GARY MOORE - The Rock & Fusion Years

Richard Barrett traces the development of Gary’s style and technique from the mid 1970s through to the late 80s, with some specially devised warm-up exercises, top tips on technique, and four full solos.

- Richard Barrett

Before returning predominantly to his earliest influences in 1990 with a series of blues albums, Gary turned his hand successfully to a wide variety of styles, always managing to sound utterly convincing. In this feature, I’ll be looking at his transition from fusion to rock between circa 1975-1989 via four ‘in-the-style-of’ solos, with an emphasis on his aggressive, ‘take no prisoners’ fast-picking style.

For his 70s ‘fusion’ period, Gary tended to use a Strat most often, frequently adding manic vibrato with the whammy bar. You’ll hear this on Colosseum II’s Electric Savage, Variations (with Julian Lloyd Webber) and Back On The Streets - though the Peter Green Les Paul did of course also appear on a few tracks - notably Parisienne Walkways. By this time, Gary was about to play another stint in Thin Lizzy for the Black Rose Album, shortly before switching gears (and bands) to form the melodic rock outfit G-Force, perhaps looking to build further on the momentum his solo career had previously begun to accumulate.