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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
8.5/10, October 19, 2006
Reviewgium - Volume I, issue XIV
Paul Gilbert is a busy man. Always busy. But surprisingly, this album is a first for him: his first fully instrumental album. And of course, it rocketh. Paul Gilbert has pretty much established that fact that he can do anything on the guitar. Anything. From Led Zeppelin to Joni Mitchell, from Slayer to the Spice Girls. Not to mention he has put out over two dozen albums of original material, including his work with Mr. Big, Racer X, and his solo band(s). He can play eye-moistening love songs, and he can high-speed-shred with the best of them (and often do a much better job at it). Paul is a very liberal guy, and he holds nothing back. Get Out of My Yard is a great, fun album...you can tell he is having fun playing, and you will have fun listening.
Right from the start, with the self-titled track, Gilbert starts showing off his shredding skills. But this album is not all about shredding, as is obvious at the beginning of the second song "Hurry Up," a relatively conservative, almost Rush-like rock song. You really get the best of both worlds on this album, plus some other worlds that Gilbert makes up. Speaking of travelling to other worlds, listen to my favorite track, "The Echo Song" with its techno echo, and imagine yourself careening through space at high speed in your one-man Buck-Rogers-style rocketship, bouncing off planets and flinging exuberantly amidst twinkling stars and comets. Songs like "Straight Through the Telephone Pole" and "Rusty Old Boat" further the subtle vibe of classic rock and retro charm you get throughout the album, as well as Gilbert's obvious sense of humor that can be detected even with the lack of vocals. Other stand-out tracks are "Three E's for Edward," which, from the liners, I assume is a tribute to Eddie van Halen, in which Gilbert plays an acoustic with only three strings, all tuned to E; and then there is the splendid, all-guitar rendition of "Haydn Symphony No. 88 Finale." Someone should tell the Great Kat, that this immaculate masterpiece is how true neo-classical SHOULD sound, not that muddled and nearly incomprehensible twaddling she shamelessly churns out.
Repeating what I said earlier: Get Out of My Yard is a great, fun album...you can tell he is having fun playing, and you will have fun listening. Take that as my recommendation. Paul Gilbert is so diverse and omnipotent, you really never know exactly what he is going to do. Therefore anything he releases is worth checking out, and this album is no exception to that rule. It definitely rivals--and I would even say surpasses--recent releases from guitar greats such as Vai and Satriani, not only in innovation and imagination, but also in technical prowess.
And congratulate the guy. He just got married. Cheers, Mr. Gilbert.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like Satch or Vai with a Neo-classical Shred Edge, January 26, 2007
The problem with Satch and Vai is they feel like they've done it all and have no need to really push the boundaries of technical prowess anymore. Even Vai's recent tune "Freak Show Excess" is embarassingly muddled tripe compared to the title track here. Yep, with Paul Gilbert, (much like Petrucci), you're always guaranteed several jaw-dropping moments where he reminds you just how scary of a shredder he can be. Now, with that said, the things Satch and Vai do extremely well, like composing brilliantly original music, especially with their slower, emotion-wrought guitar ballads... you don't have that here (the Marine song is ballad-esque but honestly gets nowhere near the depth of emotion that Satch/Vai regularly conjure up)... but at the same time Paul is a little more straight-forward than those guys, but you know what: that makes this CD very accessible and dare I say - FUN - to listen to. Just a real great breath of fresh air: instrumental party music to some degree.
Highlites include just about everything on here, but particularly the title track for sheer shredding madness, the Three E's tune for more of the same on a three-E-stringed acoustic, Rusty Old Boat for some funky creativity, the Castle Dragon song for a great guitar adventure, and Haydn's symphony for the best "guitar symphony" Paul has done to date. Every other tune is good too, though: as other reviewers have stated already: there is no filler here... some particularly standout songs, but you won't skip any of them while listening.
PS: I second the vote for getting Paul on a G3 tour with this stuff!
[Edit: he DID get on the G3 tour with it... very cool.]
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yikes!!!, September 13, 2006
First, let me say Paul Gilbert is my favorite guitarist; He is constantly evolving in technique, songwriting, and soul. I personally hear a passion in his playing you either hear or you don't. For those who know what I'm talking about, there is no way you can walk away from this album disappointed. Granted it is a bit overwelming at first, but every track has something unique to offer; All of Paul's trademark shredding and odd timing remain in fine form, while tracks like 'Marine Layer' offer a nice surprise. 'Haydn Symphony No. 88 Finale' is worth the price of the disc alone, and there are really only 2 tracks on this CD I didn't warm up to right away(and even those had some incredible guitar 'nuggets' here and there). Also it should be noted that the drumming of Jeff Bowders deserves equal recognition for keeping things fresh, lively, and most importantly...being able to keep up with Paul! The production is top notch, too. Sounds great really loud. Pretty amazing CD...
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