Geoff Moore - Familiar Stranger: The Early Works Of Geoff Moore

Saturday 1st February 1997
Geoff Moore - Familiar Stranger: The Early Works Of Geoff Moore
Geoff Moore - Familiar Stranger: The Early Works Of Geoff Moore

STYLE: Rock
RATING 7 7 7 7 7 7 7
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 4083-5108
LABEL: Benson 8441843082
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Peter Smith

Interesting guy, Geoff Moore. At the beginning of the '80s he turned his back on the guarantee of a fast track executive career in the family steel business to proclaim the Gospel in song. In the early days Geoff was inspired and influenced by Larry Norman and it is fitting that this retrospective album, charting his early career from '84 to '87, should kick off with a searing cover version of the Larry Norman classic "Why Should The Devil Have All The Good Music" which he later covered again, not quite as effectively in the '90s. Incidentally, Larry's rock gospel war horse was the first song Geoff sang in front of an audience and I would say he does it more than justice. It contains that most quotable line, "Jesus is the Rock and he rolled my blues away." The album contains a rich assortment and the overall sound is like Bruce Springsteen meets Cliff Richard. Sure, like many other collections in this genre it contains its fair share of musical cliches but I would say that's as much a strength as a weakness and some of the guitar work is quite inspired. The strongest track is "Where Are The Other Nine?", based on the healing of the 10 lepers.

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Reader Comments

Posted by Don in state of Delaware @ 18:16 on Jun 4 2011

This is a nice collection of one off ccm's top artists.
"Why Should the Devil Have All the Good Music?" from 1985, starts the 12 songset: he duets with the song-
writer Larry Norman. I personally have never liked this song; because the devil in fact DOES NOT HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC! I have always loved his 1984 debut song "Where are the Other Nine?"; great ccm song! I am glad this collection included the remake of ccm pioneer Randy Matthew's "Didn't He". "Build the House" another top fave from his debut lp; this is top classic ccm! thanks Geoff! "Open Your Eyes" is for here and now!!"He's Coming Again!- His Time Is At Hand!"Another song from his 1984 debut closes the set, the soft and tender "One Heart". GOD Bless!-Don



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