Biography

Chicago based blues guitarist Rob “ Wild Boar” Moore turned some heads with his 2022 album “Used to be Wild,” its title a trifle a bit misleading as he remained as feisty as ever. Now the Wild Boar makes his triumphant return, gifting us with an encore set that’s every bit as much of a rollicking good time as its well received predecessor was.
As he did last time, Moore infuses his lyrics with a sizable dollop of droll humor, delving into some fairly unusual subject matter along the way. Yet there’s nothing lighthearted about the driving blues grooves Rob lays down with a cadre of Windy City heavy hitters working their road-tested magic behind him.
Moore has paid his dues and then some. His musical career harks all the way back to the early ‘70s when he learned his craft by hanging out with mighty blues immortals Muddy Waters and Otis Rush. A quick learner, Rob was soon playing in the bands of harpist George “ Wild Child”Butler and axman Little Bobby Neely on the teeming Chicago blues circuit.
But nothing lasts forever. In 1986 Moore picked up and moved to Miami, concentrating most of his energies on teaching at a community college, though he did find time to lead a blues band there with vocalist Clifford Hawkins. Eventually, the Wild Boar returned home , charging back onto the local blues scene like he’d never been away. That’s where you’ll find him today.
The title track of CHICAGO DOG is indicative of Moore’s unusual twist on the city’s proud blues tradition . It’s a love ode to one of the windy city’s favorite delicacies, the humble hot dog ( no ketchup, please), that swings heartily thanks to its buoyant rhythm section ( bassist Harlan Terson and drummer Greg Rockingham) behind impressive by Rob and tenor saxman Vince Salerno. Similarly easy, natural grooves also define “Cloverleaf Blues,” “One more ride,” (horn arranger Ron Haynes supplies the tasty trumpet ride), and a welcome revival of electric blues guitar pioneer T-Bone Walker’s immortal “T-Bone Shuffle.” Thomas Linsk’s jazzy piano chords always land in precisely the right spots to handily propel the proceedings along; he moves to organ for the jaunty”A Nice Day” and luxuriously downbeat “If I Could Buy.”
“I’m a Legend” humorously comments on the Wild Boar’s own outsized exploits over a rough-and-ready grind slathered in Salerno’s muscular harmonica and Rob’s co-producer Thomas KLEIN’s slicing slide guitar. The same combination powers “Dogs Everywhere, “ a canny observation on Chicago’s canine overload. The combo stretches out on “Mustard”- the natural complement to a “Chicago Dog”- with Moore and Klein peeling off jazzy licks reminiscent of Wes Montgomery. Until Rob delivers its final couplets, “I paid your Wife” seems a down and dirty taunt directed at some unfortunate mope with a straying spouse. Happily, all isn’t as it seems, but we’ll leave its clever resolution for you to discover when you pop this disc into your player.
With two CS’s tucked under his belt, there can be little doubt that this Wild Boar is reclaiming his spot in Chicago’s blues pecking order.
- Bill Dahl