History & Biography American guitarist Paul Gilbert’s repertoire should be approached cautiously by heavy metal fans. While he is a talented guitarist with a history of shredding and heavy riffs, much of his material is simply too poppy and banal for metal fans. Gilbert was previously in Racer X and Mr. Big before becoming a solo artist. The man toured Europe in 2010. Stone Pushing Uphill Man of 2014 was issued by Shrapnel and is just a collection of cover versions.
Gilbert makes regular guest appearances, does studio sessions and teaches guitar.
Reviews PAUL GILBERT - PAUL THE YOUNG DUDE - MASCOT
After releasing a steady string of CDs, solo artist and Mr. Big and Racer X guitarist Paul Gilbert, has brought a double-CD of his material to the market. In his own words, "People typically include bonus tracks, but I thought it would be cool to have a whole bonus CD!" Disc one features songs from Paul Gilbert's previous solo CDs (although a couple of unreleased and new versions do appear here) and the second CD is a compilation of his acoustic recordings and repertoire.
Paul Gilbert is a multi-instrumentalist and is responsible for the bulk of the vocals and the guitars, although he has some help from friends and colleagues on various tracks. His voice is good and his guitar playing is even better than average. The sound is clear and the music ranges from pop tuneage to heavier shredding guitar extravaganzas. The lyrics are often corny, as is the photography, which probably points to the jocular nature of the man and the release. - Ali "The Metallian"
PAUL GILBERT - SILENCE FOLLOWED BY A DEAFENING ROAR - MASCOT 
Paul Gilbert is the man behind the guitar in Racer X and a formidable wielder of the axe. Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar is defined as the man’s ferocious return to action following by a couple of years of calm. The album is indeed a blistering piece of guitar acrobatics and, coupled with the absence of vocals, is focused on bending and scratching the six strings with mega-skill.
Nonetheless, these albums are uniformly boring. The shred is fascinating. The dexterity is incredible. The music is not. How much of this could have been used within good metal songs? Just because one can do something doesn’t mean one should. Look at George Bush for example. And too bad Paul doesn’t have longer hair. He would be cuter.
The tunes begin with a distinct Van Halen influence. The title track is both Eddie and Akira. Eudaimonia Overture is Classical in nature. The Rhino has a vintage Rush riff plucked right from the '80s. Then again, Bronx 1971 is boring and a dime a dozen sorry to say. Suite Modate is Oriental in style and The Gargoyle really heavy metal and for the fans of harder guitar.
The album has it all (except vocals), but how much of this stuff can one take after a while? It is not the album. It is the genre. - Sheila Wes Det
Interviews
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