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.
Preacher Man Blues
Gary Moore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Saw a preacher man coming my way
Took me aside and he said to me
"Better wash away your sins down in Galilee"
And I said "oh wee, Lord have mercy on me
Oh wee, Lord have mercy
Oh wee, Lord have mercy on me
A preacher man said to me
"Don't try to blame no one else
'Cause after all is said and done
The only one to blame is yourself'"
And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you
Oh wee, Lord have mercy
Oh wee, Lord have mercy on you
Lord have mercy on this wicked man"
Preacher man took my hand
Said "let me lead you to the promised land
Take my advice and listen to me
You better wash away your sins down in Galilee"
And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you (2x)
Oh wee, Lord have mercy
Oh wee, Lord have mercy on you
Lord have mercy on your wicked soul"
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
On your wicked soul
On your wicked soul
On your wicked soul
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy on your wicked soul
On your wicked soul
Lord have mercy
Lord have mercy on your wicked soul.
The song "Preacher Man Blues" by Gary Moore depicts a man walking down the street and encountering a preacher man who tells him to wash away his sins down in Galilee. The preacher man warns the man not to blame anyone else for his sins and takes his hand to lead him to the promised land. The song is about redemption and taking responsibility for one's actions.
The lyrics are a reminder that true repentance requires acknowledging one's wrongdoing and taking responsibility for one's actions. The preacher man's advice to the singer is a call to action to change his ways and seek forgiveness. The repeated refrain of "Lord have mercy" emphasizes the plea for forgiveness and the need for divine intervention to wash away the singer's sins.
Line by Line Meaning
I was walking down the street one day
I was walking along the street at one point in time
Saw a preacher man coming my way
I saw a man who preaches about religion walking towards me
Took me aside and he said to me
He pulled me to the side and spoke to me
"Better wash away your sins down in Galilee"
You should clean yourself of your sinful acts by going to Galilee
And I said "oh wee, Lord have mercy on me
And I replied, "Oh my, may God show me compassion
A preacher man said to me
A man who preaches about religion told me
"Don't try to blame no one else
"Don't shift responsibility onto others
'Cause after all is said and done
Because ultimately
The only one to blame is yourself'"
You are the only one to be held accountable for your actions
And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you
And he said, "Oh my, may God show you compassion
Preacher man took my hand
The man who preaches about religion grasped my hand
Said "let me lead you to the promised land
He said "allow me to guide you to the blessed place
Take my advice and listen to me
Heed my words and pay attention to me
You better wash away your sins down in Galilee"
It is advisable to cleanse yourself of your sins by going to Galilee
And he said " oh wee, Lord have mercy on you (2x)
And he said, "Oh my, may God show you compassion twice
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
On your wicked soul
May God have mercy on your sinful self
On your wicked soul
On your sinful being
On your wicked soul
On your evil existence
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy on your wicked soul
May God have mercy on your sinful self
On your wicked soul
On your sinful being
Lord have mercy
May God show mercy
Lord have mercy on your wicked soul.
May God have mercy on your evil existence
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ray Moran
Gary was one of the BEST Players EVER even way back when he was with This Lizzy. RIP MR. MOORE.
# GBCR
Yes. In fact he was great even BEFORE joining Lizzy for the first time.
Check out his LPs with Skid Row when he was 17 Y.O. and Grinding Stone 3 years later, as well as his time with Colosseum II
Carlos Alarcon
One of the most talented unrecognized guitar player.
lambvick
Amazing talent as always.
margaret sullivan
Mercy , Real soul Blues ! Wow ! God bless Gary Moore !!
Alexei Meremianin
great song indeed!
Steve Howell
Probably the BEST "unknown" Gary tune ever....just showers emotion.....
Jan Caffrey
Ok?
Evilbluesman
Excellent!! Thanks!! Keep the blues alive!! SC
FIRE ANGEL
Lord have mercy - RIP