Wild Frontier

This is the album on which Gary Moore, from Belfast, took Irish melody as his direct subject. It was produced by Peter Collins, Pete Smith, James Barton and Moore himself, and Virgin/10 Records released it in 1987. The record is dedicated to Phil Lynott, his colleague in Thin Lizzy, who died on 4 January 1986. "Over the Hills and Far Away", the title track and "Johnny Boy" take Ireland as their subject, and Paddy Moloney and other members of the Chieftains play on it. That it uses no live drums at all, the whole record being programmed, was argued about at the time. The sound of it is that contrast: a cold surface with a raw guitar and Irish melody laid over it. It reached number one in Finland and Norway and number 8 in the UK. The eight tracks listed are the LP's; the CD adds two twelve-inch versions and "Crying in the Shadows", and the player on this page is that eleven-track version.