Gene Moore "I Give Up"

Gene Moore
"I Give Up"
CD Baby

CD review by Roger Zee (03/11/06)
Appeared in More Sugar, June 2006, P. 23B

My twelve year-old son turned to me the other day and said, "I don't want to grow up. I love my life now. All I have to do is finish my homework and then I get to play video games and do whatever I want. When I get older, I'll have too much stuff to do like going to work, getting married, raising a family. I won't have any time left to have fun." What do you say to that?

Gene Moore's CD, "I Give Up," deals with the emptiness and frustration of middle age. When we stop having fun. When our dreams whither or simply vanish. These original tunes paint a complex picture with sparse arrangements of guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums -- all played and sung by Mr. Moore! The lyrics plunge you into the turmoil of one man's struggle to find meaning in his life. "Somethin' missin', can't put my finger on it. Life is empty. Like half of me is gone." What a surprise. He asked his lover for a little space and she left. Now he just wants her back. "If you were mine, you would never spend another night alone. I'd take you in my arms and never let you go." Here, our hero longs for a woman who choses to stay with a man who beats her. In "I've Got You," a lover celebrates his woman while slyly knocking her shopping habits, driving issues, and the disappearance of his friends. Sounds more like an armed truce.

However, in the title song, "I Give Up," Mr. Moore reveals his answer to the pain -- just letting go. "Another road, another choice, I don't want to make the same mistake again. The answers are always here. If we would only listen. I give up. I give in. I will open up my heart and throw my soul into the wind." Sounds like he found religion.

And actually, he did. Over a stellar career, this renowned studio guitarist and songwriter wrote "Insane" for Ace Frehley of Kiss, composed and performed The US Soccer Federation stadium chant, and scored the soundtracks for the George W. Bush and Bob Dole presidential campaign videos. But the corrosive music business ate away at his soul and he laid his instruments down for ten years. One Sunday morning in church with his wife and kids, the minister asked if he would like to join the congregation band. Sunday after Sunday, Mr. Moore rediscovered the true joy of making music. Part of that revelation included the realization that he needed to promote himself rather someone else.

The soaring, 80's-style guitar instrumental, "Time Flys," captures the joy of a man who has found his way back from the abyss. Just look at the picture of Gene Moore on the rear CD cover. He stands on the deck of a house with his hands and face uplifted. "I Give Up." No, you didn't! And I'm so glad.

©2006 Roger Zee