Gary Moore is an enigma if there ever was one. As guitarists go he is simply one of the best. His playing is flawless, technically brilliant, and always clean. Vocally he is not bad but, he’s not going to blow you away with his singing. This disc could have been called the phases of Gary Moore as it spans his career from collabarations with Phil Lynott both solo and with Thin Lizzy to Moore joining Thin Lizzy for a short time then on to his own solo career.
The first track is the erstwhile title tune " Out In The Fields." Vocals are shared by Moore and Lynott. This would be the louder stage of Moores career as are many of the songs. "Over The Hills And Far Away" sounds like a song that you could see the feet of "Riverdance" tapping to. Well that might be stretching it a little but it does have that Irish influence early in the song. Moore is from Belfast after all.
If you’ve never heard Gary Moore before then chances are you’ve never heard his signature song, "Parisienne Walkways." Basically a slow instrumental( it does have some vocals by Lynott) it showcases Moore’s guitar playing. My complaint with the version here, it is live by the way, is that they edited it so you don’t get the full song. Bad move, it simply screams to be at least 10 minutes long. "Military Man" and "After The War" are back to back on the disc. "Man" was written by Lynott and "After" was written by Moore. "Man" is a straight ahead rocker and "After" is Celtic influenced and from a solo Moore disc that featured Ozzy Osbourne as a guest.
"Cold Day In Hell" from the disc of the same title showcases the direction Moore has taken recently, the blues. His prowess as a blues player may be questioned by some, but the fact is the man can play the blues. Yeah maybe it’s a little too polished and clean but, the passion is there. Listen to "Still Got The Blues" and then say he can’t play the blues. Also pick up "Blues For Greeny" Moores homage to Peter Green. In a word, brilliant.
I would love one day to see Gary Moore live. It will be difficult because he feels he deserves to headline at small halls. Unfortunately he is simply not known by enough people for that. So til then discs like this will have to do. Oh well!
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