Music Review: Gary Moore – Bad For You Baby

Gary Moore plays the blues with a little rock ‘n’ roll mixed in for good measure. His legacy now reaches back to the late 1960’s with his work in the Irish band, Skid Row. He also took a couple of turns as a member of Thin Lizzy plus spent time in Colosseum II,  BBM with Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker, and played in Greg Lake’s backing band for awhile. In between all this group work he has found the time to release over thirty solo albums.

I tend to check in on Gary Moore every once in awhile. He’s sort of like an old friend who comes calling every so often. You know what to expect and are instantly comfortable. Bad For You Baby may not break any new ground for Moore as an artist but it covers the old very well and may be his best album of the last decade or so.

2008 finds him securely in his blues and hard rock fusion niche. The album bursts out of the gate like a rocket taking off. The title track is ominous and aggressive classic blues. The improvisational riffing during the breaks quickly proves that Moore remains one of the most talented guitarists working today. “Down The Line” revs the tempo up even more as it leans in a hard rock direction. The speed of his finger picking remains superb. “Umbrella Man” features as fine a solo as you will hear from any guitarist.

The pace is wisely slowed down with the fourth track. “Holding On” has a calm and almost soulful feel to it and serves as not only a good counterpoint to the first three songs but a resting place for the listener as well.

Moore tends to vary the songs from this point on with good results. “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” has a nice smoky feel to it and contains some pure guitar sounds which help push his gritty vocal over the top. “Mojo Boogie” just percolates along. As the title would suggest, it contains a boogie beat and even what sounds like some slide guitar. “Preacher Man Blues” just shuffles along and is all that an electric blues song should be.

If you are an aficionado of the electric blues sound, I would highly recommend Bad For You Baby. Gary Moore is who he is and on this album that is more than enough.