Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unique...inspirational...spiritual...sad., November 10, 1998
By A Customer
This is THE GUY--the guy that wrote one of the most interesting pieces of music ever recorded. I'm talking about "The Last Plane Out." A song that Kevin Gilbert put together with a band called Toy Matinee. What? You've never heard of "The Last Plane Out," you say? Never heard of Toy Matinee?? NEVER HEARD OF KEVIN GILBERT?!? Tragically, that's not surprising. Kevin Gilbert is no longer with us. He died a death probably not fitting such a broad and compassionate soul. He died, similarly to actor Brandon Lee, that is, on the verge of immense success. I didn't know Mr. Gilbert personally, however, I've listened to the man's music. I know him every time his lyrics float through my brain. "Dense" is probably the best adjective to describe the tracks on this CD. Each song seems to have been packed with complex lyrics, social concepts and commentary, thoughtful melody arrangements and instrumentation that are polished off by clean production and tight engineering. Most bands/musicians would kill to reach such a level of production perfection, yet this is merely where "Thud" begins. Kevin's real power is his ability to make you look at yourself and realize that you could be working a little bit harder at making yourself a better person. Despite this feeling, you never find yourself being moralized to by Kevin--he is not "without sin," he "casts no stones." He, unlike many of us, however, seems to be a little less willing to sucomb to his human frailties. Kevin touches all the common musical topics. You know, LOVE, DEATH, the BLUES, SEX, all that. But make no mistake, Kevin casts a very different light on all of these subjects--rips some of them to shreds before you even realize it. Buying this CD won't make Kevin rich. He's well beyond all that now. But I guarentee that if you pick up this CD you'll find yourself a little richer. Yeah, I know it sounds corny but I can only relate my own feelings about the music. Hopefully you'll agree.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"I am waiting for wonder to return..", August 2, 2003
Like Nick Drake's Pink Moon, like Eric Clapton's Layla (yes I know it wasn't just EC's project, but bear with me here), Kevin Gilbert's Thud is a troubled masterpiece. It's a work of pure art forged through bleak turmoil. It's the sound of someone sinking into a pit of despair and yet creating a timeless work of heart-rending beauty in the process. It's.. nevermind all the weak similes, they're only words. The talent, brilliance and raw emotion that went into making this disc can't be accurately described in our language. It's pop rock that seemed unfortunately doomed to semi-obscurity from the start: it's too cerebral and literate to be radio-friendly, too downbeat to be catchy, too skewed and offbeat to be mainstream. Too bad. Thud manages to take some varied themes and thoughts universal to all of us, quirks and warts and all, couch them in a wonderfully inspired set of lyrics that's both simple and profound, and still make it all beautifully accessible in a way that won't put off those folks who're just looking for a singable tune as well. And that, my friends, just might prove to have been Kevin's biggest talent of all.
"When You Give Your Love to Me" is a simple acoustic strummer that Warren Zevon might have written (that's a Very Good Thing), an upbeat declaration of hope with just a lurking hint of desperation. And once the bright melody fades, we're in for a dark ride. Kevin alternates between black humor (or at least sarcasm, as in the sleazy club-jazz groove "Joytown") and heartfelt honesty, delivered with such conviction that the humor seems like a thin facade after all. "Goodness Gracious" and "Waiting" spit pure venom at our society while "All Fall Down" looks at it with more of a fatal resignation. "Tea For One" and "Tears of Audrey" are personal laments as simply honest and sadly beautiful as you're ever likely to hear. The only track outside both those camps is the unclassifiable "Shadow Self," which sounds as if he had Peter Gabriel, Todd Rundgren and Les Claypool over for a jam after a hearty dinner of linguini laced with angel dust. And still, after it all, it's "Song for a Dead Friend" that leaves the most haunting impression once the CD fades into silence; the lyrics might not be set perfectly to the music, but it's such a painfully heartfelt performance that any little complaints fade into insignificance.
My copy came with a short extra CD containing Kevin's cover of Led Zep's "Kashmir" - he reworks it much more rockingly with Indian percussion - plus alternate versions of "Waiting" and "Joytown." I don't know if it comes with all copies, but it's a nice bonus if you get it.
This album works on so many levels it's almost scary. Whether you want something to weird you out, make you laugh, make you think, make you dance, make your thoughts drift into space, give you some hope or or make you want to kill yourself.. no matter what, you'll find something for it in Thud. Spread the word if you can - this kind of brilliance should never be overlooked.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Musical Genius Too Late Discovered, July 19, 2006
Back in 2004 I was listening to an internet radio station, when this tune, TEA FOR ONE, came over the cheap computer speakers I was using. The melody was haunting. I checked around and found it was a song composed and done by a fellow named Kevin Gilbert. I also found out that Mr. Gilbert died in 1996. So I went on Amazon to purchase the CD THUD by Kevin Gilbert and was quite pleased to find out that it came with a bonus CD, with a cover of Led Zeppelin's KASHMIR. This album has feeling of longing, displayed beautifully in the song TEA FOR ONE. Come to find out Kevin Gilbert, while very talented, just could not get the major record labels to acknowledge that talent. The well known, and now pop singer, Cheryl Crow was his protege. He also worked with Madonna on the Dick Tracy soundtrack, and at one time was considered as a replacement for Phil Collins, when Mr. Collins left the band Genesis.
THUD, while not original in approach, was a solo effort much on par with earlier solo efforts by folks like Paul McCartney, Al Kooper, Emmit Rhodes, and Todd Rundgren. These solo efforts, I always felt, best give expression to the artist's, in this case, tortured soul. Gilbert expresses that longing for the recognition of his efforts in songs like WAITING and SHRUG.
A gifted musician, Kevin Gilbert, apparently was a self-taught Cellist. If you purchase the THUD CD try and get the issue with the bonus CD, if only for the cover of KASHMIR. Gilbert really does make the classic Zeppelin tune his own. I have played THUD for family and friends and some of the tunes have left them in emotional shambles. TEA FOR ONE is the anthem for all who have longed for love. Despite his tragic end, we can only hope that more people discover the genius of Kevin Gilbert.
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