Published on Jul 9, 1997
Sometimes I seriously worry for the blues. What has always been
a raw, emotional form of music has lost so many greats in recent
years – just this weekend, I learned of the death of Johnny
Copeland. There are so few left who can move this reviewer to tears
with the power of their performances.
Gary Moore isn’t one of these people. His 1990 release
Still Got The Blues may have brought him quite a bit of
industry attention (and rejuvenated his solo career), but to me, it
just proves that rich white boys aren’t meant to play the
blues.
Give him credit for trying – he brings in two masters of their
respective instruments, Albert Collins (and the Fender Telecaster)
and Albert King (and his Gibson Flying “V”). But these blues
purists are sorely underused, and the album is more of a showoff
piece for Moore’s flashy guitar work. Nice idea – wrong genre.
He even dips into the catalogs of Johnny “Guitar” Watson
(another one we recently lost) and Otis Rush – and these turn out
to be some of the best tracks on the album. But when he tries to
write his own blues songs, they end up more like pumped-up
rockabilly at times (not that there’s anything wrong with
rockabilly),and they don’t quite fit the mold of what I expect my
blues to be. This is a little – oh, hell, way too crunchy – for my
tastes.
Even when he comes close to capturing the emotion that the blues
is supposed to evoke, Moore promptly fucks it up by adding strings
–
strings!?! – to the arrangement. Somewhere, John Mayall is
cringing. Next time this guy tours the states, will someone shove
an album by Hound Dog Taylor in his hands?
It’s not that I don’t appreciate Moore’s guitar work or his
songwriting. The title track is a nice ballad, and he does a
passable job on “That Kind Of Woman.” But Moore has way too much
rock and roll in his blood, and you can hear that in his playing
and singing. He sounds quite uncomfortable on “Oh Pretty Woman,”
his duet with King, as if he were a fish out of water. And he does
try to pay tribute to people who have kept the blues alive on
“Texas Strut” – namely Billy Gibbons, who, with the rest of ZZ Top,
have spent a good portion of their career reminding people of the
blues’ past.
But, Gary, face facts: the blues isn’t about how fluid your
chops are or how fast you can play (tell that to Alvin Lee – who
came a helluva lot closer to playin’ the blues than you did). I’ll
take a bluesman who can move me with one trembling, off-key note
than someone who can run up and down the entire length of the
fretboard. You’re a rock and roll guitarist – you proved that while
you were with Thin Lizzy – and you can’t turn your back on that.
You want the blues? Here are some names to remember: Robert
Johnson, B.B. King, Muddy Waters… Jesus, even Eric freaking
Clapton has a clue on what the blues really is. Either that, or the
grit of his vocal growls fooled me.
I guess I’d give Gary Moore a “B” for effort, but an “F” for
performance.
Still Got The Blues may pass as an album of that genre to
someone who doesn’t know 12-bar from the corner bar. For the rest
of us, pass on this dud and go check out something from the Chess
Records vaults.