Feature Photo courtesy of Vinnie Moore
The virtuoso guitar boom of the late ’80s was an invigorating time. And while many have come and gone, Vinnie Moore is not still standing but thriving. Hailing from the East Coast, at 20, Moore followed his dreams to the West Coast, hooking on with Vicious Rumors for their 1985 album, Soldiers of The Night. After one album, Moore decided to try his hand as a solo artist with the release of his debut album, 1986’s Mind’s Eye, which established Moore as a premier guitarist. Moreover, the follow-up, 1988’s Time Odyssey, needed more to dispel that notion.
As Moore trekked into the ’90s, his career flourished while others floundered, as he worked with Alice Cooper for 1991’s Hey Stoopid, and shredded solos across songs like “Hurricane Years” and “Dirty Dreams.” But his Alice Cooper stint didn’t last, and instead, Moore resumed his solo career, recording Meltdown (1991), Out of Nowhere (1996), The Maze (1999), and Defying Gravity (2001) before joining UFO in 2003.
Though it was to be a mere pitstop, Moore’s time in UFO turned into a still-running relationship, which has seen Moore become one of UFO’s longest-tenured guitarists and an integral member. In addition to six critically acclaimed albums with UFO, Moore has released four more solo efforts, To the Core (2009), Aerial Visions (2015), Soul Shifter (2019), and Double Exposure (2022), and remains entrenched in the hard rock and heavy metal scene.
Taking a break from promoting his latest record, the stunning Double Exposure, Vinnie Moore dialed in with ClassicRockHistory.com to give the rundown on the ten albums that changed his life.
# 10 – Larry Carlton, aka Room 335 – Larry Carlton (1978)
This was an important record for me, and I learned so much from Larry. His phrasing is amazing and influenced me a lot. I learned many of these songs and would play along with the record. His playing is so expressive and emotional, and he could fire it up when he wanted to, like he did on “Point It Up.”
There is some insane playing on that. When I learned his parts, I was also learning about music, as it usually wasn’t just your standard rock licks—much more going on harmonically. He had a cool way of playing through triads over chords, which was a big influence on me. The guitar tone is great, too—such a tasteful player. It’s a must-hear for any guitarist. I’m so glad I heard this when I was learning guitar.
# 9 – We Sold Our Soul for Rock ‘n’ Roll – Black Sabbath (1976)
Fu*kin’ Tony Iommi is the king of heavy riffs. This is a compilation record, but ironically, I heard this before the regular Sabbath releases. I played “Paranoid” in the first band I was ever in, and, of course, the “Iron Man” riff was one of the first things I learned on guitar. There are so many powerful badass riffs on this, and Iommi is the master of that.
I remember repeatedly rewinding a cassette tape to learn “Snowblind.” Like Ritchie Blackmore, Iommi had a gift for coming up with monstrous but catchy riffs, but he was usually more on the heavy metal side. His parts were often somewhat playable, making them even more appealing. There is a guitar solo called “Warning” on the original release, and I was pissed off when I bought the CD, and it wasn’t there. I read somewhere that they had to exclude it because there wasn’t enough space on the disc. Blasphemy!
Amongst all the heaviness, you have “Changes,” which is more of a slow song and one of my favorites on the album. I love that song. The first time you put this on your turntable, hear the thunderstorm, the thunderous guitar come in, and then Ozzy’s eerie vocals, there was no turning back. There’s no way to ever unhear that. I don’t really need to say anymore because everyone already knows how powerful this stuff is. It’s just fu*kin’ great.
# 8 – Queen II – Queen (1974)
I was a Queen freak when I was a kid. The first album I heard was A Night at The Opera, and I eventually got everything they released. Sheer Heart Attack is an incredible record, just like all their stuff, but Queen II was magical. There seemed to be no limit to Freddie [Mercury]’s creativity. He wrote so many great and unique things. His music didn’t sound like anything else. There was an element of prog rock, yet Queen didn’t sound like any other prog band. They sounded only like Queen.
They were quirky, but you could just latch on to their highly memorable songs. On top of it, you have Brian [May]’s awesome harmony parts and his one-of-a-kind guitar tone. And then the great vocal harmonies are just so killer. “March of the Black Queen” and “Ogre Battle” were my favorites. And “Nevermore” is a beautiful ballad that I love. Every song on this album is great.
