PAUL GILBERT
Paul Gilbert, the ex-Racer X and Mr Big axeman, has been quoted in the press as saying: "I didn't have any single large goal making Vibrato, but I had about 25 small ones." That's perhaps an admirably ambitious goal on paper that you'd think would engender a resultant sonic diversity on the final product. To a degree, that's true with 'Vibrato' as there's an array of disparate styles on the album although diversity is not necessarily a meritable quality in itself. Diversity married with some degree of cohesion where stylistic disparity is bound together by a natural flow justifies musical heterogeneity. Otherwise, diversity can feel forced and for the sake of. The latter is partly true on 'Vibrato' for a number of the tracks.
There's no denying Gilbert's fretboard talents - he shreds, bends, trills and whammies in his own, inimitable way and with a virtuosic flair. However, virtuosity needs to be exercised within the context of solid songwriting to truly flourish and be appreciated for what it is; otherwise it's virtuosity for showmanship-sake. If a composition is weak then it's the virtuosity that tends to dominate rather than deployed as an integral part of the overall song structure. This is unfortunately true of 'Vibrato' where some substandard songwriting takes a backseat to Gilbert's fretboard skills. It pains me to diss such a legendary player in this manner but, for me, 'Vibrato', feels like a patched-together series of rushed compositions that, more often than not, don't work too well.
It's not all bad. The guitar/keyboard interplay (and keys have been provided courtesy of Gilbert's wife, Emi) on instrumental number 'Rain and Thunder and Lightning' are rather spectacular. In fact, it's the four instrumental tracks (including a re-worked version of Dave Brubeck's 'Blue Rondo a la Turk') where the album shines. 'The Pronghorn' is another fine instrumentation. However, the four songs with vocals (Gilbert assumes lead singing duties with backing by Emi) don't quite cut it, the worst offender being cheesed-up opener 'Enemies (In Jail)'. And the inclusion of three live cover tracks to close proceedings, although adeptly performed and nicely recorded, merely feel tagged onto the end of what is, undoubtedly a weak album from Gilbert in his solo canon of work, and falls well short of his previous outing on the rather magnificent 'Fuzz Universe'. However, despite a rather patchy album, it's still loaded with the man's wondrous guitar playing with his impressive repertoire of highly developed techniques and a melt-in-your-mouth guitar tone. Overall, well worth checking out for Paul Gilbert aficionados but I'm not sure the casual fan of guitar-based music would be entirely satisfied.
There's no denying Gilbert's fretboard talents - he shreds, bends, trills and whammies in his own, inimitable way and with a virtuosic flair. However, virtuosity needs to be exercised within the context of solid songwriting to truly flourish and be appreciated for what it is; otherwise it's virtuosity for showmanship-sake. If a composition is weak then it's the virtuosity that tends to dominate rather than deployed as an integral part of the overall song structure. This is unfortunately true of 'Vibrato' where some substandard songwriting takes a backseat to Gilbert's fretboard skills. It pains me to diss such a legendary player in this manner but, for me, 'Vibrato', feels like a patched-together series of rushed compositions that, more often than not, don't work too well.
It's not all bad. The guitar/keyboard interplay (and keys have been provided courtesy of Gilbert's wife, Emi) on instrumental number 'Rain and Thunder and Lightning' are rather spectacular. In fact, it's the four instrumental tracks (including a re-worked version of Dave Brubeck's 'Blue Rondo a la Turk') where the album shines. 'The Pronghorn' is another fine instrumentation. However, the four songs with vocals (Gilbert assumes lead singing duties with backing by Emi) don't quite cut it, the worst offender being cheesed-up opener 'Enemies (In Jail)'. And the inclusion of three live cover tracks to close proceedings, although adeptly performed and nicely recorded, merely feel tagged onto the end of what is, undoubtedly a weak album from Gilbert in his solo canon of work, and falls well short of his previous outing on the rather magnificent 'Fuzz Universe'. However, despite a rather patchy album, it's still loaded with the man's wondrous guitar playing with his impressive repertoire of highly developed techniques and a melt-in-your-mouth guitar tone. Overall, well worth checking out for Paul Gilbert aficionados but I'm not sure the casual fan of guitar-based music would be entirely satisfied.
LABEL:
FORMAT:
Music Theories Recordings
Album
VIBRATO
Review by Mark Holmes
RUNNING TIME:
67:34
RELEASE DATE:
15th Oct 2012
TRACK LISTING
1) Enemies (In Jail)
2) Rain and Thunder and Lightning
3) Vibrato
4) Put It On The Char
5) Bivalve Blues
6) Blue Rondo A La Turk
7) Atmosphere On The Moon
8) The Pronghorn
9) Roundabout
10) I Want To Be Loved
11) Go Down
2) Rain and Thunder and Lightning
3) Vibrato
4) Put It On The Char
5) Bivalve Blues
6) Blue Rondo A La Turk
7) Atmosphere On The Moon
8) The Pronghorn
9) Roundabout
10) I Want To Be Loved
11) Go Down
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN:
USA
"There's no denying Gilbert's fretboard talents - he shreds, bends, trills and whammies in his own, inimitable way and with a virtuosic flair. However, virtuosity needs to be exercised within the context of solid songwriting to truly flourish..."
