Head Starts and Happy Endings
So what Gary Moore albums open with great tracks? Well, surprisingly not that many. Throughout his catalogue, I've found it's often not till the album has got a few tracks in that it really starts to get good. Of course, that's strictly personal taste, but even one my favourites of his, “Corridors of power”, though it starts on a decent track, has far better songs waiting once you get past that.
So in the end I can only really find four, starting with the title track to his second (or, depending on your view, first) album, "Back on the streets"
then the title (and opening) track to 1985's “Run for cover”
and then the next album up, 1987's “Wild frontier”, which opens with the brilliant “Over the hills and far away”.
and finishing with the opener, and again title track, to 1989's "After the war".
(Note: I would like to make it clear that I don't necessarily think the opening tracks from other albums are terrible, just that they're not the powerful or effective openers I like to hear, tracks that make you think this album is going to be great, that's all.)
We do much better with
Gary's albums generally tend to close on really strong, powerful and often emotional tracks.
We return to “Back on the streets”, his second album (and first released under his own name), which we would have to, of course, as it closes on the classic “Parisienne walkways”, with the late Phil Lynott on vocals.
There's a strong finish too for “Corridors of power”, with the epic “I can't wait until tomorrow”.
And the haunting “Rest in peace” closes “Dirty fingers”. Three for three so far.
“Victims of the future” spoils the progression. “Law of the jungle” is not a terrible song, but I definitely wouldn't consider it a strong closer. Which brings us to “Run for cover” again, which has a really nice little laidback closer, “Listen to your heartbeat”.
Then “Wild frontier”, like its predecessor, opens
and closes strongly, with the emotional “Crying in the shadows”.
“After the war” also has a stong closer, in “Blood of emeralds”.
I have to discount “Still got the blues”, as most of the tracks, including the closer, are covers, and I just don't find “Stop messin' around” a particularly good closing track, however the next album, “After hours”, leaves us with the melancholic “Nothing's the same”.
I would like to include “Dark days in Paradise”, but although technically the closer, there's only seconds between “Business as usual” and the disappointing, “hidden” title track, so I have to see that as being the closer, and it's very weak. “Back to the blues” though has a good closer in “Drowning in tears”
and “Power of the blues” has the powerful “Torn inside” to finish it,
while “Old new ballads blues” has the great “I'll play the blues for you”. This in fairness is not Gary's own song, but he does a great job with it and it's a fitting closer.
“Close as you get” ends on the dobro-played “Sundown”, which though it's also a cover is really a great song
and of course the last ever studio song played by Gary, the closer to his final album, “Bad for you baby”, we had to include “Trouble ain't far behind.”