I usually am not very good at remembering song lyrics, but I knew every word on this and most of the lyrics on their other records. Though I can’t say I knew what they all meant, I can write them all again before I die. Queen was way ahead of their time, and to this day, I haven’t heard anyone who sounds like them. They’re such an inspiration, and really, how lucky were we to have them when we were growing up?
# 7 – Moonflower – Santana (1977)
I think the first album I ever heard by Santana was Abraxas, and “Samba Pa Ti” immediately floored me. I remember the first time I ever heard it was during a drive, and I know exactly where I was and who I was with at the time. A little later, I got Moonflower, and that was quite a big inspiration.
I have always loved Carlos [Santana] ‘s instrumental softer songs like “Samba Pa Ti” and Moonflower had “Europa” and “Flor d’Luna (Moonflower),” which are also in this style. Carlos’s playing has always been so expressive and has so much feel. I love his use of dynamics and how he pulls you in gently and then eventually takes you to the mountaintop.
There are so many goosebump moments. This stuff spoke to me in a huge way, and I went on to write quite a few of my songs with a slow, softer vibe, which I guess came to be called ballads. In fact, I wrote a song called “Brother Carlos” for my Soul Shifter record, which is a tribute to him. There are great live versions of “Black Magic Woman” and “She’s Not There” on this too. I’d be a different guitar player if I had never heard this stuff.
# 6 – Live – Mahogany Rush (1978)
I listened to my copy of this album so many times that a couple of skips in the vinyl became a part of the songs for me. To this day, when I listen to the CD, it seems like something is missing without the skips [laughs]. Frank Marino’s covers of “Johnny B Goode,” “I’m A King Bee/Back Door Man,” “Purple Haze,” and “Who Do Ya Love” are probably the best cover versions of these songs you’ve ever heard.
From “Who Do Ya Love,” Frank goes into “Electric Reflections of War,” which is a guitar solo that will melt many of your other albums that are close by. There’s a section in it that scared me when I was a kid where he was playing these sinister-sounding low notes. Very creepy. From there, Frank goes into emulating bombs dropping. It’s insane. I couldn’t have played it at night if I was home alone.
Frank Marino would have these badass riffs built around one chord and a cool groove, and then he’d go from there into some ethereal chord sequence that took you out into space. It’s very unique and creative stuff. Check out “Dragonfly” and “The Anthem;” those are some great Frank Marino songs and great covers, and he played the hell out of his guitar on all of them.
# 5 – Street Survivors – Lynyrd Skynyrd (1977)
My first Skynyrd album was One More from The Road. I instantly became a huge fan and played so many of their songs over the years with the bands I was in. I absolutely loved Street Survivors. There are so many great songs on it, and Steve Gaines’s playing was so damn good. I remember learning the intro to “I Know a Little,” which is one of the coolest things ever. There is one lick in it that I still can’t figure out how to play to this day.
“That Smell” is also one of my favorites, and Gaines’s solos on it and the guitars, in general, are just so good and influenced me a ton as a player. I love the swing element in many of their songs, and they were one of my earliest influences as far as that goes. Such a funky vibe. “That Smell” is not a funky song, but Gaines is laying down some swinging licks in it that are so badass. I heard this stuff way before I got into listening to jazz, which some of this reminds me of in terms of how rhythmic it is. It had a significant impact on me in that regard.
I was influenced by Southern rock quite a bit, and this and The Allman Brothers were the two most significant for me. Everything about Skynyrd is beyond cool in my book, but this record is perfection. I have a song on my Soul Shifter record called “Gainesville Station” that was a tribute to Steve. It was inspired by a song on Street Survivors. Can you guess which one? Hmmmmm… SS… Soul Shifter… SS… Street Survivors. Just realized this.
# 4 – Robin Trower Live – Robin Trower (1975)
I always loved Robin Trower’s playing, and Jimmy Dewar is one of my all-time favorite singers. It’s hard not to be inspired by Trower’s vibrato and hearing him helped shape my bending style. There is a lot of improvisation on this, but I learned most of it note for note anyway. I used to play along with side one a couple of times a day and would pick up a little more every time until it got to the point where I knew just about every note.
I would go to see Robin Trower every time he came to the Philly area and was always blown away. Most of the time, it was at The Tower Theater, and we’d say we were going to see Trower at The Tower. This record is a prime example of how songs elevate to a higher level when played live. So much more energy emerges when there is an audience to feed off.
If you haven’t heard this one, get it. For me, it’s next-level blues, and the songs are great. “Daydream” is one of my favorites; it’s such a soulful song. It has killer vibrato, cool songs with great vocals, and a big fat guitar tone.
