GARY MOORE LIVE - FROM BALOISE SESSION

Baloise Session is not your average festival; there’s no mud, no unwashed hordes and no opportunity for sunburn. Instead, the venues are inside, intimate, the audiences seated around candlelit tables, the definition of civilised. An ideal environment then, for Gary Moore, who I have seen telling rowdier audiences to “shut the f**k up” should they dare to shout out requests or talk during the quieter moments. No need for that sort of thing here, Moore’s performance garnering respect from the moment he launches into Albert King’s ‘Oh, Pretty Woman’ with storming authority. 

Despite wearing many hats during his 58 years, Moore always seemed most at home playing the blues, a genre that was undoubtedly in his soul. It’s very much the focus of this compact, eight song set that successfully evokes the image of Moore throwing his head back, wrenching incredible noise from his guitar without ever glancing at his fretboard. The extensive solos that dominate the likes of ‘Since I Met You Baby’ and 'Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)' crackle with fire and passion; the distinctive stamp of a performer with a sound entirely his own. 

Earning a reputation as more of a fighter than a lover, it’s easy to forget that there was a tender side to Moore, exemplified here by the slow burning ‘I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know’, delivered with emotion that can only come from a place of understanding. ‘Still Got the Blues’ deservedly remains his signature song, and aches with a beautiful sadness that it’s hard to imagine any other guitarist being able to conjure, the result of an unforgettable riff and an underrated vocal.

Always a staple of Moore’s solo shows, Thin Lizzy’s ‘Don’t Believe a Word’ is reinvented as a moody, slow paced blues before picking up the pace in the latter half, where it thunders in more familiar fashion, transitioning spectacularly via a crash of drums courtesy of fellow Lizzy alumnus Brian Downey. 'Walking By Myself' is similarly powerful, Moore engaging in some call and response with the audience before giving them the full blues rock assault. 

Fourteen years since Gary Moore’s sad passing, ‘Live From Baloise Session’ serves as a reminder of his spectacular talent, a talent that should never be forgotten. Next time someone asks you to name some of the greatest guitarists of all time, spare a thought for Gary Moore.