In the pantheon of rock guitar players Gary Moore quite unfathomably remains outside of its upper echelons. I struggle to think of a more accomplished guitarist across so many different disciplines of music. From rock to hard-rock, jazz fusion, blues and Irish-folk, he demonstrated a remarkable understanding of their individual styles and nuances and with the blues in particular brought it back into the mainstream throughout the 90s quite unlike anyone else.

Moore got his big break joining Thin Lizzy briefly after the departure of Eric Bell and following his work with Skid Row in the late 60s. He would go on to demonstrate his dexterity playing jazz fusion with the influential group Colosseum 2 in 1975. But it was clear Moore was never truly the type to stay within the confines of a band, he was a band leader and this was clearly evident very early on with The Gary Moore Band and this album, Grinding Stone.

Released in 1973, it was an eclectic mix of blues, jazz-fusion and rock, no one track the same. From the keyboard dominated The Energy Dance to the pure blues of Boogie My Way Back Home, the funky title track with the wonderful wah-wah pedal solo to the AOR inspired Time to Heal it showcased Moore’s unique grasp of so many styles at such an early age.

All of the songs on the album were written by Moore, the mainstay of the group was Moore on guitar and vocals, Pearse Kelly on drums and John Curtis on bass with Jan Schellhaas (keyboards) Frank Boylan (bass) and Philip Donnelly (rhythm guitar) also contributing to the album.

It’s not a standout album in comparison to his other works but it perfectly illustrates that sense of what was to come. He was unquestionably the finest guitarist in Thin Lizzy and had his brief reunion with Phil Lynott not ended so tragically then we can only wonder what might have been.