Customer Reviews

Acoustic Samurai: Live at Hard Rock Cafe Tokyo

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I love this CD. The things that this guy can do with an acoustic guitar (or any guitar for that matter) are amazing. He is a truly talented musician and has covered a lot of ground in his career.

If you are only familiar with him from his Racer X or Mr. Big days, his solo stuff is a little different but in a good way. He is a serious musician, but not a serious person (go check out his website, it's hilarious). Almost all of his solo songs are light-hearted or fun in some way. Bob Dylan he is not, but he is a great songwriter in his own style. You can just tell that he is having the time of his life while playing them.

The best description I could give would be melodic pop guitar hard rock.

Good stuff! Nice to hear Paul Gilbert and Linus of Hollywood doing
it live at the Hard Rock Japan! Nice to hear guitar work like Pauls, always a pleasure! Awesome vocals, Thanks Paul! I am very
pleased with this CD. A good value too! As my friends can verify, I am a cheap SOB, so I tell you "Great stuff for the bucks!" Thanks!
Big Jim Humboldt County, CA!

I happened to stumble across this cd without realizing it was by a monster guitar player, and from the little I've heard of his other material, this is a nice different kind of style for him. All his songs are great, even with a cover of ABBA's "Dancing Queen," which came out nicely. There's beautiful playing from both people, the second person being Linus of Hollywood, as far as I know (I don't really know who he is). Nevertheless, the songs are all wonderful; I particularly like "I Like Rock" which is a pretty catchy song, as most of the songs are. This is a cd you should get, but since its an import and therefore is quite pricey, you may want to preview it first. If it comes out in the U.S. you should pick it up.

Two things always impress me about Paul Gilbert: 1) His guitar playing talent; 2) His sense of humor. Both are on full display in this recording. From the opening goofy track, Potato Head to a great cover of Abba's Dancing Queen to the hilarious I am Satan, the playing is brilliant and the fun is never ending. If you like acoustic playing and the stripped-down sound of playing in a small club, this record if for you. While some Paul Gilbert fans may shrug this record off as it is not Paul-shredding-his-guitar-to-pieces (even if it is an acoustic guitar), that is precisely why this record works. He obviously does show his guitar playing talent (after all, this is still a Paul Gilbert recording) but in this recording, he focuses on the beauty of the music and the fun playing that music and brings that to the forefront. His acoustic playing sidekick on this is Linus of Hollywood. No clue who he is but he plays and sings extremely well. A good compliment to Paul in this recording.

For all the Paul Gilbert shredding fans, try this as a bit of a Paul Gilbert alternative. For those who like good playing while not losing the integrity in the beauty of the song, try this. For those who just like a good time, give this a twirl.

I love the idea of an unplugged paul gilbert. It was great, but we listen to gilbert for more his guitar playing, not his singing.