1153. Gary Moore / Wild Frontier. 1987. 4/5

In many ways it is somewhat surprising that an excellent Irish guitarist/vocalist that was not known for sticking around in the same situation for very long could forge a successful and lauded career, especially in the 1980’s where pop music reigned supreme for much of the decade and rarely allowed other artists to get much of a look in. But Gary Moore, guitar virtuoso and mostly leader of his own solo project for much of that decade, was one who found a way to slip through those gaps. And without doubt, regarding commercial success and the height of his performing profile, it was his sixth studio album that brought him to his peak, at least when it came to his hard rock music before the onset of his refurbished career in the blues.

Gary Moore’s career as an artist had been well over a decade old by the time we reached the mid-1980’s. Having played in the Irish blues band Skid Row where he first met Phil Lynott, he then had a couple of stints in Lynott’s next band Thin Lizzy. In and around all of this he forged a solo career, with several albums through the early 1980’s that all kept building upon each other, improving as they went. Each album saw a refinement in the songs, and perhaps just as much in Gary’s vocals.
Prior to the writing and recording of “Wild Frontier”, Gary had travelled back to his native Belfast in Northern Ireland, the first time in many years he had returned to his place of birth. There seems little doubt that this trip inspired the writing for this album. The lyrical content of many of the songs are about his home country, and the music itself has its roots in his celtic background.
For the album, Gary once again handles all of the lead vocals, and of course all of the guitars, lead, rhythm and acoustic. He is again joined by his right hand man Neil Carter, who contributes the keyboards along with backing vocals. Neil was very much an important part of Gary’s liv performances during this time, and especially on the tour that followed this album. Coming in on bass guitar for the album was the legendary Bob Daisley, who at this time was on one of several hiatuses from Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Daisley’s bass lines always seem to dominate the songs he plays, though he did not contribute to any of the writing of the album.
Perhaps the one part of this album that nags me is the fact that the drums are all programmed, one of those quirks of the 1980’s that has never sat well with me. Obviously once on tour a ‘real drummer’ was hired to play, who ended up being the excellent Eric Singer, but why would you use a drum machine for the album? Yes, it probably saved time and it probably saved money, but a couple of the songs, mostly notably for me the opening track, are the lesser for not having someone at the back giving the real skins a thorough thumping.

When it comes to opening tracks on albums, the necessity and desire is that you have a track that immediately grabs the attention of the listener and drags them in. And I love the opening of “Over the Hills and Far Away” for just that reason. A great drumrolling beginning before Gary recites the opening stanza, and then into the guitar riff. Not only a great start, but a terrific song, one of my absolute favourite Gary Moore songs. Daisley’s bass line throughout is great, and the moment towards the end when the music stops and the vocalists harmonise without it, is just perfect. A brilliant start.
This is followed up by the excellent title track “Wild Frontier” and typical Moore rock track “Take a Little Time”. “Wild Frontier” was the second single from the album, sitting in the middle ground tempo wise, and focusing lyrically on his homeland, the inspiration received from his trip back home. Another great track. “Take a Little Time” rushes a long at a much faster tempo, filled with a great mix of guitar riff and keyboard infusion, with Moore’s vocals in his higher register spitting out their venom. This is an overlooked song in Moore’s catalogue, one that I thing is a lot better than it is often given credit for.
“The Loner” is a song that was originally recorded by Cozy Powell on is solo album “Over the Top”, ironically an album where Gary played on a song – but not this one. Moore heavy improvised and changed the structure of this instrumental for this album, something that becomes very clear if you listen to the two versions. Here Gary plays like only Gary can, and he has absolutely made this his song.
The cover of the Easybeats’ “Friday on My Mind” was a real surprise when I first got the album, just so unexpected. And I thought it was great, and of course it became the anthem for our final year of high school. But I’ve always thought it just overused Carter’s synth and keyboard in this version. The song lends itself to a really heavy guitar and drum combo, but here Moore and his band have gone for a synth heavy version, perhaps in the main to get that elusive radio airplay in an era when synth heavy tracks were gaining that. “Strangers in the Darkness” dials back everything from what has come before it, moving closer towards the soft rock ballad that is particularly comfortable. This is then solved by the rollicking “Thunder Rising”, another song that lyrically is based on a take from his homeland, and better utilises Moore’s best guitar attributes. Closing out the album is “Johnny Boy”, which I’ve always felt is just Gary’s version of the old classic “Danny Boy”… but you know… I could be wrong…

In retrospect, this album has a lot of things going for it in regards to me loving it. It is another of those magical albums released in year of 1987, my final year of high school, where I have so many great memories of that time that are always brought to the forefront by the albums of that era.
This was the first new album the Moore released after I had discovered him and his music the previous year, so it struck a chord at the time because of that as well. And for me at the time it wasn’t only his marvellous guitaring that sucked me in, it was his vocals as well that I felt were so wonderful.
When this was released, the album stuck quite firmly and for a long time on my cassette player because of the strategic release of the singles. The video for “Over the Hills and Far Away” was on all the late night music video programs at the start of the year – Rage on ABC, MTV on 9 and NightShift on 10 – followed by “Wild Frontier” In April and May, and then “Friday on My Mind” midway through the year, which meant I was always going back to listen to the album because I heard these songs. I still vividly remember being at parties at friend’s houses late on Saturday nights, or at other friend’s houses watching movies until those music video shows came on, and watching these songs videos come on and singing them loud and proud.
So for me, even on reflection now, I think this is a top shelf album. The songs are still strong, both lyrically and musically. Not every song here is a favourite, but the strength of the album overall more than holds its own. I love those three singles I mentioned, and “Take a Little Time” and “Thunder Rising” are also very good songs.

It’s a different album from Moore’s other releases. They all have the style of the time they were written and recorded, and “Wild Frontier” definitely allows Neil Carter to push his synths a little louder into the mix as was the way of rock music at the time. And as a result, in some ways it may sound a little dated, especially to those who did not grow up in the era it was released. I certainly don’t try to hide from the accusation of bias in this regard, because it is an album of that time that is firmly embedded in my psyche. Despite that, and trying to put that aside, there is still plenty here for the casual fan of Gary Moore, some of his best work, and a couple of songs that survive beyond his own legend.