ALBUM
GARY MOORE
LIVE FROM BALOISE SESSION
Sony Music International
Before we get into Gary’s performance, a few words about the guys on stage with him. Brian Downey on drums – his old Thin Lizzy mucker so nothing else needs to be said about him – Pete Rees on bass and Vic Martin on keyboards. Both in the studio and live, they were Gary Moore regulars around this time. A terrific excellent example of how they gel is “Since I Met You Baby” which just cooks. Brian swings at the back, there’s a fantastic wandering bass line all through by Pete and Vic’s Hammond playing is sublime, managing to cover the rhythm guitar part when Gary solos and also providing little flourishes. They are a formidable unit that play to Gary’s fervour that he pours into his strings.
The man himself is on fire. The performance drips with emotion from beginning to end. You would be hard pressed to find a better solo on any other release of “Still Got The Blues For You” whilst “Walking By Myself” and “The Blues Is Alright” are filled with his characteristic runs and Blues licks, sometimes played at the speed of light.
His guitar playing is unmistakable but what isn’t talked about so much is his singing. He had an excellent voice, full of Soul and Blues and again, this is one of his best, vocally. Listen to him sing Al Kooper’s “I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know” and how he uses his voice as another instrument, complimenting the guitar and keyboards. He then, of course, delivers an extended solo which tears your heart out. He gives an almost throwaway ‘Thank you’ after it, as it were nothing at all.
The 2-disc Japanese package is well worth the investment. The CD is mastered using BSCD2, Sony’s own mastering process which gives every aspect of the recording more sparkle and warmth. The accompanying Blu-Ray of the entire show uses a LPCM 2.0 stereo soundtrack with optional Japanese subtitles for the spoken parts between songs. The picture quality is excellent, Gary’s strings sometimes catching the lights in the close-ups. Along with the four-leaf English insert, there an eight-page Japanese insert with liner notes, everything housed in a two-disc jewel case.
It stunned the Rock world when we lost Gary Moore. Undeniably one of the guitar greats, he was just fifty-eight years old when he died, leaving us a collection of recordings from his days with Thin Lizzy, Skid Row, Colosseum II, guest appearances and solo albums. The thing is, Gary just loved to play and even though that dreadful news came through over eleven years ago, thanks to his love of playing, more and more recordings keep emerging. Mainly, they are gigs. This is the latest and undoubtedly, one of the best.
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Track List (CD and Blu Ray)
Oh, Pretty Woman
Since I Met You Baby
Thirty Days (To Come Back Home)
I Love You More Than You’ll Ever Know
Don’t Believe A Word
Still Got The Blues
Walking By Myself
The Blues Is Alright
ALBUM
DAMIANO DAVID
FUNNY LITTLE FRIENDS
Sony Music International
Solo albums from band members, usually display their preferred musical tastes and the percentage of themselves that ends up forming the band’s sound. Their element, within the band, is set free, expanded upon and explored. Fans can usually relate in some way, how one of their idols, contributes to the whole. This is not the case with Funny Little Fears, the debut from Måneskin’s frontman, Damiano David. Fans are going to be surprised by this, expecting a genre of Rock but what he has released is an album of pure, brilliant, Pop.
A question only David can answer is if he has moved away from his comfort zone or more towards it with this album because these fourteen songs are a far cry from the Italian rockers music that catapulted him to fame. Either way, it doesn’t matter it’s a superb album that more than anything displays exactly what a great – and quite beautiful – voice he has. He also has a knack for a hook and knows what pleases the average music fan. It's catchy, fun, danceable, excellently produced and sonically satisfying.
His lyrics, as the album title suggests, are all about the things in his life that have got the better of him, that has no control of. We all have those times in our own lives; something else that we can relate to on the record. Broken hearts, mistakes, regrets, one would feel that it must have been cathartic to write and record this album but it’s not a doom and gloom record. David has taken solace, matching his feelings to music, making it simultaneously, uplifting and tragic. “Zombie Lady” and “Born With A Broken Heart” will stay in your head long after they have finished due to the hooks in the choruses but read the lyrics as a poem and they are dark laments. “Next Summer” is a lost love but he’s prepared to wait, to take her back when she’s ready. If that one is written from personal experience, it must have hurt badly. Again, it will stay with you long after you’ve stopped listening. Three examples but all fourteen are as good as each other.
Two, twenty-page booklets are in the Japanese edition, the English one and a monochrome Japanese with translated lyrics and liner notes. A first-press, limited edition, also includes a poster, body sticker, and 12-page colour photo book. Get in early if you want that, they won’t be in the shops long. The bonus track is a live version of the opening song. It’s powerful and gives us a hint of what is to come on his world tour in later this year.
Albums like this are rare these days. Great music, not over produced with lyrics to make you ponder your own life, David has created a showpiece.
Track List
Voices
Next Summer
Zombie Lady
The Bruise
Sick Of Myself
Angel
Tango
Born With A Broken Heart
Tangerine
Mars
The First Time
Perfect Life
Silverlines
Solitude (No One Understands Me)
*Voices - Live in New York (Bonus track for Japan)
Japan Tour Dates
27th Oct 2025 Tokyo Garden Theater
29th Oct 2025 Osaka Zepp Bayside