Paul Gilbert became an international star when he was only 20. Today he is considered to be one of the best gutarists in the world.At first he played at the metall-group, called Racer X. Then he left 'Racer X' for "Mr.Big". He played in this group until 1996, then he began to perform as a solo artist. He released his first album "King of clubs". He goes on releasing solo albums and he has also joined "Racer X". His latest album "Space Ship One" demonstrates his guitar-viruosity skill and his talent as a composer.
As always Paul demonstrates his different musical influences. Some songs remind "Ramones" ther is also some pop-stuff on the album,some metall,some acoustic stuff.Besides that Paul sings on most of the songs,
he is quite a good singer,he sings better than Joe Satriani or Steve Vai.
And of course, Paul also plays the guitar great.
1.Space Ship One. A great opener,starts off with a riff, that reminds "AC/DC"s "Thunderstruck" riff. Then Paul begins to play a riff, that reminds some early Ramones. The text of the song is quite funny.Ther is a terrific bridge in the middle of the song, where Paul shreds and then he begins playing tapping. On the whole the song is cool, it's got a catchy chorus and superb guitar playing.5/5
2.Every Hot Girl Is a Rockstar. Another rock song. The song is good,it's catchy, though there is no great Paul's guitar playing. I wish there were some great solo in the song, but nevertheless it's good.4/5
3.On the Way To Hell. Another rock song, features a good solo.
It reminds some "Ramones" stuff, though Paul never concealed the fact he was a fan of this outstanding punk-group.However the track is average.3/5
4.SVT. It's also a song that reminds "Ramones", it's also a little bit similar to the previous track, even worse. The only thing that more or less saves the situation is a beautiful outro of the song, in which Paul again shows his guitar skills.2,5/5
5.Jackhammer. This is an instrumental track, all the musicians, i mean Paul, the bass-player and the drummer show the high level of their playing. The drum-solo in the middle of the song is amazing. Also the song itself,the riffs and another solos are also great.4,5/5
6.Terrible Man. One of the most boring on the songs, all the song
Paul says that he is a terrible man, who did harm to his girl-friend.
The mood of the song is quite dark and by the end of the song one can get tired hearing the repeating phrase "I'm a terrible man" .2/5
7.Interaction.The song is also quite repetitive, but it's definetely better than the previous track. Reminds rock of the 80's.The song has quite nice guitar solos.And the melody is catchy.4/5
8.G9. An acoustic instrumental track.Very beautiful one, Paul plays very beautiful chords, the melody he plays on the other guitar is also very beautiful. Paul doesn't shred in this song,he's playing slow but great melody. The only minus of the song is that it is too short. 4,5/5
9.Mr.Spock. Starts off with some strange effects, then Paul starts singing. The song is really catchy, it's definetely one of the album's highlights. Everything is good about the song: Paul's singing, Paul's guitar playing, the melody of the song.5/5
10.Boku No Atama. Paul is very popular in Japan, he often visits this country, he has also studied Japanese. I've recently downloaded some video where Paul and Marty Friedman took part in some Japanese programme.Both of them speak Japanese fluently. However, the song is another worthy track, reminds some Paul Maccartney's stuff, it's very unusual listening to how Paul sings in Japan. The song is quite catchy and the solo in the middle of the song is really great. Anotger highlight. 5/5
11.Good Man. A ballad where Paul sings about love. It's the song where there is almost no shredding, it doesn't mean that it's bad. When you listen to it, you realise that Paul has a gift of writing catchy songs, one can remember the chorus after the first listen. 5/5
12.Wash My Car. Elvis is alive!!!!!That song definetely reminds you of Elvis's era.Here Paul's solos are alittle bit different to what he played on the whole album,he uses a lot of bluesy pentatonics.The text is really funny. 4/5
13. It's All Too Much. It's a Paul's cover of George Harrison's song. Unfortunately I haven't heard the original version of the song, but this song is definetely not the best on the album, it's too long and too boring, Paul shreds too much in this song, his shredding is overwhelming in this song. Quite an average track. 2.5/5
14.We All Dream of Love.This sounds is an anthem of love, reminds some of "The Beatles" stuff, it is really beautiful. One of the album's highlights.5/5
So let's start with the pluses of the album, it's really easy to listen to it,you may get tired of Paul extensive shredding only a couple of times(let's remember Steve Vai,who it is very difficult to listen to). Paul's songs are catchy and full of humour. His guitar-playing is awesome. And his singing is really good.What i disliked is that some tracks were similar to each other.
On the whole the album is excellent, almost all the songs are up-beat,catchy and i think that even those who don't like great guitarists may like it.I recommend it to evey one.
