In a career dating back to the 1960s he has played with bands including Thin Lizzy, Colosseum II, Greg Lake and Skid Row as well as having a successful solo career.
Moore started performing from a young age and got his first good guitar at the age of 14. In a career lasting over 30 years he has demonstrated that he is a fine musician, and his unique style of playing has adapted to very different music genres, including jazz rock jazz, blues, electric blues, hard rock, celtic rock and heavy metal.
One of his most famous non-blues records is Wild Frontier, his first studio album after a trip back to his native Belfast, Northern Ireland in 1985, this album has several songs about Ireland and even the music itself is steeped in Celtic roots. The title track was intended to be sung by Phil Lynott, however Lynott's death in January 1986 prevented that. The album is dedicated to Lynott's memory, with the words "For Philip" on the rear cover.
Wild Frontier contains the hit "Over the Hills and Far Away", which reached #20 in the UK as well as a cover of the Australian band The Easybeats' hit of the middle of the 1960s, "Friday on My Mind". The Max Middleton-penned "The Loner" was originally recorded by Cozy Powell for his Over the Top album in 1979 (which Moore did perform on, albeit not on Powell's recording of "The Loner"), but was substantially altered by Moore for his own recording, thus he was credited as a co-writer.
For blues fans, Moore's best recorded, live performance on video is "LIVE BLUES" recorded in a small night club in London and was released in 1992 on VHS. It is now available on DVD as well. "LIVE BLUES" also features two songs with B.B. King appearing on stage with Moore. "The Thrill Is Gone" on this recording is probably the best version of this, complete with More's Midnight Horns, female backup singers and dueling guitars. Many of Moore's standard songs are on this 90 minute show and were mixed better than most of the studio versions of the same tunes for a very rich and full sound. Even Moore's voice sounds better than it usually does in the studio. Moore did not seem interested in touring the United States.
Connection with Peter Green
According to numerous interviews he has given to guitar magazines, he was the protege of British Blues pioneer Peter Green, whom he had always admired ever since the Bluesbreakers days. When Green quit Fleetwood Mac and the entire music scene, he sold his famous nasal-sounding 1959 Gibson Les Paul to Moore for the same price that Moore had managed to sell his then guitar (a Gibson SG) for. The nasal sound of the neck pickup on Green's guitar was not, as used to be believed, the result of the pickup having been turned backwards, but instead its two coils had been - perhaps accidentally - reconnected in parallel and out of phase, as per the "in between" positions of a Fender Stratocaster. Moore has used this guitar in the recordings of some songs of his albums Still Got The Blues, After Hours and Blues For Greeny. Green and Moore also reportedly had a disagreement regarding what guitar the former was playing in the song "Albatross". Moore insists it was the Les Paul, because the guitar tone was particularly warm and rich in the bass, while Peter Green maintains he was using a Strat, as the vibrato in that song was not finger vibrato, but subtle tremolo arm vibrato. Up to the day of his death, Green and Moore remained good friends.
Guitars used
Over the years Gary has used numerous guitars. These include: Peter Green's 1959 Gibson Les Paul, Peter Green's 1961 Fender Stratocaster and 1950s Gibson Les Paul Junior. He has also used guitars from Charvel, Ibanez, Hamer, Jackson and Heritage. Amplification has generally come from Marshall, though Soldanos and Fender have also been used, as well as transistor-driven Dean Markley units (especially in the studio). He also has used numerous effects over the years. these include; Delay units such as the Echoplex, Overdrive/Booster units such as the Boss DS-1, Ibanez Tubescreamer variants, Marshall Bluesbreaker and Guv'nor pedals as well as Wah-Wah pedals such as the Vox Wah. He appears nowadays to favour Gibson and Fender Guitars through Marshall amps with any of the above Overdrive pedals and Wah pedals to make his sound.
Solo career
In 1973 he released his first solo album as the Gary Moore Band. In 1979 his solo career started again with help from Phil Lynott, the combination of Gary's blues based guitar and Phil's voice produced "Parisenne Walkways" which reached the UK Top Ten in April 1979 and the no.2 album 'Black Rose'. After a series of powerful rock records Gary returned to blues music with Still Got the Blues, with contributions from B. B. King, Albert King and Albert Collins the album was well received by fans and a huge success. Gary stayed with the blues format until 1997 when he decided to experiment with modern dance beats in Dark Days In Paradise; this left many fans as well as the music press confused. Back to the Blues saw Gary return to the tried and tested blues format.
Albums
* Grinding Stone, 1973
* Parisienne Walkways, 1977
* Back on the Streets, 1978
* Corridors of Power, 1982
* Live at the Marquee, 1983
* Rockin' Every Night - Live in Japan, 1983
* Victims of the Future, 1983
* Dirty Fingers, 1984
* We Want Moore, 1984
* Run for Cover, 1985
* Wild Frontier, 1987
* After the War, 1989
* Still Got the Blues, 1990
* After Hours, 1992
* Blues Alive, 1993
* Ballads & Blues 1982-1994, 1994
* Blues For Greeny, 1995
* Dark Days in Paradise, 1997
* Out in the Fields - The Very Best of Part 1, 1998
* Blood of Emeralds - The Very Best of Part 2, 1999
* A Different Beat, 1999
* Back to the Blues, 2001
* Power Of The Blues, 2004
* Old New Ballads Blues, 2006
* Close As You Get, 2007
* Bad For You Baby, 2008
Singles
* Parisienne Walkways
* Out in the Fields
* Empty Rooms
* Wild Frontier
* Still Got the Blues
The Future (2005-present)
Later on in 2006, Gary will support BB King on his 'Farewell UK Tour'. It unfortunately did not lead to a tour of the United States with BB King.
