Old, New, Ballads, Blues is the fifteenth solo album by Northern Irish blues guitarist and vocalist Gary Moore, released on May 6, 2006, via Eagle Records. The title is both literal and programmatic: as Rocknworld observes, the album delivers exactly what it promises — five new original compositions alongside five reworkings of older material, with the ballads shading consistently into blues territory. The album was recorded with a close-knit ensemble including Jonathan Noyce on bass, Darren Mooney on drums, and Don Airey on keyboards, with Airey also arranging the brass section that lends additional texture to several tracks. The covers are particularly well-chosen: Elmore James's "Done Somebody Wrong," Willie Dixon's "You Know My Love," and a notably slower, darker reworking of Otis Rush's "All Your Love" — the song that, by Moore's own account, first drew him toward the blues when he heard it on John Mayall's Bluesbreakers Beano album as a teenager. The album also revisits Moore's own "Midnight Blues" from his landmark 1990 album Still Got the Blues, now reinterpreted with fresh emotional weight.Among the new originals, standouts include the soulful ballad "Gonna Rain Today," the country-tinged "No Reason to Cry," the driving "Ain't Nobody," and the instrumental "Cut It Out," a mid-tempo blues-rock showcase for Moore's instantly recognizable sustain and expressive phrasing. Sea of Tranquility singles out "You Know My Love," "Gonna Rain Today," and "No Reason to Cry" as highlights, noting that Moore's vocals on the record rank among his best since Dark Days in Paradise. Critical reception was generally positive, with reviewers praising Moore's emotional authenticity and signature tone while noting that the album's pacing can occasionally lose momentum across its 55-minute runtime. The album has since been reissued on double vinyl by BMG as part of a series revisiting Moore's later blues period, bringing renewed attention to what remains a rich and emotionally generous entry in his catalog.
