After cooperating with
Phil Lynott on
Back on the Streets,
Gary Moore moved to L.A. and formed the group G-Force with Willie Dee, Tony Newton, and drummer Mark Nauseef. The group did not hold together much longer than it took to finish the first album, and on its re-release on CD, only
Moore gets credit. But the album they left behind, also named G-Force, is clearly underrated. As expected, it does contain the elements that would later make
Moore famous, like hard rock riffs and long instrumental solos. Looking for this, listen to "White Knuckles/Rockin' and Rollin'," which would stay in his repertoire for a long time. But the album also shows a side later hardly seen. "Hot Gossip" and "The Woman's in Love" are catchy pop tunes that, except for the guitars, have more in common with Elvis Costello than with
Moore's coming albums, or with the weird boogie rock of Grinding Stone. These tracks could appeal to a pop audience if they would ever find them, which is unlikely. And surprisingly, these are two of the tracks written exclusively by
Moore. Yes, one can suspect that some of the humor of the quirky choruses is unintentional, but the timing is perfect. But if underrated, the album still holds problems for the buyer. Except for the apparent difficulty of appealing to two different audiences, the album also contains a few tracks ranking among
Moore's worst. So despite a number of great songs, G-Force is probably best bought by listeners who want to find a few unexpected gems. It may contain too few true
Gary Moore songs for rock fans and too many guitar solos for pop fans. In 1990 the album was re-released on CD by Castle Communications. ~ Lars Lovén