On the surface, Live at Bush Hall would appear to be a niche product, more for bed-rock aficionados of the late Gary Moore than your average blues fan. After all, the new Eagle Records release — recorded on May 17, 2007 in the Victorian intimacy of the 400-seat Bush Hall in London — finds Moore trying out new songs from his soon-to-be-released Close As You Get album, rather than tramping through a string of better-known moments.
Elsewhere, the set is dotted with a choice few older favorites like “Don’t Believe a Word,” from his fellow Lizzy comrade Phil Lynott, his simmering original “Still Got the Blues,” Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days” and — as the bottleneck-powered closer — a new take on “Sundown” from Son House. And there’s a band that included former Thin Lizzy bandmate Brian Downey. But most of Live at Bush Hall features contemporary compositions like the deeply intriguing opener “If the Devil Made Whiskey,” many never before released in a concert format.
Yet, it unfolds as a must-hear primer on blues guitar in general, and Moore’s in particular. As he runs through a dizzying gamut of emotions, styles, tempos and feel, this Belfast-born master remains a wonder of eclecticism — and a performer of powerful subtlety, beyond his initial rock- or fusion-focused leanings.
Much of this coalesces in a brawny reading of his own “Hard Times,” which moves from grinding danger to scalding catharsis, even as its lyric hints at the sad fate that lay ahead for Moore. Live at Bush Hall holds no hint of sad reminiscence, though. Instead, Moore is heard here barreling ahead, at the top of his considerable game — doing a bit of it all, and doing it with fiery determination and still-remarkable skill.
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