Is Gary Moore appreciated in the States?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by redfloatboat, Jan 21, 2019.

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  1. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I know some well known American guitarists rave about Moore, but how about the general listening public, did they rate him as a player?
    I was always aware of him because of my love for Thin Lizzy, however i have to admit i was never into his solo music. So although i wasn't a big fan of his songs i did like his guitar playing.
    I think as a guitarist he is definitely up there with Page, Clapton, Trower, and Beck.
    I've always felt he never got the recognition he should've during his lifetime mainly because of lack of commercial success, or am i wrong?

     
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  2. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Moore in the same league with Beck or Clapton? No way...

    He was a very good guitarist, but a little overrated IMO. His early solo records are good, but I don’t like his boring blues playing.
     
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  3. Sneaky Pete

    Sneaky Pete Flat the 5 and That’s No Jive

    Location:
    NYC USA
    He’s got a small group of fans here. He’s not well-known or widely appreciated.
     
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  4. He's better known in the USA for the blues stuff than the earlier hard rock. He is a little underrated IMO. Certainly not a household name here.
    Check out his version of "Shapes Of Things". Incredible gtr. work.
     
  5. Zoot Marimba

    Zoot Marimba And I’m The Critic Of The Group

    Location:
    Savannah, Georgia
    In the US he’s more of a guitarist’s Guitarist.

    Also I rate him above Clapton and Trower. Not as sure about Page and certainly wouldn’t compare him to Beck. No less, The guy was an awesome player.
     
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  6. Lonecat

    Lonecat King Of Fools

    Location:
    Northeast
    It seems that if he's remembered at all by the public-at-large, it's for the song Still Got the Blues. Other than that, it's mostly guitar players that really know who he was. He just never caught on here.
     
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  7. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    My recollection in the 80s is that here in the US, he was one of those players who was pretty well known and appreciated by guitarists and other musicians, but not well known at all by the general public. I don’t recall him being on the radio.

    Mark
     
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  8. Bullis

    Bullis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Niagara County
    Gary Moore is as good as anyone, please. Far from overated. Gee.
     
  9. Bullis

    Bullis Forum Resident

    Location:
    Niagara County
    Boring blues, like what god plays. Lol. Better listen alittle better.
     
    SilkHammer likes this.
  10. wwaldmanfan

    wwaldmanfan Born In The 50's

    Location:
    NJ
    Gary Moore had a terrible fear of flying, so rarely, if ever, toured the USA, which may explain why he is not well-known here. He was a fantastic guitarist, but maybe a little gonzo for some people.

    Peter Green gave him his prized 1959 Les Paul, one of the most famous guitars in the world, now owned by Kirk Hammett of Metallica, who reportedly paid $1M for it. Moore played it on his great tribute album, comprised of all Peter Green/Fleetwood Mac covers. It's a tour de force of British blues, and worth a listen.

    [​IMG]
     
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  11. Mark Wilson

    Mark Wilson Forum Resident

    Thinking on this further, sadly I could say the same thing almost about Thin Lizzy in the US. Jailbreak was big here, but afterwards they never really caught on again with the general public. Most here have no idea they were much more diverse than just 70s hard rock.

    Black Rose had very little impact here, again other than with guitarists, hence Moore didn’t catch on either.

    Mark
     
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  12. evillouie

    evillouie Forum Resident

    Location:
    Toledo
    Absolutely love Gary Moore. While touring the US for his "Corridors Of Power" album in 1983, he opened for Def Leppard and the crowd mercilessly booed him off because all they wanted to know about was Def Leppard's "Photograph". Short sighted fools. He's the only reason I went! Well, him and the fact that Ian Paice was in his band at the time.

    I prefer his metal stuff over his blues stuff, but he's a great player regardless.
     
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  13. Lonecat

    Lonecat King Of Fools

    Location:
    Northeast
    I'm the same way, especially the Celtic hard rock on Run for Cover, Wild Frontier and After the War.
     
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  14. Wombat Reynolds

    Wombat Reynolds Jimmy Page stole all my best riffs.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    the general public in america dont rave about guitar players anymore, unless they also sing and have hits, like Prince did and SRV to a lesser degree.. john mayer etc

    santana maybe, he still gets airplay because he makes songs with star singers

    so, no, only guitar players in the states know about Gary Moore
     
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  15. Claus

    Claus Senior Member

    Location:
    Germany
    Copycat to the real great blues players.
     
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  16. Efus

    Efus Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    No, but thats on him.

    Live monster with sub par records, (owned Black Rose, Corridors of Power, Run For Cover, Still Got The Blues) genre change mid career.
    Got to see Lizzy w Midge Ure in '79, but would have preferred to have seen Moore play with them.
     
