Gary Moore - Close as You Get

With his latest studio album Close As You Get, Gary Moore continues in a direction not too dissimilar from his 2006 studio release Old, New, Ballads, Blues. Mixing original tunes with some interesting Blues covers that Gary has rediscovered, Close As You Get showcases Moore's exceptional talent as a guitarist and is destined to be one of the finest blues and guitar albums released this year.

Gary Moore is acknowledged as one of the finest musicians that the British Isles has ever produced. In a career that dates back to the 1960s, there are few musical genres that he has not turned his adroit musical hand to, and has graced the line-ups of several notable rock bands, Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II and Skid Row to name but three. Album Description

This is about as "close as you get"

This is a truly great album. Belfast-born Gary Moore has excelled even himself with this assorted collection of new tunes and old blues classics. Perhaps one of the most underrated of today's guitarists, this album is a superb display of Gary's talents, both in terms of technical brilliance and his incredible 'feel' for blues guitar. The covers of John Mayall's "Have You Heard" (About My Baby), Son House's "Sundown" and Leroy Carr's (In the) "Evenin'" are particular stand-outs.

If you're a blues fan of good taste and particularly if you don't know Gary Moore, buy this CD and you will thoroughly enjoy it. August 26, 2008

British Isles?

Produced by the British Isles? He's an Irishman and probably as insulted as I am at this slight... February 3, 2008

Where's the passion?

I wish there was a 1/2 star rating because this CD deserves a two and half star rating instead of a three star one. Moore is one of the best blues players out there. As he proved on Still Got the Blues, he can play the Texas blues like he shared mother's milk with the Vaughn brothers (Stevie Ray and big brother Jimmie, co-founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds).

I'm not looking for everything to be Still Got the Blues or Parisienne Walkways, but I do like inventiveness, freshness in the sound. Moore has left his delicacy behind for chunking power chords without any of the kind of finesse he's capable of. Check out Scars. An album full of power and rockers, but amazingly inventive.

This album has a somewhat stale feel. I love Moore, and wish more people knew who he was, but this is not his best effort by any stretch, and bringing in former Thin Lizzy drummer and band mate, Brian Downey, didn't to much to invigorate the album, either.

It's really a pity. January 24, 2008

The best blues cd I own.

Hello,Need a blues fix?This is what your looking for.A master piece by a old blues artist.Kenny Wayne,Robben Ford or Chris Duarte might one day crank out a cd of this caliber.I can only hope.Well done Mr. Moore.As they say...You knocked it out of the ball park! Nothing can top it. November 24, 2007

Another strong effort from an overlooked master of Blues-Rock

I have to agree with the last reviewer that Gary is probably the only guy out there right now who brings the same searing power and passion to blues guitar that Stevie Ray did. Close as you Get is Gary Moore's fifth album in the last seven years, and even if those albums don't quite measure up to his 1990 classic "Still got the Blues", they are all far better than anything being heard on top 40 radio today.

The undeniable guitar prowess of Moore should certainly make him a household name here in America, but after all these years he remains largely unnoticed by mainstream music fans thanks to a screwed up media that cares more about shoving Paris Hilton, Britney Spears, and other talentless stars down our throats year after year rather than give any attention to quality music by a great talent like this. How pathetic is it when the best musicians in the world are no longer allowed on radio playlists and you have to look outside the mainstream to find music of any quality or substance.

With this new 2007 release, Gary delivers his usual combination of high-voltage blues rockers and moody blues ballads while toning down the abrasive heavy metal feel of previous blues-rock efforts like 2004's "Power of the Blues". The haunting and dreamy "Evening" and "I had a Dream" are two strong ballads that prove Gary can still outsing nearly anyone in the top 40 today even if his vocals don't match his explosive guitar work. Gary tackles two standards by Chicago blues legend Sonny Boy Williamson with "Eyesight to the Blind" and the hard-charging rocker "Checking up on my Baby" that finds Gary tearing through a blistering extended solo at the end. Thirty Days is a hard rockin' cover of the old Chuck Berry classic although there are better Berry tunes I would rather hear Gary attempt.

Other highlights are the raw and gritty Moore original "If the Devil made Whiskey" that sounds like an old Elmore James song, the John Mayall slow blues "Have you Heard", the Moore original "Hard Times", and the Son House song "Sundown" which ends the CD with an impressive seven minute slice of pure acoustic Mississippi blues that should show all the blues purists out there that despite his heavy metal background Gary Moore can handle hardcore traditional blues as well as anybody out there today.

Overall, Close as you Get is probably Moore's strongest blues album since "Still got the Blues", but whether or not he can top that fine 1990 effort remains to be seen. Gary Moore fans will enjoy this one as well as anyone looking for modern blues-rock with top-notch guitar work.


October 11, 2007

More reviews at Amazon.com ...