Gary Moore
Live From London

Gary Moore passed quite some time ago now and he died a lot younger than the average male Homo sapiens, but he managed to do quite a lot during his years as a human and musician. He played with Thin Lizzy and had a fairly successful career in general where his album Still Got the Blues probably is the most well-known piece in the eyes of the general public, that great song with the same name is probably what most think of when hearing that name. And blues rock was something Moore grew into and performed much during his solo career, and it was a blues rock show at a club in London that became this live album which arrives some nine years after his death and little over ten years after the show itself. What strikes me as odd is the release date that is January 31, why not December 2 last year when it would have been ten-year anniversary for the show or next year when it would have been ten years since his death, things like that is strange to me. Usually live albums based on shows more than ten years in the past tend to be utter garbage, so the question is if this one is worthwhile or another one from a label trying to profit on a long since lost legend.

It is a live album of blues rock from a show that is according to the press material spoken about in reverential whispers among the aficionados, a legendary one-off show. The recording itself feels almost like a studio thing with the crowd being quite absent for parts and the sound feels almost sterile at times. So, perhaps it is a little bit overproduced, a good thing though is that the show seems to have been relatively short and fits on one CD and not millions like it is with some live albums. The performances are excellent, Moore showcases what a skilled and impressive guitarist he was – the vocals are also rather good and the audience are not spoken to very much which I like when listening to live albums, singers that talk too much are really boring to listen to and watch when they perform live.

Usually I am not that much of a fan of the live recording and neither am I a big fan of the blues rock, but this one has some moments that are magical. It is also an album that has some parts that can only be described as quite tedious, so it is an album with some opposing poles but I think the overall impression is positive but not so positive that I want to give a the higher ratings in our scale. If only the tracks were like opening Oh, Pretty Woman and Still Got the Blues it would have been quite amazing – but unfortunately it isn’t quite like that. The ending track Parisienne Walkways is another noticeable track that I like quite a bit, but it is a strange way to end, I would probably have ended it differently.

Overall I like this one, of course I find it strange to release an album of such an old show but of all such albums I think this one might be the best. It is likely that those who enjoy Gary Moore’s blues rock will enjoy this album, I think it is a positive album with some magical moments showing that Moore’s legacy Still Got the Blues.

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