  17. Brian Barker

    Brian Barker "No matter where you go, there you are"

    During my years at Turtles, there was a steady stream of folks buying his albums. Not top seller type sales but decent compared to many other artists at the time.
     
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  18. Fastnbulbous

    Fastnbulbous Doubleplus Ungood

    Location:
    Washington DC USA
    Agreed. Most Americans never heard of Roy Buchanan or Steve Morse either. But guitarists sure have.
     
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  19. redfloatboat

    redfloatboat Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I probably didn't explain myself properly. I certainly don't think he was on par with Jeff Beck, i don't think anyone is.[Beck is my favourite player.] I suppose what i was trying to say is that imo, there are a very small group of British guitarists that are really exceptional, and i believe Gary was a member of that group. His soloing often blew me away, and he seemed to be very versatile.[much like Beck is.]

    In football,[soccer] there are players who are very, very good, and then there are what are called, 'world class' players. Those players are a class above. That's how i view this little groupof British guitarists i'm talking about. Yes there are plenty of amazing players, but imo there are also players who are above those. That probably makes no sense at all to anyone else, does it?

    I did include Clapton in that group too even though i really don't like his guitar sound or his playing. However i can appreciate what he did in the sixties, but he's never been my cuppa tea.

    Moore was in Collesium II, wasn't he? Have to admit i've never checked them out or know anything much about them. If i can find them on YouTube i'll give them a listen.
     
    Comet01 likes this.
  20. Lonecat

    Lonecat King Of Fools

    Location:
    Northeast
    Yes he was, on the albums Strange New Flesh, Electric Savage and War Dance.
     
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  21. townsend

    townsend Senior Member

    Location:
    Ridgway, CO
    He sure is. His playing ranged from "heavy metal" (1979-89 [so Wikipedia, though I wouldn't call it heavy metal]) through rock to blues. In fact, he even played in Colosseum II, a British progressive jazz-rock band. He is highly appreciated on the premier guitar forum on the Internet -- The Gear Page. He could sing, write songs, and he was an absolute master on the guitar -- equally adept at Strat or LP. In his version of Roy Buchanan's iconic "The Messiah Will Come Again," Gary employs a huge array of guitar techniques to produce a virtual masterclass on how it's done. A mean slide player as well.

    I absolutely do place him in the upper echelon of guitar gods -- we can debate whether one or two of them should be there, but I never debate Gary. His career and talents were simply too versatile and too high level. Some of those guitar gods aren't that good at writing memorable pop/rock songs, and some of them don't sing. Gary did it all, and across multiple bands for longer than most. RIP.
     
  22. Lurch

    Lurch Well-Known Member

    Gary Moore is undoubtedly one of the all-time greats, and no, sadly he was not well-known here in the US. As noted above (although I had no idea about his fear of flying), he didn't tour the US too often and I think that more than anything is what caused him to slip under the radar a bit here.

    His singing was an acquired taste, and as much of a shredding fan as I am, even I felt some of his solos went on a bit too long at times. Had he been a bit more concise (maybe better producers?) and had a really good signer for his band, and had toured the States regularly, he would have been much more renowned here in my opinion. All that said, I loved the guy and his music.

    Thanks to redfloatboat for the thread, because I haven't listened to any Gary for a while, and now I'm going to go on a binge!
     
    impalaboy likes this.
  23. Wombat Reynolds

    Wombat Reynolds Jimmy Page stole all my best riffs.

    Location:
    Atlanta, GA, USA
    its just another example of how time changes music.

    When I was in high school, the 70s, most kids I knew, were aware of and could name a few guitar players. Guitar players who did not sing. Not Just Page, who was a household name, or Clapton or Beck, but guys like Frehley, Steve Howe was big.. and these were not guitar playing friends. Just high school kids.

    today, almost none of my daughters high school and college age friends can name one. Besides her, because she grew up with me. they might say "John Lennon" or "McCartney" or maybe Santana if you're lucky.

    Guitar is over for them now. Anybody can play one, so nobody stands out.
     
  24. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    He had a string of high-charting, certified albums in the UK. Here the general public don't rate him as a guitarist because they don't know him.
     
  25. evh5150

    evh5150 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Northern Ireland
    Gary Moore was a phenomenal guitar player. Comparing him to Jeff Beck misses the point.

    His songwriting could be hit or miss, especially at the end, but between his solo career and Thin Lizzy, there's enough classics for a two-disc greatest hits to compare to almost anyone.
     
    slipkid likes this.
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