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There are some guys who were born to lead. Jimi Hendrix was a sideman for Ike Turner, The Isley Brothers, Curtis Knight (who?) And a couple of other acts, but it was obvious he needed to front his own thing. John Fogerty, a quiet force of nature, quietly wrested control of Creedence Clearwater Revival away from his brother. And so on. Other guys are great sidemen, but should never lead a band. There's nothing wrong with that, not at all; Joe Perry and The Edge are but two examples of great, great guitarists who are part of bands which would not be the same without them but who are led by charismatic frontmen.

Which brings us, alas, to sidemen who lead bands, but shouldn't. And for Exhibit A I present Gary Moore. Moore has been competently hefting his blues ax for well over 30 years. For the majority of that, however, he has been fronting a band. And for a guy who can't really write lyrics or sing, that's not a good idea.

SCARS, the album and band, functions as a showcase for Moore's guitar/vocal stylings. The band is your classic Hendrix configuration, with the bassist and drummer providing the rhythm behind the blues guitar pyrotechnics. The music is straight out of the Hendrix fakebook. Certainly there are worse artists to emulate. But do we really need this? Moore's vocals are more grating than bluesy, and his lyrics range are at best annoying ("Wasn't Born In Chicago"), and at worst, idiotic ("World Keep Turnin' Round"). By "Rectify," the second track on SCARS, you basically find yourself waiting for Moore to quit singing and get to his guitar solos. And even if they are Hendrix derived, and in some cases copied practically note for note, they are great. Moore's not afraid to play it loud and proud; to paraphrase Skunk Baxter's famous and misquoted statement, it may not be in at the moment to play loud, screaming guitar, but Moore's gonna play his, and play it well.

A fan of the Hendrix school of blues guitar can have fun with SCARS, if one is willing to wait out the solos and junk the rest. But it's clear that Moore should either be doing instrumental CDs or handling lead guitar chores on someone else's project. The guy still has plenty to say, instrumentally, and the chops to do it. He just needs to choose his vehicle with greater care.