Published on Mar 27, 2002
To me, the blues is mood music. As in, when I’m in the right
mood, there’s nothing better. And while being the former lead
guitarist for Thin Lizzy is not quite the all-star credential you
might expect from someone capable of crafting a classic set of
electric blues, that’s exactly what Gary Moore accomplished with
this under-appreciated album.
Moore spent time in Thin Lizzy and (more tellingly) jazz-rock
fusion outfit Colosseum II during the 70s, proving himself as a
talented guitarist with a full, rich tone and an ear for melody.
His technique, at its best, carried echoes of soulful players like
Carlos Santana and Peter Green. However, his subsequent series of
solo albums emphasized his hard rock chops in power-trio formats a
la Robin Trower and Frank Marino. It wasn’t until the late ’80s
when, inspired by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Green and others on the “hard
blues” scene, Moore decided to quit fooling around with
sledgehammer chords and screaming solos and see if he could make a
blues statement of his own.
The result is an album that, despite its mix of originals and
semi-obscure covers, comes off sounding like a stunningly cohesive
set of blues standards. Not only does
Still Got The Blues showcase Moore’s playing, singing and
songwriting to great effect, he brings several A-list guests along
for the ride. Whether on tight, rollicking fast numbers like
“Moving On” and “Walking By Myself” or delicious slow grinds like
“As the Years Go Passing By,” Moore shows he can keep pace with the
best of the bluesmen. Which is exactly what he does on “Oh Pretty
Woman,” trading solos with guest Albert King, and “Too Tired,”
where he does the same with Albert Collins.
Moore makes no bones here about who is influences are; his
original “King Of The Blues” is a reverent tribute to B.B. King,
complete with a B.B-style solo full of sustain and nimble fretwork.
And the rip-it-up boogie of “Texas Strut” is a blistering tip of
the hat to hard-nosed Texas bluesmen like Vaughan and Z.Z. Top’s
Billy Gibbons. Moore takes it even a step further on “That Kind Of
Woman,” featuring George Harrison himself soloing and providing
backing vocals on one of his sweetest blues numbers.
Half (six of 12) of these tracks feature tasty horn arrangements
put together by Moore and keyboard player Don Airey, complementing
Moore’s ringing leads with funky blasts of sax and trumpet.
“Midnight Blues” and the soaring, gorgeous title track also feature
string arrangements that add further drama to the already heartfelt
music.
It’s worth noting that Airey, like Moore, was mostly known prior
to this album for his work with hard-rock outfits like Rainbow, and
that former Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey is on board for three
tracks here. It seems each understood and admired the roots of the
hard rock genre and jumped at the chance to mix things up a bit
stylistically and play with more — and more varied – emotion than
they were normally asked to.
Having found a fresh and rewarding niche for his music, Moore
cranked out several more albums of tasty “hard blues” during the
90s, including
After Hours,
Blues Alive and
Back To The Blues. All are worthy demonstrations of Moore’s
sharp, evocative playing and superb feel for the blues, but none
surpasses the power and passion of this terrific album.