The 6th of February 2011 was a Sunday night. I know this because The Hold Steady were just about to come on stage when I got a text from my mate: “Clinkies for Gary Moore,” it said.
“Clinkies” was the code we used whenever someone we respected and admired had died. Gary Moore was one of them.
I was nine years old and just getting into rock ’n’ roll when “Empty Rooms” and then “Out in the Fields” came out. I’d first heard them both on the Friday Rock Show, played on the radio my gran had bought me the Christmas before.
At that age, I wasn’t really aware of Gary Moore as an artist – why would I be? – but it’s fair to say that this set from November 13, 2008, feels far more authentic than my early brushes with his music.
Recorded for the Baloise Session – an intimate performance in Switzerland – it’s quite sensational.
This is simply a lifer playing the music he loved and was born to play. There’s a DVD too, though I’ve not seen it, but you can easily imagine it. Moore eschews all bombast in favour of playing like it was a gift from somewhere else. “Oh Pretty Woman” is raw and beautiful.
They’re all raw and beautiful.
The classic shuffle of “Since I Met You Baby” or the straight-up rock ’n’ roll fun of Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days (To Get Back Home)” – this has it all.
And “fun” is the right word. You can’t help but get swept along by the sheer joy Moore is having. Even on the slower ones like “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know,” there’s such warmth.
A lot of that comes from the band he’s got with him here. Pete Rees on bass, Vic Martin on keys, and fabled Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey are as good as it gets.
Speaking of Lizzy, his quite brilliant take on “Don’t Believe a Word” is worth the price of admission on its own. Taking on a classic and absolutely owning it.
By 2008, “Still Got the Blues” must have been second nature to him, but somehow this version still finds something new to say.
There’s a swagger about him throughout. I’ve heard countless versions of “Walking By Myself” over the years, but few as confident as this one – and even fewer anywhere near as good.
And there’s something comforting about him ending with “The Blues Is Alright,” because it always will be. The legacy of the greats – Moore included – lives on, even if he’s a little cross because “the people upstairs” won’t get up.
Look at the names who’ve played a Baloise Session: Ray Charles, James Brown, Elton John, Eric Clapton. Gary Moore belongs in that company – because he’s in that class.
