I dunno why, maybe because I'm killing time before I have to leave for work, but the best Irish songwriter has me thinking about Irish guitarists.
I reckon it has to be either Gary Moore or Rory Gallagher.
I dunno why, maybe because I'm killing time before I have to leave for work, but the best Irish songwriter has me thinking about Irish guitarists.
I reckon it has to be either Gary Moore or Rory Gallagher.
Rory would be my pick.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Rory for me, I met him in a pub in London once, lovely unassuming guy. Irish Tour is a blistering live album, every collection should have a copy.
Vivian Campbell
As much as I like Gary Moore, I'd have to put Rory above him just for the purity in his playing.
"The White Zone is for loading and unloading only. If you got to load or unload go to the White Zone!"
Eric Bell was the best Lizzy guitarist so I guess that makes him better than Gary Moore!
Vincent McCusker
First player that sprung to mind was Rory Gallagher. I stick to that.
An easy one, Rory Gallagher of course!
I vote for Rory, too. Met him at the Marriott in Providence (I was a busboy) in 1977. Heck of a nice guy. He seem surprised that anyone recognized him.
Lou
Looking forward to my day in court.
Both the late Gary Moore and the late Rory Gallagher deserve to be ranked among the best blues guitarists of all time. I'd give the nod to Rory, because his playing was jaw-dropping.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
I will break with the consensus and go with Gary Moore.
Not only was he a great blues man, he could step into a fusion setting and play with the best of them.
And if there were a god, I think it very unlikely that he would have such an uneasy vanity as to be offended by those who doubt His existence - Russell
Gary Moore
I've got a funny Gary Moore story to share.
In the late 80s I worked at the local music shop in Greenwich Ct.
There were five guitar teachers working there during that time period, including myself.
We always played all the guitars that came and went in the store.
There was one puke green Gibson Melody Maker that hung from the rack forever.
We all hated the thing.
It was ugly, dried out, and was virtually unplayable due to the super high action.
Anyway, one slow Saturday afternoon Gary Moore walks into the shop, takes the Melody Maker off the rack, and sits down and plugs it in.
He then proceeds to level all the competition in the store with some scary beautiful rock shredding.
Without barely saying a word he bought, then walked out with that thing.
A very humbling experience to say the least.
no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone
Declan Sinnott
Fusion, schmoosion! He also made a string of great hard rock albums in the 80's, though I think he said got drawn in that direction a lot more than he actually wanted to, due to the usual managerial and record company pressures. Everyone keeps talking Gary's blues records, but I thought G-Force, Rockin' Every Night, and Victims Of The Future were all awesome records. There's also a great concert video/documentary that was put out in the mid 80's, called Emerald Aisles, which has this great extended version of Shapes Of Thing where he just wails. And he does most of it on what appears to be a mostly stock Stratocaster.
Interestingly, I think the same thing happened to Rory for awhile, too, in the mid 70's. There were a couple records that, while still very bluesy, sounded a bit crunchier than his earlier albums. I think it was Calling Card and Against The Grain are the ones I'm thinking of. But I think he nipped it in the bud a lot faster than Gary did.
Mark O'Leary
"please do not understand me too quickly"-andre gide
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