...and on guitar - The Book (2023) **UPDATE**

Thanks to the recent visitor who pointed out to me that I'd spelled Steve Lukather's name wrong throughout his '...and on guitar' post, and I was surprised that it hadn't been spotted before. The post was easy enough to fix, but then I realised that I should really update the book that I put together from the posts, and that was a bit more tricky. When I opened up my original Word file I found that the cover for the Robbie Blunt post was corrupt, and all the covers after that entry were blank. I though that someone would have mentioned that when I first posted it, so I can only assume that somehow the picture became corrupt after I'd made the post, but it had also affected the pdf, which I don't understand. Anyway, I've managed to re-do the whole thing, and I've double-checked and all the pictures are now there. If you got a dodgy copy when you first downloaded it, or just want the updated version, then try it now. 

pj  

Gary Moore - Road To Pain (2001)

Gary Moore first met Phil Lynott when he joined Skid Row in 1968, where Lynott was the vocalist, and the two soon became friends and shared a bedsit in Ballsbridge. After a medical leave of absence, Lynott was asked to leave Skid Row by the band's bassist Brush Shiels, who had taken over lead vocal duties, following which the band signed a recording contract with CBS, and they released their debut album 'Skid', which reached number 30 on the UK Albums Chart. After their follow-up album '34 Hours' came out in 1971, Moore decided to leave the band, opting to start a solo career. After leaving Skid Row, Lynott had formed the hard rock group Thin Lizzy, and when guitarist Eric Bell left the group, Moore was recruited to help finish their ongoing tour in early 1974. During his time with the group, Moore recorded three songs with them, including 'Still In Love With You', which he co-wrote and which was included on Lizzy's fourth album 'Nightlife' in 1974. Moore then left Thin Lizzy in April 1974, as he felt that it wasn't good for him healthwise, but in 1977 he rejoined them for a tour of the US after guitarist Brian Robertson injured his hand in a bar fight. After finishing the tour, Lynott asked Moore to join the band on a permanent basis, but he declined, although when Robertson left for good in 1978, Moore took his place once again. This time he was with them for long enough to record the album 'Black Rose: A Rock Legend', and this post includes a demo that Moore recorded for the album that wasn't included on the final track listing. 

In the middle of a tour to promote the album, Moore abruptly left Thin Lizzy, as he'd become fed up with the band's increasing drug use, and the effects it was having on their performance. Between stints in Thin Lizzy, Moore had released his first proper solo album 'Back On The Streets' in 1978, which spawned the hit single 'Parisienne Walkways', which featured Phil Lynott on lead vocals and bass. After leaving Thin Lizzy in 1979, Moore relocated to Los Angeles where he signed a new recording contract with Jet Records, and recorded the album 'Dirty Fingers', which was shelved in favour of the more "radio-oriented" G-Force album, which came out in 1980. 'Dirty Fingers' was eventually released in Japan in 1983, followed by an international release the next year, and after moving to London and signing a new recording contract with Virgin, he released his second solo album 'Corridors Of Power' in 1982. While not a major success, it was the first album to feature Moore on lead vocals throughout, as well as his first solo release to crack the Billboard 200 chart. In 1984, he released 'Victims Of The Future', which marked another musical change, this time towards hard rock and heavy metal, and it also saw the addition of keyboardist Neil Carter, who would continue to push Moore in this new musical direction. 

In 1985, Moore released his fifth solo album 'Run For Cover', which featured guest vocals by Phil Lynott and Glenn Hughes, and following Lynott's death in 1986, Moore dedicated his sixth solo album, 'Wild Frontier', to him. Despite the success of this album, and his next, 1989's 'After The War', Moore had grown tired of his own music, and so for his next record he returned to his blues roots and released 'Still Got The Blues', which saw him collaborating with the likes of Albert King, Albert Collins and George Harrison, and it proved to be the most successful album of his career, selling over three million copies worldwide. He followed it with 1992's 'After Hours', which went platinum in Sweden and gold in the UK, where it became his highest-charting entry in the UK Charts, reaching number four. After releasing a tribute album to his friend and mentor Peter Green, with 1995's 'Blues For Greeny', and experimenting with electronic music on 1997's 'Dark Days In Paradise' and 1999's 'A Different Beat', he again returned to his blues roots with 2001's 'Back To The Blues', 2004's 'Power Of The Blues' and 2006's 'Old New Ballads Blues'. This collection of demos, outtakes and b-sides spans the whole of Moore's post-Skid Row career, from that 1978 demo for Thin Lizzy, through the various line-ups and guest vocalists on his solo albums, his G-Force side-project, and his own vocal takes of the two Lynott-sung tracks from his 'Back On The Streets' album. 

