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)