But unfortunately due to the tragic death of Irish Superstar Guitar legend Gary Moore over the weekend we wont’ be getting any.  This is not going to be an obituary.  You can get all the pertinents elsewhere if you wish. Rather this is a personal recollection of what the man meant to me and how much he’ll be missed. For my money Gary was the best rock guitarist that the Emerald Isle ever produced along with Rory Gallagher (solo artist, Taste)  and Vivian Campbell (Dio, Def Leppard), apologies to The Edge but the whole looping, delay thing never really did it for me. Coincidentally enough all three of these world-class guitar slingers hailed from the same small six county territory of Northern Ireland! I mean what are the odds?

Gary was probably best known for his work with 70′s rock legends Thin Lizzy, in particular the Black Rose album from the late 70′s, and for his more recent blues endeavors, particularly the blockbuster Still Got The Blues album from the early 90′s. But it was his solo 80′s rock records that first captured my imagination.   Particularly the Corridors of Power (1982), Victims of the Future (1984) and Wild Frontier (1987) releases.  Gary’s playing style combined a ferocious attack with power, fluidity, speed,  melody and feeling unmatched by most in the genre except for perhaps, another long time favorite of mine, Herr Michael Schenker (Scorpions, UFO, MSG) .

Unfortunately for us fans of heavy rock guitar playing Gary pretty much stuck with the blues thing for the last 20 years or so and hadn’t shown much interest in getting back to the Hard Rock style (similar to the way Vivian has disowned his Dio years) until just recently.  Rumor has it that he had been working on a Celtic Rock album in the vein of Wild Frontiers but now, sadly, we’ll likely never hear the results of that.  I must admit that Gary had fallen off of my radar a bit lately until a couple of years ago when my wife gave me the Gary Moore One Night Live In Dublin Tribute to Phil Lynott DVD (video) .  This thing knocked me on my ear! Talk about a master class of Gibson/Marshall tone. Not to mention playing that will have knock your block off. If you’re a fan of heavy rock guitar playing and have never seen this DVD it’s a must have.  Miraculously this man hadn’t lost a thing over the years and if possible was even getting better.  Who does that?? Except for Jeff Beck of course.  Anyway this is my favorite song off of the DVD. It was filmed at the Point Theatre in Dublin Ireland on the same night they raised the Phil Lynott statue on Grafton Street.  I can’t imagine what it must have felt like to be Irish and in the crowd on this night as just watching the DVD made the hair on this Yanks neck stand on end!!  So enjoy and say a small silent thanks and goodbye to a true giant the likes of which may never be seen again  Gary Moore/Scott Goram Black Rose RIP Gary you were a BAD MAN!