Gary Moore - Blues for Jimi
Eagle Records
Blues Rock
12 songs (73:27)
Release year: 2012
Gary Moore, Eagle Records
Reviewed by Stefan
You can bet that, without the untimely and oh so premature death of the Irish guitarist, in 2011, this live would have only been accessible in the bootleg division of the websphere which, considering its quality, would have been a loss, not as big as that of his main attraction but a loss nonetheless.

Clearly, Hendrix & Moore are a match made in heaven and those who heard Gary’s early material, namely (the real) Skid Row, where he displayed his chops in a bluesy/psychedelic rocking environment, à la Taste if you will, or with the greatly overlooked progressive/fusion outfit, Colosseum II, knew he had got everything from the very start to accomplish so delicate a task.

It might be argued that the meeting came a little late in Moore’s career, by October 25th 2007, when this tribute performance was recorded at the Hippodrome Theatre in London, Moore was far from the fierce, up and coming axeman he once was and his rendition of early Hendrix material (mostly consisting of Experience tracks), if it’s technically and emotionally beyond reproach, lacks that little craziness, that edge which makes that kind of material more than just pleasing to the ear. And that’s the only flaw of an otherwise stellar performance.

First, the rhythm section, consisting of ex-Procol Harum & Eric Clapton on bass, Dave Bronze, and ex-Primal Scream Darrin Mooney on drums, a tight and efficient outfit, what they lack in loose elegance (the most notable attribute of the pair who created theses tunes, Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell), they gain in skilled energy bringing fuel to the recording’s motor. Speaking of Mitchell (who died one year after this event), he guests, along with other ex-Experience/Band of Gypsys member Billy Cox, for a three song course bringing his useful of sonic nostalgia to the show because, old as they were, those men could still play, trust me.

In a little under 75 minutes, keeping in mind the aforementioned little flaw, one can only enjoy the vibrant, heartfelt homage paid by one exceptional instrumentalist to one who became legend (which is only right, by the way). One that only makes us mourn Mr. Moore’s loss a little more.


NB: We don't quote live album at Metal Reviews, If I had to, my quote would have been 72/100
Killing Songs :
The Wind Cries Mary, I Don't Live Today, Red House, Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Stefan quoted No Quote
Other albums by Gary Moore that we have reviewed:
Gary Moore - The Definitive Montreux Collection (DVD) reviewed by Marty and quoted no quote
Gary Moore - Power Of The Blues reviewed by Marty and quoted 84 / 100
Gary Moore - Scars (featuring Gary Moore) reviewed by Marty and quoted 80 / 100
Gary Moore - Wild Frontier reviewed by Chris and quoted 98 / 100
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