Gary Moore
Close As You Get

Just a year after the previous album "Old new ballads blues," Gary Moore returns, the Irish guitarist as loved as he is hated by blues purists. Moore continues to go his own way, continuing to alternate between blues albums and hard-rock blues albums. This time, however, there aren't too many surprises as the new release more or less follows the choices made with the previous album, adding a few more up-tempo tracks.

"Close as you get" is composed of eleven songs evenly divided between ballads and more upbeat blues tracks without touching the hard rock of the '80s or the more recent "Scars" (1992). The writing is also evenly divided between five songs written by Moore and six covers.

The album kicks off with a bang with his rattling and ironic IF THE DEVIL MADE WHISKY, then proceeds to the nocturnal TROUBLE AT HOME, also written by Moore, with the guitar setting the theme over a subtle keyboard background.

With the cover of master Berry, THIRTY DAYS you can indulge in a majestic and fun blues-boogie. HARD TIMES is a mid-tempo blues also written by Moore, featuring MARK FELTHAM on harmonica and an outstanding guitar performance from him, confirming, despite everything, that he is still one of the best white blues guitarists. Speaking of white blues masters, the fifth track is HAVE YOU HEARD, a cover of the great J.MAYALL. Another cover, EYESIGHT TO THE BLIND by Williamson, represents one of the best tracks on the album, electric and passionate.

EVENIN' by Swan/Royce is another nocturnal ballad where Moore showcases a good vocal performance, as in NOWHERE FAST, his own composition. CHECKIN' UP ON MY BABY, another song by Williamson, raises the stakes a bit with electric and energetic blues, featuring the harmonica prominently again. Towards the end are the two longest songs, exceeding seven minutes. I HAD A DREAM, a song written by Gary Moore, is a ballad with a final solo worthy of an anthology, while SUNDOWN is a cover that closes the album in a very rootsy manner with only voice and acoustic slide guitar. Special mention, finally, for the drummer on the album, Brian Downey of THIN LIZZY.

What to say, it's an old-school album in terms of content recommended to fans of the Irishman. For others who don't know him, I would suggest looking for his "best seller" "STILL GOT THE BLUES", perhaps taking advantage of the release of Moore's entire catalog at 5 euros in the major megastores.