A handy and generous double-disc (one live, one studio) compilation of
Gary Moore's four Virgin label blues albums is predominantly an excellent introduction to this showy hard rocker turned midlife third-generation bluesman. The 31 tracks liberally sample from his relatively short five-year association with Virgin (roughly 1990-1995) but ignore his excellent 2001
Back to the Blues release on Sanctuary. Still, there are more than enough hot licks here to prove that
Moore could be a convincing blues musician if he decided to give up his more ostentatious shred rock profession and focus on blues full time. While purists may gripe as
Moore tears off searing, high-voltage riffs on covers of tracks made popular by
Johnny "Guitar" Watson,
Otis Rush, and
John Mayall as well as
Freddie,
B.B., and
Albert King (the latter two along with
Albert Collins turn up as guests on both discs), there's no denying the emotional ties the guitarist has to this material or his obvious vocal and instrumental talents. Unfortunately,
Blues for Greeny,
Moore's successful tribute to philosophical mentor
Peter Green, is under-represented with only a handful of cuts, one of which ("Need Your Love So Bad") is presented in an edited single version. Otherwise, this is a well-selected but poorly annotated (bandmembers aren't even mentioned, nor are sources of the songs or when and where the live tracks were recorded) compilation that shows how a rugged rock star can transform into a respectable bluesman, albeit one who plays very loud.
Gary Moore may not be a rootsy, down-home guitarist, but he's just as passionate about this music as anyone who recorded for Chess. If
Moore can expose other generations to the blues, as
Cream and
the Rolling Stones did before him, he has done his job well. ~ Hal Horowitz