We are told:
Gary Moore’s Blues and Beyond, a remarkable collection of his powerful and emotive blues studio recordings. Blues and Beyond is released on double CD, 4 LP and as a box set, which includes unreleased live recordings and the official Gary Moore biography I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow written by Harry Shapiro.
Best known for his evocative solo hits, Parisienne Walkways and Still Got the Blues (live versions feature in this set), and his on/off membership of Thin Lizzy, Gary Moore’s solo career comprises over twenty albums. Throughout the 1980s, Gary moved up the rock hierarchy, but turned his back on what he regarded as the empty flash of metal and reverted to his heart music – the blues – where ironically he scored his biggest commercial success through his 1990s and 2000s blues albums.
As well as running his own bands, during a successful solo career, Gary mixed with the best that rock and blues could offer, playing live and on record with George Harrison, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker, Greg Lake, BB King, Albert King, Albert Collins and many others. Gary was also the guitarist many looked up to, not just for the terrifying speed of his fretwork, but for the passion, fire and honesty in his playing.
Contents:
2 x CD: Bringing together the cream of Gary Moore’s powerful and emotive blues studio recordings, this digipack format is the perfect Gary Moore blues collection.
The 4 x LP counterpart format is housed in an awesome double gatefold “AxeWax” vinyl and features a number of Gary Moore’s blues studio recordings, most of which have never appeared on vinyl.
Box Set: comprises the blues studio recordings on 2 CDs plus a further 2 CDs of newly mixed and mastered live concert recordings, with two previously unheard song versions. This is the first time that this concert has been available, anywhere. Also included, is the brand new book I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow, which offers a unique insight into the world of Gary Moore. This full length Gary Moore-authorised biography is new, unreleased and all you need to know about the man behind the guitar. This box is the ultimate collection of Gary Moore’s blues output and documents the evolution of a legend.
Three years in the making, I Can’t Wait Until Tomorrow is the official Gary Moore biography written by acclaimed music writer Harry Shapiro, who was given exclusive access to Gary’s family, friends and musicians.
Spanning Gary’s five decades as a professional musician, the story begins with his early, troubled life in Belfast which he dealt with by honing his extraordinary talent in private, becoming recognised as one of the city’s best guitarists even while still at school. Leaving home at 16, the guitar prodigy began a tumultuous career first in Skid Row then, aged only 19, an abortive attempt at running his own band and then on through the Seventies switching with consummate ease between the hard rock of Thin Lizzy and the complex jazz rock of Jon Hiseman’s Colosseum II.
But even as a kid, Gary was telling his friends that he always wanted to be the frontman, never a guitar for hire. His solo career finally took off in 1979 with the chart single “Parisienne Walkways”. Throughout the 1980s, Gary moved up the rock hierarchy, but turned his back on what he regarded as the empty flash of metal and reverted to his heart music – the blues – where ironically he scored his biggest commercial success with the 1990 album, Still Got The Blues, selling over 3 million copies worldwide.
Gary never found life easy. He had demons to battle, could be his own worst enemy and made quite a few extra ones on the way. But when he suddenly died in 2011, the outpourings of admiration and grief from fellow musicians and fans around the world was heartfelt. As Harry Shapiro says “I would never have written a simpering hagiography. Hopefully this account will come across as honest as the man himself”.
This is the ultimate collection of Gary Moore’s blues output and documents the evolution of a legend.
