In 2007, guitarist Gary Moore entertained a small audience of 400 lucky fans who had won tickets from UK radio station Planet Rock, the same radio station that broadcast the show. This was at the cusp of the release of his Close As You Get album. This intimate show at the Bush Hall reunited Moore with Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey, plus Peter Rees on bass and Vic Martin on keys. The 12 tunes on Live At Bush Hall 2007 rely heavily on Close As You Get and is pure perfect Moore magic — from heavy blues to rockers to sweet ballads.
Opening with the strutting “If The Devil Made Whiskey,” the mix leaves Moore’s vocals and overdriven guitar upfront, but the sound is corrected as we get into the show. “Thirty Days” follows, louder than the Chuck Berry original, but still bopping and with Moore recreating Berry-like leads. It is the earlier ballads that work the most magic. “Trouble At Home” and “I Had A Dream,” both from Close As You Get, are showcases for Moore’s studied playing, his bending and pull-offs. “I Had A Dream” is especially poignant, about a man losing his love. With Martin’s swirling organ forward in the mix, and a slight 50s feel to the whole, it really does fill out nicely. Moore’s vocal on this one is also effective.
“Gary’s Blues” is a solo spot for Moore’s noodlings, while his vocals carry “Still Got The Blues” until his guitar takes over. “Walking By Myself” is a pure, hard-hitting staccato blues strut with the audience singing along while the band cooks. Martin lays down the perfect piano for Moore’s overcharged guitar cutting. This ends the regular set, and we get two songs for an encore — “The Blues Is Alright’ and the spectacular Sun House cover “Sundown. ” This last one has Moore mastering bottleneck slide and singing his heart out. The whole show should have been like this! Even so, Live At Bush Hall 2007 captures a dearly departed master of the electric blues at the top of his game.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
