Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close

Gary Moore remains one of my all-time favorite lead guitarists. When I first heard his work in the mid-1980s, his style was completely unlike all the other shredders that were dominating metal and hard rock at the time. With Moore it was never a matter of cramming in as many notes and flashy tricks into his solos. He injected them with simple Irish soul. Along with such expressiveness, though, was a commanding presence while he did so. He played with force and clarity, those full Les Paul notes resonating. Add the fact that he wrote and recorded so much great material over the years with Thin Lizzy, Skid Row, Colosseum II, and most significantly as a solo artist, first in rock and then the blues, and you’ve got a singer/songwriter/gu​itarist who truly deserves the “legend” tag.

Needless to say, I was one of many who were tremendously saddened by the news that Moore had passed away this past February at the tragically young age of 58, a week before he was scheduled to start recording his first rock album in 20-odd years.

Moore was a regular at Switzerland’s prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival, five of his performances culled by Eagle Rock on the Definitive Montreux Collection DVD last year. Now the label has posthumously released his final Montreux performance from July 8, 2010, and it’s a terrific one for several reasons. First of all, the summer of 2010 marked Moore’s return to hard rock for the first time since 1989’s After the War.

He’d reunited with keyboardist Neil Carter, who collaborated with him all through the 1980s, and put together a strong backing band featuring former Jethro Tull bassist Jon Noyce and Primal Scream drummer Darrin Mooney, and assembled a rousing set list of fan favorites, most of which had not been performed in ages. And indeed, the Montreux show is great fun including “Military Man”, “Out in the Fields”, Parisienne Walkways”, “Empty Rooms”, “Blood of Emeralds”, and my own personal fave, “Over the Hills and Far Away”. Two from 1990’s Still Got the Blues are carted out as well, the title track and a raucous rendition of “Walking By Myself”, both of which close out the main set.

In addition, Moore and his band debut three new songs from what was supposed to be his new album, and they’re superb. “Days of Heroes” has a definitive Thin Lizzy vibe, those Celtic melodies returning once again, “Where Are You Now?” is a gorgeous slow-burner, and the anthemic “Oh Wild One”, a song that fans of Moore’s best hard rock work will be thrilled to hear. The fact that we’ll never hear that album is sad, but at least we have those three songs to show one and all that Moore had not lost his songwriting touch one bit.

Performance-wise, Moore and his band are tight throughout. He does strain to hit the notes early on, but before long he gains his footing and is in wonderful vocal form for the bulk of the show, highlighted by his acoustic rendition of Wild Frontier’s “Johnny Boy”. As for his guitar work, he’s virtually flawless throughout, his best performance saved for last, as he lets loose a scorching, 11 minute version of “Parisienne Walkways”, originally written and recorded in 1978 with his longtime friend and Thin Lizzy bandmate Phil Lynott. Guitar geeks will love the clarity of the DVD as well, it’s pristinely shot in high definition, with plenty of great close-ups of Moore’s fretboard work.

The extras on Live at Montreux 2010 are scant, as we’re treated to four bonus performances from 1997, but accompanied by excellent liner notes by Dave Ling of Classic Rock magazine, it’s a superb live document and fitting tribute to one of the finest rock musicians of the last 40 years.

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close

×

Gary Moore - Live At Montreux 2010 (2011)

Close