GARY MOORE: Back To The Blues (BLUES): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

"I was tired of the Blues, but the Blues wasn't tired of me!". It is on this refrain of the first track, "Enough Of The Blues", that Gary Moore tries to explain us the reasons of his return to this musical style on the occasion of this new album logically entitled "Back To The Blues". After the more or less failed experiments of his two previous opuses, some will answer that the Irishman had probably enough of commercial failures, and they will not be necessarily wrong.

In this case, the numerous fans of "Still Got The Blues" (1990) and "After Hours" (1992) will be able to enjoy all that made the success of Gary Moore at the time. The covers of the legends of the genre are always honored with talent, whether it is the irresistible 'You Upset Me Baby' of BB King, the unavoidable power-ballad 'Stormy Monday' of T-Bone Walker on which the soli of Gary put you the hairs at the attention, the catchy 'Ain't Got You' of Jimmy Reed or the light 'Looking Back' of Johnny Watson. As for the compositions of the master of the place, the ballad 'Picture Of The Moon' is one of the most classic, even if it makes its effect, 'Cold Black Night' is catchy with its rhythmic all in dynamics, and 'Enough Of The Blues' starts the hostilities with the power of a good big traditional but effective riff.

This traditional side is moreover the only weak point of this album because of the obvious absence of risk-taking, even if the last titles remedy a little to this handicap. Thus, the ballad 'The Prophet' is entirely instrumental and invites to the meditation, whereas 'How Many Lies' and 'Drowning In Tears' are both based on a repetitive bass line. On the first one, the guitar joins it to make the whole haunting, on the verge of trance, with the explosion of the soli as a climax for a catchy global result. The second one is a hypnotizing mid-tempo ballad with a melancholy that spreads over nine minutes for a result full of emotions.

It would be a pity to remain stuck on a first a priori, certainly justified as regards the deep reasons of the approach of this return to the Blues, but which should not make us forget the quality of the artistic result. Gary Moore has no equal when it comes to paying homage to this style while bringing the originality of his guitarist's touch, having been fed with Hard-Rock. If it misses the effect of surprise and the freshness of the albums of the beginning of the Nineties, this "Back To The Blues" is nevertheless an excellent opus marrying perfectly the homage to his roots and some personal touches for a result with the height of the talent of its originator. - Official website

GARY MOORE

BACK TO THE BLUES

SANCTUARY

BLUES