by Brian D. Holland.

Fans will be overjoyed about the Gary Moore - Essential Montreux 5CD Set, released in July of 2009. The Irish blues-rock guitarist, who has adored playing to the music loving crowds of this beautiful Swiss city, famous for its yearly jazz fests and music venues, has acquired enormous amounts of recorded material over the past decade or so. Much of the included six hours of music, containing over 60 songs recorded between 1990 and 2001, has been released on these five CDs for the first time.

Disc One, recorded in 1990, contains a special treat: blues great Albert Collins appears on four songs in both the vocal and guitar capacity. The two bluesmen complement each other with tradeoff lead solos within mesmerizing onstage performances. Since this is Gary in 1990, staunch fans will notice that the setlist covers a lot of the songs from his then recently released Still Got The Blues album, still viewed by many to be the best of his illustrious career. This compelling 12-song CD finishes with a thrilling cover of Roy Buchanans "The Messiah Will Come Again," only adding to Gary's brilliance in style and tone within this period.

Some of the included tracks, like "Parisienne Walkways," "All Your Love," "Oh Pretty Woman," and "Walking By Myself" appear more than once. It's interesting to hear different versions of the same song, separated by a certain amount of years. Although it's still Gary, varied guitar tones and all-around arrangement and musicianship make each performance uniquely fascinating. And each song is Gary Moore at his best, performing in one of his favorite onstage environments.

Other highlights include his renditions of songs by Peter Green, most notably on CD Two. "Stop Messing Around," "Long Grey Mare," "If You Be My Baby," "I Loved Another Woman," "Merry-Go-Round," and "Jumping At Shadows," all of which are either Green originals or affiliated songs, are prominent displays of the power of inspiration within the Moore performance. And just as within his studio CDs of late, a fine assortment of Moore originals sit comfortably among amazing blues covers throughout the whole box set.

There's quite a lot of precious recorded material on this 5-CD set, enough to satisfy any fan of Gary Moore, including guitar aficionados and blues rockers everywhere. And when it comes to American fans, since Gary never crosses the pond anymore, Gary Moore - Essential Montreux is just that, essential Gary Moore live performances.

Disc 1 - 1990:
All Your Love
Midnight Blues
You Dont Love Me
Texas Strut
Moving On
Too Tired
Cold Cold Feeling
Further On Up The Road
King of the Blues
Stop Messing Around
The Blues Is Alright
The Messiah Will Come Again (with Albert Collins)

Disc 2 - 1995:
If You Be My Baby
Long Grey Mare
Oh Pretty Woman
I Loved Another Woman
Merry-Go-Round
The Stumble
Need Your Love So Bad
You Dont Love Me
Key To Love
All Your Love
Since I Met You Baby
The Blues Is Alright
Stop Messing Around
Jumpin At Shadows

Disc 3 - 1997:
One Good Reason
One Fine Day
Cold Wind Blows
Ive Found My Love In You
Always There For You
Oh Pretty Woman
Walking By Myself
Business As Usual
Out In The Fields
Over The Hills and Far Away
Parisienne Walkways

Disc 4 - 1999:
Walking By Myself
Since I Met You Baby
Need Your Love So Bad
Tore Down
You Dont Love Me
All Your Love
Still Got The Blues
Too Tired
The Sky Is Crying
Further On Up The Road
Fire
Parisienne Walkways

Disc 5 - 2001
You Upset Me Baby
Cold Black Night
Stormy Monday
Oh Pretty Woman
All Your Love
Still Got The Blues
Too Tired
How Many Lies
Fire
Enough Of The Blues
The Prophet

Label: Eagle Rock Entertainment

Links:
Gary Moore
Gary Moore - Essential Montreux on Amazon