Track listing

01 Bad Is Bad (Thin Lizzy demo 1978)
02 Track Nine (b-side of 'Back On The Streets' single 1978)
03 Road To Pain ('Back On The Streets' outtake 1978)
04 Track Ten ('Back On The Streets' outtake 1978)
05 Don't Believe A Word (Gary Moore vocal 1978)
06 Parisienne Walkways (Gary Moore vocal 1978)
07 Spanish Guitar (single 1979)
08 The Woman's In Love (G-Force demo 1980)
09 Trust Your Lovin' (b-side of 'You' by G Force 1980) 
10 Don't Take Me For A Loser (Gary Barden vocal 1982)
11 Don't Ever Give Your Heart Away (Glenn Hughes demo 1985)

12 Livin' With The Blues ('Back To The Blues' outtake 2001)

13 Oh Pretty Woman (demo 1990)

...and on guitar - The Book (2023)

Now that I've posted what could turn out to be the final entry in the '...and on guitar' series, here's something that I've been thinking about doing this for quite a while. When the number of posts in the series reached over 75 then I thought that now was the time to put them all together in one place, almost like a book. So what you have here are all the write-ups for the '...and on guitar' series, presented in alphabetical order, so that they can be dipped into as you are listening to the albums, or just read as a history of the lives of all these great guitarists. 

Soulseek hint      book aiwe

Gary Moore - ...and on guitar (2006)

Robert William Gary Moore was born and raised in Belfast in 1953, and played in several local bands during his teenage years. In 1968, at the age of just 16, he moved to Dublin after having been asked to join the Irish band Skid Row, before the departure of lead singer Phil Lynott. Skid Row released one album and a few singles before Moore made the decision to move to England, but before he did he contributed a sublime guitar solo to 'Sign Of My Mind' on Dr. Strangely Strange's second album 'Heavy Petting'. In 1973 The Gary Moore Band released their 'Grinding Stone' album, and the following year Moore teamed up again with Lynott when he joined Thin Lizzy after the sudden departure of original guitarist Eric Bell mid-way through a tour. He only stayed long enough to help complete the tour, and to record three songs for Lizzy's 'Nightlife' alum, before he left to form Colosseum II with original Colosseum drummer Jon Hiseman. In 1978 Moore re-joined Thin Lizzy on a permanent basis, replacing Brian Robertson, and with his reputation as one of the finest guitarists around, other musicians started asking him to guest on their albums. Cozy Powell was the first, and Moore supplies some blistering guitar to his 'Over The Top' album. In 1985 Culture Club producer Steve Levine was taking The Beach Boys in a new direction, which included getting Stevie Wonder, Ringo Starr and Gary Moore to guest on the recordings. 
Following a long career as a backing vocalist, 1977 saw Vicky Brown (wife to Joe Brown and mother of Sam Brown) starting a solo career, and for her 1990 single 'We Are One' Moore was invited to add some smokey blues guitar. A couple of years later came a similar request, this time from Jimmy Nail, who hadn't yet hit the big time with his 'Crocodile Shoes' single, and was recording his second album. In 1993 Paul Rodgers decided to record a tribute album to Muddy Waters, and invited a number of renowned guitarists to contribute to it, including Jeff Beck, Brian May, Steve Miller, Trevor Rabin, and Gary Moore. By 2001 Jim Capaldi had released a dozen solo albums, and for his next one he called on the help of George Harrison, Steve Winwood, Ian Paice, Paul Weller, and Gary Moore, who adds some great guitar to 'Heart Of Stone'. In 2007 Otis Taylor was the support act for Moore's European tour, and the previous year Moore had added some stunning guitar to Taylor's 'Definition Of A Circle' album, with the solo on 'Little Betty' possibly being the best on this album. While Moore's work with Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, and his solo offerings is well known, I hope that this album uncovers some of his more obscure contributions from the first  thirty-five years of his career. 

Track listing

01 Sign Of My Mind (from 'Heavy Petting' by Dr. Strangely Strange 1970)
02 Killer (from 'Over The Top' by Cozy Powell 1979)
03 Maybe I Don't Know (from 'The Beach Boys' by The Beach Boys 1985)
04 We Are One (single by Vicki Brown 1990)
05 Absent Friends (from 'Growing Up In Public' by Jimmy Nail 1992)
06 She Moves Me (from 'Muddy Water Blues' by Paul Rodgers 1993)
07 Heart Of Stone (from 'Living On The Outside' by Jim Capaldi 2001)
08 Little Betty (from 'Definition Of A Circle' by Otis Taylor 2006)