If ever the word “journeyman” was coined for one musician, then it was surely minted for Gary Moore. Throughout a diverse career he turned his talents to the blues, jazz fusion, prog, hard rock and heavy metal, and it was testament to his ability that he was at home in any company. When he released Still Got The Blues in 1990, there was a feeling that he’d come full-circle and returned to his roots, and while a restless spirit found him dallying with experimental pop in the late ‘90s, the blues always called him back. Released in 2006, Old New Ballads Blues found Gary firmly ensconced within his natural habitat, serving up ten tracks that did exactly what it said on the sleeve.

The album’s opening couplet are two covers from the blues’ rich tapestry; firstly, a reworking of Elmore James’ reworking of Eddie Kirkland’s ‘I Must Have Done Somebody Wrong’. Although Gary’s version is more in tune with James’ rendering (hence the snappier title ‘Done Somebody Wrong’), Gary’s wise enough to stamp his own personality on proceedings, and that he does with a size nine boot. While Gary could never be called generic, he certainly has a unique tone and no matter in what guise he appears, his playing is (nearly) always recognisable and when the muscular riff that introduces ‘Done Somebody Wrong’ bursts from the speakers, it could only be Gary Moore playing those strings. One of three covers on this album, ‘Done Somebody Wrong’ falls into the Old category, yet Gary drags it (kicking and screaming) into the twenty-first century with a reading that respects the original whilst adding a modern twist. A similar trick is performed on the following ‘You Know My Love’, a cover of the Willie Dixon standard that finds Gary offering an emotive reading that’s given added weight thanks to the thick and lustrous production that sounds as if Gary’s strings have been marinated in honey. The third and final cover is Otis Rush’s ‘All Your Love’ and benefits from the same approach; like all great guitarists, Gary understands that it’s not always what you play but what you don’t. Music, and the blues especially, is about leaving space for the listener to infer their own meaning, and these three songs (and the album in general) afford plenty of opportunity for that, and the overarching feeling is intimate, as if Gary and band are performing in your living room.

What really shines through from the remaining tracks is the quality of Gary’s songwriting; self-penned songs such as ‘Flesh & Blood’ and the epic ‘No Reason To Cry’ easily hold their own amongst the covers, and carry more emotional weight because Gary was more involved in their construction. That distance Gary puts between himself and his work becomes apparent on ‘Cut It Out’, an instrumental that’s more expressive sans vocals and was exactly the right call for the song and the fretwork fireworks speak in a way that words never could. Laid back and tinged with cigarette smoke ‘Midnight Blues’ is a reworked version of a cut that appeared on the aforementioned Still Got The Blues and time hasn’t dulled its charms.

Something Old, something New, some Ballads and the Blues, this is an album that found Gary renewing his vows with the blues, and on the strength of Old New Ballads Blues, this was a marriage made in heaven.

• Old New Ballads Blues is released via BMG Records on 24th April 2016.

Track List:

1. Done Somebody Wrong

2. You Know My Love

3. Midnight Blues (2006)

4. Ain’t Nobody

5. Gonna Rain Today

6. All Your Love (2006)

7. Flesh & Blood

8. Cut It Out

9. No reason To Cry

10. I’ll Play The Blues For You