Vinnie Moore is one of the more underrated axe-slingers in the instrumental rock guitar world. Probably best known for his 1991 track "Meltdown" (from the album of the same name), Moore seemed to inexplicably disappear from the scene after that album. Then, five years later, in 1996, he returned with a very good disc appropriately entitled, Out Of Nowhere. That CD is a personal favorite of mine, particularly for the track entitled "She's Only Sleeping," which Moore wrote for his Grandmother who passed away in 1992. It is one of the most emotional instrumental guitar pieces I have ever heard, and I have heard a lot of instrumental guitar! After a few more years, Moore returned to Shrapnel Records (his original label) with 1999's studio album, The Maze, which is another CD that should be in any instrumental guitar fan's collection.

This brings us to the CD we're reviewing. Live! is comprised of recordings made in 1999 while Moore was touring as the opening act for Michael Schenker. There are 12 tracks on the CD: 5 are from Moore's latest studio CD, The Maze; 3 are from the under-appreciated Out Of Nowhere; 2 are from Meltdown (yes, "Meltdown" is one of the tracks); 1 is from Moore's first album, Mind's Eye. Interestingly, there are no tracks from the Time Odyssey album.

All of the tracks on Live! are well-executed and faithful to the studio originals. I'd love to see a Vinnie Moore show in-person, because he obviously takes a lot of pride in his songs and doesn't just hand the audience half-hearted, half-assed renditions of them. Highlights on Live! include "She's Only Sleeping" (the one written for Moore's grandmother), the groove-backed, complex "Cryptic Dreams," the Latin number "Never Been To Barcelona," the jamming, playful "Vinman's Brew," and, of course, the classic "Meltdown."

A word about the production: While the quality of the recording is excellent (were it not for the occasional crowd noise, you'd never know it was a live album), there is an annoying pause between each track which ruins the feeling of continuity a live show has. I know the album was pieced together from recordings of two different shows, but judicious use of some fade-outs could have helped here.

I'd recommend this CD for the die-hard Vinnie Moore fan, and for those seeking a one-disc introduction to his work. Those who own The Maze and Out of Nowhere already own most of the tracks on Live!, so unless they want the couple of tracks from the out-of-print Meltdown CD, they might want to spend the money on Mind's Eye or Time Odyssey instead. Overall, though, this is a solid collection of songs and a well-produced (except for the between-track pauses) live album!

Reviewed by Shredfest

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