"Anyone who's ever questioned the suitability of a Squier Strat for the upper echelons of guitar goddery, needs to listen to this attacking riot of tonal colour."
When Gary Moore dumped heavy metal at the end of the 1980s, and ripped into a blistering, firebrand explosion of blues, there were two camps of observer. In camp one, those who said: "Whoa! Where the Hell did that come from???!"… And in camp two, those who said: "Jeff Healey."
If you listen to Confidence Man on Healey's 1988 debut album - See The Light - you hear an almost perfectly mapped template for what became Moore's trademark blues repertoire a short time later. Not to detract in any way from Gary Moore. But would he have found that exciting new territory without the groundwork of Jeff Healey? Play the whole of See The Light, and you'll find it very hard to imagine that Moore's seismic shift in style wasn't pretty singularly inspired by this amazing album - especially given the timing of the events.
See The Light is not only a scorching document of the late 'eighties rebirth of blues - it's also a really interesting mine of trivia. For starters, there are some highly notable additions to Healey's own bass/drums backing duo of Joe Rockman and Tom Stephen. Original Heartbreakers keyboardist Benmont Tench appears on several songs. I can sense your eyebrows raising already. Also featured are the eminent percussionist Bobbye Hall, and a decidely luminous backing vocal duo of Separate Lives chart-topper Marilyn Martin and former Eagle Timothy B Schmit… And assisting on guitar, early 'eighties Robert Plant associate Robbie Blunt. For a group that had only formed in December 1985, that was some guest list by 1988.