Blues or rock, Moore can flat-out play

by Jim Trageser
This review first appeared in the July 7, 1995 issue of the North County Blade-Citizen (now North County Times).

Guitar phenom Ian Moore's second full album (he also issued a live EP last summer) shows the Austin blues rocker moving closer to the rock side of things than blues. There are more elements of Hendrix on "Modernday Folklore" than on his 1993 debut, more reminders of the Allman Brothers. And one song, "Monday Afternoon," is positively Beatlesque, right down to Moore's John Lennon falsetto and the psychedelic guitar solo.

But above it all – swooping, soaring, diving, flying – is Moore's guitar. No matter the song style, Moore's fresh solos and imaginative licks set his music apart and make it instantly identifiable. He manages to achieve both a defining style and sound and yet to make every solo utterly unique.

On "You'll Be Gone," Moore even grabs a Dobro and show he can play the blues as well as anyone when he has a mind to.