Close as You Get

Due on May 29 via Eagle Rock Entertainment, "Close As You Get" from Irish blues-rock guitarist Gary Moore ups the blues ante of his 2006 "Old New Ballads Blues" into a cohesive stripped-down blues-rock machine. Whether interpreting jump blues and urban blues classics (CHUCK BERRY's "Thirty Days" and SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON's "Eyesight To The Blind") or giving voice to his own compositions, Moore has been an amazingly consistent singer/songwriter/performer, ever since his emergence from the British Isles in the 1960s. His work in THIN LIZZY and in COLOSSEUM II (longtime THIN LIZZY drummer Brian Downey can be heard on "Close As You Get") endeared Moore to more than one generation. He has continued to gravitate towards the earthy emotion-packed centers of gutbucket barrelhouse blues 'n' boogie in his solo work, of which "Close As You Get" absolutely revels in. Born Robert Williams Gary Moore in Belfast Ireland, the guitarist quickly fell under the sway of the pre-FLEETWOOD MAC Peter Green, whom he emulated when Green was a John Mayall Bluesbreaker, and with whom he shared a close friendship. Another mate, the late Phil Lynott, became his uppermost musical foil in THIN LIZZY when the sound of Moore's bluesy licks accentuated perfectly Lynott's low growl to produce some of THIN LIZZY's most memorable moments. But it was the blues that kept dragging Moore back into its warm embrace. From 1973's "Grinding Stone" to 1990's "Still Got The Blues" (with Albert Collins, Albert King and BB King), and on to 2004's "Power of the Blues", Moore hasn't deviated from his true calling.