Simon RushworthGary Moore – Live From London (Provogue)
Incredibly it’s 30 years since Gary Moore proved, without doubt, that the blues was his musical lifeblood.
Still Got The Blues, released in 1990, is a masterwork in terms of touch, tone and rich authenticity.
And that remarkable record would underpin the majority of Moore’s live sets during the latter part of his celebrated career.
This 2009 show – recorded just 14 months before his premature death at the age of 58 – is blues through and through.
Albert King, Otis Rush, John Mayall and more live through Moore’s dextrous fretwork and deep connection with the genre’s greats.
Given the passion and power at the root of a typically consistent performance there was no hint of the tragedy to come.
In fact Moore rarely sounded better – or more relevant – than he did at the Islington Academy in front of fellow blues acolytes craving another momentous trip down memory lane.
Of course the finale is a no-brainer. Parisienne Walkways is a wonderful example of Moore’s unique talent and this evocative version is all the more poignant in light of Moore’s untimely passing.
Note after note lives long in the London air and the elongated version still ends far too abruptly.
This is vintage Moore doing what he loved best. Through Live From London his memory endures.
