Great Metal Albums of 1984: Gary Moore- Victims of the Future

 

UK Album Cover

North American Album Cover

Gary Moore as a solo artist didn't enter my radar until 1986 when I went over to England. Before that and I am ashamed of my naivety at the time, I only knew Gary as the guitarist who used to be in Thin Lizzy. Fortunately, I got a full course in the music of Gary Moore when I did get there thanks to a friend who was a big fan. As a result I got to hear lots of his albums including this one, "Victims of the Future" and I can say that my education in this subject has been top notch. Thirty years on, I have to say a special thanks to Kieran Devlin for being my teacher.

My first impressions of "Victims of the Future" as with many Gary Moore albums, now as it was then, was "He can really play a guitar." His trademark solos permeate this album and now I am tempted to go into a rant as to how underrated he has been.  That might be true in North American terms but he has always been considered one of the greats here in Britain and of course his native Ireland. Just listen to "Shapes of Things" because that is in my opinion, his best guitar work on the album.

Many of the songs here are straight forward rock anthems. My personal favourite is "Teenage Idol" because that one comes out and hits me in the face the most. "Murder in the Skies" has a very cool guitar intro where he rips up the chords before the meat of the song comes pounding through. A look at history reveals that Gary wrote the song in protest of the Soviets shooting down Korean airline 007 in 1983. The same can be said for "The Devil in Her Heart" which is only on the US release. This is a good rocking song so I don't know why it's omitted from the UK version. "Law of the Jungle" is another exemplary rocker and the way it fades out makes it a great closer but he does go a little mellow with "Empty Rooms." You can call it a ballad but he lays down some good guitar work on it.

Not only does Gary shine on "Victims of the Future," he enlists some great musicians. Ian Paice of Deep Purple fame plays drums on half the tracks and Bob Daisley who played with Ozzy provides the bass work on two. Noddy Holder of Slade steps in to provide backing vocals on one song. The others who support may not be as recognized but they still do a magnificent job. Therefore, the album has all one needs to be great, good vocals, a steady rhythm section and of course, Gary's guitar solos.

Track Listing (UK)

1. Victims of the Future
2. Teenage Idol
3. Shapes of Things
4. Empty Rooms
5. Murder in the Skies
6. Hold Onto Love
7. All I Want
8. Law of the Jungle

Track Listing (US)

1. Victims of the Future
2. Teenage Idol
3. Devil in Her Heart
4. Empty Rooms
5. All I Want (cassette only)
6.  Shapes of Things
7. Murder in the Skies
8. Hold Onto Love
9. Law of the Jungle

Gary Moore

Gary Moore- guitars, vocals

Neil Murray- bass on tracks 1,3,7 & 8

Mo Foster- bass on tracks 4 & 6

Bob Daisley- bas on tracks 2 & 5

Ian Paice- drums on tracks 1,3,4 & 8

Bobby 'Prime Time' Chouinard- drums on tracks 2,5,6 & 7

Neil Carter- keyboards

Noddy Holder- backing vocals on "Shapes of Things"

So thirty-one years on, I have to say "thank you Kieran" for introducing me to Gary Moore and playing his albums for me, "Victims of the Future" included among them.

Next Post: Since I'm in a Gary Moore mood, it will be his 1984 live album, "We Want Moore."

To buy Rock And Roll Children, email me at: tobychainsaw@hotmail.com