New Gary Moore CD preview - Close As You Get

Great CD.  Gary continues to place more effort on his vocals and is nearly back to the Still Got The Blues and After Hours era when considering the smoothness, dynamics and overall tone of his voice.

The order of the songs is mid/up tempo followed by a ballad.  This pattern repeats throughout the entire CD.

If The Devil Made Whisky - A mid tempo, growling tune with a slightly abrasive guitar riff.  Nice slide guitar work (which is always a treat for me).  It's a great lead off track.

Trouble At Home - Slow bluesy ballad with an organ backing up the melody.  Very dark and moody solo.

Thirty Days - Up tempo number with an infectious groove.  The solo fits the song perfectly (you'll "whoo" right along with Gary).  Fun.

Hard Times - Mid tempo shuffle with harmonica coloring the song throughout.  The guitar solo is played with alot of passion and energy.  You can almost see Gary making the faces.  Great song.

Have You Heard - Back to the ballad, and again with organ backing.  The solo is more passionate in this one than Trouble At Home.  Nice.

Eyesight To The Blind - A recognizable cover tune.  Gary's take is fairly predictable, but engaging.  The organ is present, but a bit more in the background as Gary's guitar volume donimates it.  Very good solo helps make the song distinctly Gary's.

Evenin' - Another ballad.  Starts out with just a percussion beat, then the rest of the band joins in.  This one probably has Gary's most vunerable vocal and delicate solo.  Dreamy.

Nowhere Fast - Slow tempo song that is essentially a ballad I suppose.  Not as delicate as Evenin', but not as dark and moody as Trouble At Home.  Here is where I'm beginning to think that this is not the "back to the rock blues" everyone had thought this CD would be.  Ha!

Checkin' Up On My Baby - Harmonica driven mid tempo.  The harmonica tone is devastating.  Gary's extended guitar solo becomes an extention of the harmonica tone and comes on very smoothly.  Harmonica comes back together with the guitar for the outro.  This would be a great song to see live.  Awesome.

I Had A Dream - Very slow tempo ballad with a soaring vocal for the chorus.  My buddy always comments on songs like this one.  He compares the depression and despair in Gary's voice during the verses to "wanting to slit his wrists".  Passionate.

Sundown - A rare treat!  This one is an acoustic resonator slide guitar number that is just Gary and his guitar.  It is a unique and perfect way to close the CD.

The CD runs just over 51 minutes, which is nearly identical to the last CD, and 10 minutes longer than the "way too short" Power Of The Blues.