tunes. Moore's heavy metal tendencies are put on the backburner on this CD that is dominated by strong bluesy ballads. The CD begins with Moore's remake of the old Elmore James standard "Done somebody wrong" that spotlights his skills on slide guitar. Gary follows it up with a dynamic treatment of the Otis Rush classic "My love will never die" {You know my love}. This song features his strongest vocals on the album along with an extended powerhouse guitar solo that makes this track the possible highlight of the CD.



Another Otis Rush song "All your Love" and Gary's beautiful blues ballad "Midnight Blues" were both originally recorded in 1990, and the remakes here are given a slightly slower tempo by Gary. The heartfelt ballads "Flesh and Blood" and "No Reason to Cry" are two of Gary's strongest original songs that step away from the blues format. Flesh and Blood is a really nice pop-rock ballad that is far better than any cookie-cutter song currently on the pop charts, and No Reason to Cry is Gary's suprising attempt at a country song that replaces the vomit-provoking nasal twang of a Kenny Chesney or a Tim McGraw with a truly searing guitar solo that, needless to say, ole' Tim and Kenny would have one hell of a time trying to pull off...



"Cut it Out" is a blistering blues-rock instrumental that is a showcase for Moore's powerhouse guitar work. It is by far the most rockin' tune on the CD. "Gonna Rain Today" is a gentle but mournful ballad that is a little weak vocally but still one of the highlights of the album. The great Albert King ballad "I'll play the blues for you" is a pretty average remake that is nearly ruined by an annoying electronic sound that repeats throughout the song. I don't know what Gary was thinking when including this in the song.



This CD is a good choice for anyone discovering the work of this criminally overlooked guitar master for the first time, although Gary's 1990 album "Still got the Blues" remains his very best blues effort. Moore's work has recieved little attention here in America throughout the years, and sadly you are not going to hear music this good on your local top 40 station which is just one more reason this CD is a wise addition to anyone's music collection.



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