Customer Reviews

Get Out of My Yard

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.]

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...

well i would just like to say...wow. paul gilbert is such an
awesome player. This guitar instrumental album adds yet another
classic to the listen-to-this genre. thank you mr. gilbert and family, and friends.

The "Guitar Gods" incredibly talented "court jester" turns in his very first instrumental album and knocks the compettion to it's knees. How did he do it? According to him, he actually practiced. He figured if he was going to make an album worthy of one of his own heroes, Eddie Van Halen, he ought to give it all he had. Paul, I can't imagine that Eddie isn't proud of you. He may actually be a little bit green with envy. Gilbert, who's played with Racer X and Mr. Big, has always turned out rewarding power pop solo albums and has considerable vocal skills. I can't wait to see what he'll do next now that he's raised the bar so high. One of my favorites of the year.

This is my third PG CD and I love it just as much as the other two (Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar and Space Ship One). The guitar playing is top notch and imaginative. Paul writes lead lines that are almost lyrical in their expressiveness. And his rhythm parts just flat-out rock. I only own 3 of his CDs (with 2 more one the way!) and he's already becoming a strong contender for my favorite guitarist. Awesome pop sensibilities, great production and virtuoso instrumentality. It's just wrong that his solo music isn't much more well-known.

Makes me want to put my guitar in the closet and give up.
Musicians' music.
This guy is so fast and so clean...great technical ability...well put together...produced well...this guy even does Haydn the way HE would have wanted it played if the technology was available when he wrote.
So good it makes me want to cry for myself.
Paul Gilbert is a virtuoso.

Im a huge fan of Paul and i am happy to see him put out a CD of this instrumental type. There are many people doing instrumental music but Pauls is exciting and fun to listen to. He gives you exactly what a shred lover wants. PLAY MORE!!! :) I am also in awe of his bass lines and sound!! Paul has mastered the Sheehan tone perfectly. I think Paul does Billy's recorded sound better than Billy! At that is no small feat! Anyway do yourself a favor and pick it up. You wont be disapointed.

Get Out of My Yard (2006) was Paul Gilbert's first all instrumental outing. The album does not let the listener down from top to bottom. On the disc, Gilbert showcases his guitar skills by presenting lyrical hard rockin' songs which you can actually listen to -- he does not noodle all over the place showing how great he is; rather, he moves from one song to the next and plays with total virtuosity. If you like this album, Gilbert's 2008 all instrumental disc, Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar, is recommended.

I am a huge Satriani fan, and like most people interested in this album am a long time guitar shredder. However, I am very picky when it comes to instrumental guitar albums, quite frankly most of it does not stand up compositionally.

This album is different. Its got a sense of humor, it blazes, its got range. Did I mention it blazes!? (Imagine what would happen if Yngwie Malmsteen started taking himself less seriously and started exploring other musical forms.)

Paul is playing in a power trio, the tone is honest and dry with very little production tricks. He uses odd time signatures and non-traditional song structures. This is progressive, jazzy, but it still just rocks.

The only thing that lets the album down a bit is that there are a few tracks in the middle that arent as compelling as some of the other standout tracks. This gives guitar fans more to chew on, but the album does not flow as well as it could. (This is like an "extended realese" version of your favorite DVD with some scenes that wouldnt normally make it to the theatre.) IMO, he should have dropped "Marine Layer", "Twelve Twelve", and "Haydn Symphony 88".

The rest is brilliant.