# 3 – Machine Head – Deep Purple (1972)
This album was lying around the house in my mom’s collection when I was a kid, and I only had to hear it once, and I jumped all over it. Such classic songs with Ritchie [Blackmore] playing in his inimitable way. This was the start of me becoming a huge Blackmore fan, and I, of course, went on to become a fan of all the other Deep Purple records and the Rainbow stuff.
It was definitely my introduction to the harmonic minor “snake charmer” tonality, which I have always loved. It’s got “Highway Star,” “Smoke on The Water,” “Space Truckin’,” and “Maybe I’m A Leo;” there are so many amazing songs on one record. And apparently, they wrote and recorded this monster in only three weeks. Ritchie’s playing on “Lazy” is a highlight and one of the greatest moments in guitar history.
Like every other guitar player in the world, the “Smoke on The Water” riff was one of the first things I ever learned to play. How amazing would it be to have just about everyone on the planet playing your riff when they started learning to play? This album shaped me in many ways as a player and a musician. Gillan’s vocals are amazing on it. I don’t know how you can be a rock guitarist without being hugely inspired by this. It doesn’t get any better.
# 2 – Van Halen – Van Halen (1978)
When I first heard this record, I was floored by the guitar. I was like, “Wow, what in the fu*k is that!?” The songs were great, and there was so much energy, and then Eddie [Van Halen] ‘s playing was the icing on the cake. In my mind, it’s one of the greatest debut albums ever. I had been playing guitar for nearly a year and tinkering around with some melodies, but I didn’t even know a blues scale at the time.
When I heard the end of “Eruption,” I thought Eddie was using some sort of electronic trickery, such as a delay to add notes, because I didn’t think it was possible to play that fast. The solos on this are insane, but the riffs, energy, and songs are there too. This album was there before I knew much about guitar and became a huge part of my guitar education. I learned so much from it. Within three or four years, I was in a cover band, and we did a couple of sets of Van Halen songs.
I was so inspired by Eddie that I’d be playing his licks in John “Cougar” Mellencamp’s songs. I couldn’t help myself [laughs]. “Eruption” is easily one of the greatest moments in guitar history, but the stuff in “I’m The One” is totally insane as well. The whole record is a guitarist’s wet dream, but I love that it’s a band, and I love [David Lee] Roth’s voice, vibe, and energy—one of the all-time great albums. The energy factor is to infinity and beyond here.
# 1 – Wired – Jeff Beck (1976)
This album changed my life in a huge way. When I first heard it, I had been playing guitar for about six months and was big-time into popular bands of the era like Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin, Queen, and The Beatles. One day, I heard an ad on the radio announcing that Jeff Beck was coming to my area, and his music was playing in the background. I had never heard of him, but the music stopped me in my tracks, and I needed to hear more.
So, I went to a local department store hoping they had his records, and that’s where I found Wired. At that point, I was fascinated with guitar, but I didn’t know much more than a few first-position chords. Something about this album resonated with me even though it was quite over my head, and I listened to it constantly.
I wanted to play melodies and solos at the time, but I didn’t know how to do that. So, one day, I was noodling around, and somehow, I figured out the first melody in “Blue Wind.” I was over the moon about it and thought, “Wow, I can play lead now.” I didn’t play it 100% correctly and had no clue about bending strings, so I fretted every note, but regardless, it created so much excitement for 13-year-old me.
Wired was always there with me as I was learning to play, and I still listen to it now. As I progressed as a player, I picked up more and more from it. It’s great how it’s catchy to listen to, but if you delve into it, you can go much deeper. This is how instrumental music should be, in my opinion. I, of course, became a fan of Blow by Blow and all his other records, but this one will always be the one for me out of all his early stuff.
Vinnie Moore Interview: 10 Albums That Changed My Life article published on Classic RockHistory.com© 2023
Classicrockhistory.com claims ownership of all its original content and Intellectual property under United States Copyright laws and those of all other foreign countries. No one person, business, or organization is allowed to re-publish any of our original content anywhere on the web or in print without our permission. All photos used are either public domain Creative Commons photos or licensed officially from Shutterstock under license with ClassicRockHistory.com. All photo credits have been placed at the end of the article. Album Cover Photos are affiliate links and the property of Amazon and are stored on the Amazon server. Any theft of our content will be met with swift legal action against the infringing websites.