The studio album entitled 'Old New Ballads Blues' was a follow up of 2004's 'Power of the Blues' and it featured new material as well as new versions of fan favourites 'Midnight Blues' and 'All your Love'
Gary Moore has also sold his Les Paul that was given to him by Peter Green to a private owner.
On February 6th 2011, he died from a heart attack in his sleep while on holiday in Spain.
External links
* The Official Gary Moore World Wide Website: http://www.gary-moore.com/
* The Lord Of The Strings - World Wide Gary Moore Fansite: http://www.garymoore.hu/eng.htm Thanks for the music.
If the Devil Made Whisky
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He must have made my woman too.
If the devil made whisky,
He must have made my baby too.
Cause they both make you love 'em,
Then they make a fool of you.
Yeah.
He must have made my girl as well.
Ooh, if the devil made money,
He must have made my girl as well.
Cause they get a man in trouble,
Then they send you straight to hell.
Yeah.
If the devil was a woman,
He'd look exactly like my girl.
Ooh, if the devil was a woman,
He'd look exactly like my girl.
She get you hooked on her good lovin',
Then leavy you lonely in this world.
The lyrics of Gary Moore's "If The Devil Made Whisky" are a cautionary tale of the temptation and destructive power of vices such as alcohol and women, and how they can lead a man down a path of folly and disillusionment. The song suggests that these vices are the work of the devil himself, implying that they are to be avoided at all costs.
The first two stanzas speak of how both whiskey and women can be alluring and beguiling, but ultimately can lead to ruin. The devil is mentioned as the creator of both, as if to suggest that they are two sides of the same coin. The lyrics suggest that these vices have an almost mystical power over men and can create a sense of intoxication that clouds the judgment and leads a man into trouble.
The final stanza takes an interesting turn, suggesting the devil himself might be a woman. The lyrics imply that if the devil had a physical form, it would be that of the singer's girlfriend. The insinuation is that women can be just as dangerous and destructive as alcohol, implying that the singer has been burned by both.
Overall, "If The Devil Made Whisky" is a powerful and evocative song that speaks to the human condition and our struggle to resist temptation and vice.
Line by Line Meaning
If the devil made whisky,
Gary Moore starts off by saying that the quality of whisky is so good that it must have been made by the devil.
He must have made my woman too.
Gary Moore jokes that if the devil could make something as good as whisky, then he must have also made his woman who he loves a lot.
If the devil made whisky,
Gary Moore repeats the first line to emphasize his point that the devil must have created something as potent and tempting as whisky.
He must have made my baby too.
Gary Moore compares his baby to whisky, claiming that both his baby and whisky are enticing and addictive.
Cause they both make you love 'em,
Gary Moore talks about how both whisky and his woman have qualities that make him love them deeply.
Then they make a fool of you.
However, Gary Moore points out that both whisky and his woman can also have negative effects on him and make him act foolish or make poor decisions.
Yeah.
Gary Moore adds a simple affirmation to his observation that both his woman and whisky have good and bad qualities.
If the devil made money,
Gary Moore switches from talking about whisky to money and suggests that if the devil made one desirable thing, he probably made another.
He must have made my girl as well.
Gary Moore compares his girl to money, suggesting that she is just as alluring or dangerous as money can be.
Ooh, if the devil made money,
Gary Moore adds an exclamation to his idea that the devil likely created both money and his girl.
He must have made my girl as well.
Gary Moore reiterates his earlier point, suggesting that his girl has qualities that make her as appealing and dangerous as money can be.
Cause they get a man in trouble,
Gary Moore talks about how both his girl and money can lead a man astray and get him into trouble.
Then they send you straight to hell.
Gary Moore emphasizes the destructive power of both money and his girl by suggesting that they can lead a man to ruin or to 'hell.'
Yeah.
Gary Moore adds a simple affirmation to his observation about how money and his girl can be harmful or dangerous to a man.
If the devil was a woman,
Gary Moore switches back to talking about his girl, suggesting that she may have the same qualities as the devil himself, considering how alluring and dangerous she can be.
He'd look exactly like my girl.
Gary Moore suggests that if the devil were a woman, he would look just like his girl since she has such strong and tempting qualities.
Ooh, if the devil was a woman,
Gary Moore adds an exclamation to his idea that his girl may have the qualities of the devil himself.
She get you hooked on her good lovin',
Gary Moore talks about how his girl can be incredibly alluring and get a man hooked on her love or attention.
Then leavy you lonely in this world.
However, Gary Moore points out that his girl can also leave a man feeling lonely or unfulfilled, just as the devil might make someone feel.
Contributed by Michael J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
BloozeDaddy76
Raw electric blues that sounds like an Elmore James song all the way. Gary Moore is probably the most overlooked blues-rocker alive. He's right up there with Stevie Ray, Clapton, and the better known guitarists who get more attention here in America than he does.
2007cks
Oh hell yeah !!!
Ku’uleilani Hawaiian Modalities
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Wabba92
Personally I´ll put gary above SRV anyday. I know this breaks a lot of heart, but he´s simply more awesome. Does he do hows anymore?
Clark Engelbert
Garys songs and singing are without a doubt better than Stevie. Playing wise, they're on equal footing but Gary's songs are so iconic and I could listen to them even without his playing. I can't say as much about listening to Stevie's stuff.
chabon89
@imawesome432 Walk by pantera sounds like THIS SONG.
Philippe deblois
gone to soon