Paul Gilbert Solo

[kid_runningfox]

Just wondering if there are any other fans of Paul Gilbert's solo work here, as I picked a considerable amount of it whilst at home in the UK during the summer. I must admit to never being particularly fond of either Racer X or (especially) Mr Big, but have found Gilbert's solo work to be consistently excellent - an interesting contrast between often surprisingly catchy pop-rock songs and full-on shred, sometimes in the same tune!! He's also an excellent singer, and some of his lyrical themes ('I am Satan' from 2002's Burning Organ being a case in point) amusingly off-kilter. Finally, I note that Gilbert's more than happy to tip his hat to his prog influences, notably on instrumental albums like Silence Followed by a Deafening Roar and most obviously 2008's Get Out of My Yard. He also recorded an excellent cover of 'Roundabout' on 2012's Vibrato. And boy, can he play the guitar!! Any other fans here?

[miamiscot]

His work on Neal Morse's Sola Scriptura made me fan. Dude can straight up play!!!

[kid_runningfox]

Nobody else?? Wow, though there might be more interest than this...

[ThomasKDye]

Nobody else?? Wow, though there might be more interest than this...

I've got Get Out of My Yard and Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar. They're both quite good; it's funny how someone with a similar hard rock/metal background can sound so dissimilar to Joe Satriani. My favorites are "Straight Through the Telephone Pole," "My Teeth are a Drumset," "The Rhino," "Norwegian Cowbell" and his interpretation of the Haydn piece. Good, solid instrumental hard rock with occasionally classical/proggy overtones. I kind of wish he'd use more of this in Mr. Big, but there you have it.

Another album of his I like is a duo album he made with a singer named Freddie Nelson, "United States". Solid, well done pop/rock songs, definitely recommended if you're not AOR-allergic.

[arabicadabra]

He's great. Sadly I have been too broke to buy CDs the last few years but I bought both Yellow Matter Custard DVDs and his performance of The Beatles catalog is just glorious. From doing the speedy trumpet (coronet?) lick on Penny Lane on guitar to his dazzling wail-a-thon over While My Guitar Gently Weeps, the man is a treasure. And his songwriting contributions in Mr. Big (Green-Tinted Sixties Mind for one) are delicious to my ears.

[Scott Bails]

Nobody else?? Wow, though there might be more interest than this...

I've enjoyed his work in Mr. Big and with Neal Morse, but never knew where to start on his solo stuff. This thread has some nice recommendations.

[kid_runningfox]

Good, solid instrumental hard rock with occasionally classical/proggy overtones. I kind of wish he'd use more of this in Mr. Big, but there you have it.

Yes, this is one of the reasons why I was so pleasantly surprised by Gilbert's solo work. Having never been a fan of Mr Big's style of soft hair metal, Gilbert's solo work is an absolute revelation by comparison.

[kid_runningfox]

Another album of his I like is a duo album he made with a singer named Freddie Nelson, "United States". Solid, well done pop/rock songs, definitely recommended if you're not AOR-allergic.

I haven't heard this one, but it's certainly seems to correspond to the template Gilbert follows with his own solo work with vocals - of which I'd particularly recommend Burning Organ and, especially, Spaceship One. Speaking of which, here's a great live version of the title track: