Personally I was a huge fan of
Paul Gilbert's early solo albums, which had Paul singing. Later Gilbert switched to instrumental music and it was starting to grow on me.
Paul Gilbert is out of nowhere back with a new album packed with Hard Rock introducing collaborator and vocalist Freddie
Nelson.
Apparently Freddie
Nelson is from the same area as Gilbert and they played with some of the same people both growing up in Pennsylvania.
The album opener
Last Rock and Roll star is a thunderous Hard Rock track in the
Mr. Big vein but with Racer X tendencies in the fast guitar accompaniment. While the album is build around the vocal melody Gilbert draws a few references back to Racer X on
Pulsar.
The top tracks are
Hideaway and
Girl From Omaha.
Hideaway is the most original
Nelson/Gilbert composition and the great vocal harmonies really suit the song.
Girl From Omaha is a typical unpretentious Gilbert rocker very much alike the songs on his solo albums.
While
Paul Gilbert is an original and inventive player Freddie
Nelson's vocals seem a bit tame. Freddie Mercury...arggh, sorry Freddie
Nelson has a smooth voice very similar to Freddie Mercury.
Paris Hilton Look-alike also sounds very
Queen inspired with harmonies.
Nelson's voice is so close to Mercury and to make it complete the guitar sound is alike Brian May's characteristic sound.
The material is all right but it is second rate Gilbert.
I'm Not Addicted sounds like a leftover from earlier albums and
Bad Times Good is standard.
"United States" has 10 tracks and a total playing time of nearly 38 minutes. The last part of the record is very much Freddie
Nelson, since his vocals dominates the material. I would have preferred Gilbert and
Nelson trading vocals or maybe Paul doing vocals himself. I don't think that
Nelson has added anything unique in this constellation. Sorry! However,
Hideaway, Last Rock N' Roll Star and
Girl from Omaha are great tunes and if they could have used those tunes as bench for the album it would have been killer.
Still a good album, but as a
Paul Gilbert fan you always have high expectations.
Written by
Michael Wednesday, May 13, 2009
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