Gary Moore found dead at age 58
Gary Moore
I’m deeply saddened by the news of the passing of Gary Moore. Here in the United Sates he may never have achieved the ‘star status’ that he enjoyed in Europe and Japan, yet he was well known, highly respected, and hugely influential to many guitarists since the 70′s. To study his music is like taking a master class in rock guitar. His was a career which covered blues rock, hard rock, melodic pop, electric fusion, and electric blues. That’s a lot of territory to cover, and while most guitarists practice a lifetime to master one style, Gary excelled at them all. Aside from his technical prowess, Gary was best known for his melodic phrasing, his ‘feel’ and his impeccable tone.
I was lucky enough to see Gary play live in 1987 on the Wild Frontier tour. It was one of those mind-bending concert experiences where the room ceased to exist and you felt like he was playing directly to you. A show that you walk away from changed somehow, although you know not how. I’m not sure if it was such a stellar performance or if I was just so thrilled to get to see Gary play that made the night so special. I do know now that it was a once in a lifetime event that will never have a chance to be repeated.
I remember my personal discovery of Gary… I was a huge Deep Purple fan and had been tracking down various bands that Deep Purple members had been in. While browsing the Deep Purple family tree I found a branch indicating that Ian Paice (drummer) had played for someone named Gary Moore. At my next visit to the used record store I picked up ‘Corridors of Power‘ and ‘Victims of the Future.’ I was blown away by what I heard on those records and proceeded to enlighten all my metal-head friends as to who this ‘unknown’ guitarist was! Since then I’ve followed his career though his various phases… like the ‘Little Big Man’ of guitar he had his metal phase, his Jeff Beck/fusion phase and finally back to his roots of blues rock and electric blues phase.
Another great musician has been taken from us too soon, but he left us with a fantastic catalog of music that will live on to inspire countless others. Gary, I can’t believe you’re gone. Say ‘Hello’ to Jimi, Pete, Phil and Stevie Ray for me.
