The 10 Best Gary Moore Songs of All-Time
Gary Moore was born in Belfast, Ireland, on April 4, 1952. In 1970, he joined Skid Row. During Moore’s time with the group, they recording three albums and toured with The Allman Brothers. Three years later, he decided to pursue a solo career. However, it didn’t take off, so he replaced Eric Bell in Thin Lizzy. The first time he was with the band was for a short time. However, in 1977, he joined the group full-time when Brian Robertson left. Once again, Moore left a short time later to pursue a solo career. However, this time it started to take off. According to Gary Moore, during the 70s and 80s, he experimented with many different music genres, searching for the right sound. His 1987 album Wild Frontier explored his Celtic heritage. Finally, in 1990 he found his musical voice on his album Still Got The Blues. One of the songs, After Hours, featured Albert King, BB King, and Albert Collins. In 1994, he collaborated with Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce on their album before returning to his solo career.
His 1997 and 1997 albums were further experiments in music. However, he returned to his favorite genre of music in 2001 with Back To The Blues. Since one of the things Moore enjoyed most was staying at the cutting edge of music, he switched it up a year later, forming the supergroup Scars with ex-Skunk Anansie bassist Cass Lewis and Primal Scream drummer Darrin Mooney. After the group’s first album, they recorded a live album, Live at The Monsters of Rock. After several more albums, he returned to Thin Lizzy for a reunion tour in 2005. Once again, after a brief time, he decided to do something different. He teamed up with Neil Carter and Jon Noyce. In May 2010, the trio started touring, playing songs from earlier in their careers, and some new recordings that focused on the Celtic Rock genre. The last pieces he wanted to record were never finished because before he could return to the studio, he died on February 6, 2011, in Estepona, Spain. These are the top 10 Gary Moore songs of all time.
10. The Prophet
The song opens with a moody organ that sounds similar to church music. As the theme continues, there are evocative guitar chords. Each instrument in the song is added individually, letting them shine for a little while before combining into the arrangement. Everything about the music is equal parts sorrowful and beautiful. Throughout the song, the guitar stays at the forefront, crystal clear throughout the additional arrangement changes.
9. One Day
There is a classical electric feeling during the opening guitar solo. The coolness of Moore’s voice twists into the guitar without overshadowing others. Even though the lyrics are about letting go of being alone, there is a melancholy mood in every other part of the music. Essentially, it’s a song for your darkest moments and the small about of hope you have that something will work out and you’ll move past the things you are going through.
8. The Loner
A listener can hear some of Moore’s experimentation at the beginning of the song. Although it sounds Native American in sections, there is still a lot of his most significant influence, blues. As the song progresses, the guitar becomes more gritty. However, the chords sway in and out of more hopeful arcs. Another element that blows this song out of the water is the intermittent drum lick punctuations, just forceful enough to jolt you from the soft atmospheric music.
7. Midnight Blues
Moore’s low and wistful voice against the backdrop of guitar riffs that frequent many blues songs make this austere song breathtaking. The exquisite lyrics about the dark nights of insomnia and the overabundance of thoughts that keep us awake are brought to life in each element of this song.
6. Walking By Myself
This track starts with a cacophony of instruments that transitions into a traditional blues song. The lyrics and sporadic guitar solos are perfect ingredients for a song that sounds fresh and toe-tapping fun.
5. Empty Rooms
Moore softens down his style for a more stylized track. Even though, once in a while, there is a brief guitar interlude to break the sadness of the lyrics. Even though it is rare for a synthesizer to stand out without seeming forced and overproduced, it’s executed well when accompanied by a few additional sparse instruments. As the music unfolds, it discards much of the melancholy opening for a brief guitar solo before returning to the downcast lyrics of someone who is learning to live with a part of themselves missing.
4. Parisienne Walkways
Thinking about Paris evokes many different images. However, blues is typically not one of them. However, the mix of Paris in the spring lyrics with interludes of guitar solos takes Paris from cliché to otherworldly. The line “oh, I could write you paragraphs about my own Parisienne days” is apropos because, much like a picture, this song paints stunning imagery.
3. Out in The Fields
The overlays of African instruments that open the song are only a brief pause before it launches into dynamic guitar riffs and propulsive drum beats. The triumphal music is similar to Europe’s The Final Countdown. Whenever there’s a guitar solo in this song, it sounds like an impromptu jam session kept on the final track.
2. Over The Hills and Far Away
Moore’s voice sounds more sinister on this song than he does on others. With the addition of drums, a touch of Celtic instrumentation, and lyrics that read like a creepy Victorian children’s book, this song is anthemic mastery. This song is another example of Moore’s love of experimentation, especially since it has many different genres.
1. Still Got the Blues
Although Moore did many experiments with multiple genres. This song is a return to the genre that started him on his musical path. The harmony is smooth and infectious, one of the songs you feel at a cellular level. Even though the lyrics are sorrowful, there’s a warmth absent in many songs of the same genre.
