Customer Reviews

Wild Frontier

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In 1985, Gary went back to Ireland and played(for the first time since his teenage years) in Belfast. On Wild Frontier, his first studio album after that trip, Gary revisits his homeland in songs. This album was clearly born from his trip back home as many of the songs are about Ireland and even the music itself is steeped in his celtic roots.
The title track was originally intended to be sung by Phil Lynott(who also sang on two tracks on Gary's previous album, Run For Cover) but his untimely passing prevented that. The album itself is dedicated to Phil's memory and I think he would have loved the musical stories that are contained here.
The songs Over The Hills And Far Away and Thunder Rising are as much short stories as they are songs. They are stories of Ireland present(Over The Hills) and past(Thunder). The title track is a beautiful song obviously born from his love of his homeland. The Loner is an outstanding instrumental that really showcases Gary's style of play.
Added to this rerelease are the 12'' version of Friday On My Mind,an extended version of the Loner that was originally available on a limited Edition double lp version of Wild Frontier,as well as a live version of Out In The fields. Both versions of the cd feature the 12" versions of Wild Frontier and Over The Hills And Far Away.
The guitar playing this album is incredible. It is passionate and, at times, understated. It is also worth noting that Gary has rarely sounded as at home on the vocals as he does here. I think this albums shows his maturity as a singer as well as a guitarist.
Wild Frontier is an essential Gary Moore album that should be in the collection of any fan of his. This rerelease, with the bonus tracks, is superior to the original and must be recomended over the previous version.

So, I finally picked up a copy of this classic album. I literally haven't heard it since I owned the cassette version more than 15 years ago. This album is every bit as good as I remember, if not better. The guitar work is simply stellar and the songwriting is top-notch as there is not a bad song on this disc. "Wild Frontier" is a rarity in that the 12" versions are often better than the original album tracks.

The first time I heard this album I was a little disappointed as I was expecting something along the lines of "Run for cover". However over the years this album has grown on me and I think it is actually one of Mr. Moore's best. There are so many influences present but none more so then his irish heritage which is blended with his stylish guitar playing and music writing from the powerful "Over the hills" to the beautiful but sad "Johnny Boy".

He is a gifted musician and songwriter and this album illustrates why.

CD in perfect condition when it arrived and it arrived early. The music brought back many memories from along time past

"Wild Frontier" is Gary Moore's 6th studio album of the 80s, originally released in 1987. Yet another European hit, "Wild Frontier" continues in the style of its predecessor "Run for cover", mixing political/protestant hard rockers with party/glam metal tunes. In contrast to its predecessor which featured a list of session players along with two legends of rock, "Wild Frontier" relied strictly on three musicians; these are Gary on guitars and vocals, Neil Carter on keyboards and vocals and Bob Daisley on bass. Unfortunately "Wild Frontier" seems to feature drum programming instead of physical drum performance which is somewhat of a let down considering the great drummers that played on the previous releases and could have contributed on "Wild Frontier".

Never the less, one has to agree that "Wild Frontiers" is another slice of hard rock brilliance, outcome of the enviable musical talent of Moore. "Thunder rising" is one of the most devastating hard rockers ever, the mega-emotional "The loner", the impossibly epic "Over the hills and far away", the AOR-ish "Strangers in the darkness"; and of course "Wild Frontier" which carries-dare I say- the greatest melodic guitar line ever. From there onwards you get the heartbreaker "Take a little time", and equally enjoyable "Friday on my mind". You simply can not beat the choruses, the guitars, the harmonies and the lyricism on this album!

"Wild Frontier" was supported by an arena tour of Europe, solidifying Moore's status amongst the most popular hard rock acts in the continent. As before Gary delivered a classic album totally indicative of his song-writing and performing abilities; A genuine `80s rocker.

Great CD! I have not heard this since the 90's and forgot how good it was. Gary Moore is still in my top 10 favorite guitarists in the world!

AWESOME CD - every track fantastic - if you love Irish tinged music - even heavy guitar - this is a perfect CD

A great album from start to finish, and IMO Gary's last great hard rock album (After The War is good, but one could sense that his heart wasn't into this genre anymore). Gary was huge in '87, with (at least) 3 big singles in the title track, Over The Hills, and Friday On My Mind. Be sure to check out the Live At Isstadion video as well (not sure if it's out on dvd yet), which includes an amazing (and long!) version of The Loner.

When GM was with Thin Lizzy, they churned out some amazing music. I saw the "Black Rose" tour with TL at the Apollo Theater in Glasgow (the ULTIMATE venue to see any rock band in the 70s) Moore was simply amazing. This album, for me continues where he left off. The Celtic imagery and nuances that permeate this album define it for what it is. The sort of stuff that TL did brilliantly, songs like Emerald, Black Rose, on this album that style of music is taken to new levels with a passion. GM has taken on the Celtic Rock mantle passed to him bt Phil Lynott.

There is not one bad track on this album Listen to it with the volume at 10, and dont apologise - you are educating your neighbours! Favourite track is the instrumental "The Loner" -there are shades of "Parisienne Walkways" to this track - the guitar playing is something else, it really is in a class of its own. The guitar literally has its neck wrung to get some of these high notes. Buy it, play it, appreciate it. 5 stars dont do it justice.

THE WILD FRONTIER is another Gary Moore masterpiece. Many of the songs here have Irish-related themes, which may make them hard to understand, but if you eat enough foods rich in B-vitamins and omega-3 oils, and then listen VERY HARD, you can relate them to universal issues with which all of us can identify. In other words, THE WILD FRONTIER is an album that will give you what you want, if you let it give you what you need.