This is the Blu-ray edition of the full Gary Moore set played at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2010, and now turns out to also be the final recorded performance of the legendary Irish guitar legend, who passed away of a heart attack at the young age of 58 in February 2011.
Though Moore looks shockingly overweight and not overly healthy here, his playing is spectacular and the return to many of his rock classics of the 80's is a triumphant one at that. Before his untimely death, Moore, along with Neil Carter, Jon Noyce, and Darrin Mooney, was working on a new album of Celtic flavored rock songs, much in the style of albums such as Wild Frontier and After the War, which now sadly will never see the light of day. Thankfully, the band performed three of those songs here, and they are a real treat. "Days of Heroes", "Where Are You Now?", and "Oh Wild One" could have easily fit on either of those two albums, as well as any Thin Lizzy release, as they are all melodic rock songs with lots of guitar and Celtic themes. The band rips through classics like "Over the Hills and Far Away", "Military Man", "Blood of Emeralds", "Out in the Fields", and "Thunder Rising", all killer songs from that time period, as well as the earlier hit single "Empty Rooms". Moore's Gibson Les Paul drips with emotion, killer tone, and impeccable technique throughout, and he dials up the passion on blues numbers "Still Got the Blues" and "Walking By Myself", the latter with some audience participation. With his acoustic and Carter's gentle keyboards, Gary pulls off a heartfelt "Johnny Boy", and then stuns the crowd with an incredible version of the timeless Moore/Lynott song "Parisienne Walkways", which features some of the best soloing in the entire show. For the serious Moore fan, you'll find it hard to keep a dry eye during this one.
The audio and video here is impeccable, with crystal clear high-definition picture that shows every little nuance and color, making you feel like you are sitting in the front row, and the camera work is incredible. If you have a home theater speaker system, the 5.1 surround sound will allow Moore's sizzling guitar solos to shake the rafters of your home as if he was plugged right into his amp there in your living room. As a bonus, there are a few songs from Gary's 1997 performance at Montreux, though it's kind of shocking to see just how much weight he put on and how much he aged in those 13 years, as on these cuts he still looks youthful and slim. Overall, this is a flawless Blu-ray that every Gary Moore fan will need to have in their collection.
Track Listing
1 Over the hills and far away
2 Thunder Rising
3 Military Man
4 Days Of Heroes
5 Where are you now?
6 Empty Rooms
7 Oh Wild One
8 Blood of Emeralds
9 Out in the Fields
10 Still got the blues
11 Walking By Myself
12 Johnny Boy
13 Parisienne Walkways
Bonus Tracks 1997 Montreux
1 One Good Reason
2 Oh Pretty Woman
3 Still Got the Blues
4 Walking by Myself
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