Although he took a
pop-metal
detour during the '80s, guitarist
Gary Moore
was always a
blues-rock
guitarist at heart. After all, his chief instrument throughout his career has been a Les Paul that once belonged to
Fleetwood Mac
's
Peter Green
, and he played on the original version of
Thin Lizzy
's slow-burning bluesy tour de force
"Still in Love With You."
By the dawn of the '90s,
Moore
had grown tired of trying to keep pace with the
Def Leppards
of the
rock
world, and returned to his original love. The move paid off immediately for
, as 1990's
Still Got the Blues
was a worldwide hit, and as a result, the guitarist continued with this direction for much of the decade. The 2004 12-track compilation
Blues Collection
is true to its title, as it includes the cream of this aforementioned rootsy era.
sounds reinvigorated on much of the material here, especially
"Oh Pretty Woman"
(nope, not the
Roy Orbison
song of the same name),
"Walking By Myself,"
and
"Cold Day in Hell."
Also included is the
Phil Lynott
-penned classic from the late '70s,
"Parisienne Walkways,"
and the
George Harrison
-penned
"That Kind of Woman,"
which proves to be a break from the
blues
(it would have fit comfortably on a
Traveling Wilburys
album). But one glaring omission prevents
from being the definitive
blues collection -- the title track from
, which just so happens to be arguably
's best
track of them all. ~ Greg Prato