Paul Gilbert – Silence Followed by...

It seems amazing to think that Get Out Of My Yard (or GOOMY as we shall now call it!) was Paul Gilbert’s first completely instrumental album. One of the true masters of uber technical guitar, Gilbert has given us many delights over the years and, with the song Scarified, he effectively etched his way into the collective shred sub-conscious for all time.

GOOMY was a solid start and the accompanying DVD was up to Gilbert’s usual fun standards but now the goal posts have moved up a notch and Paul is set to tour with Joe Satriani, the undisputed instrumental master. Can SILENCE FOLLOWED BY A DEAFENING ROAR stand toe to toe with Satch’s innate mastery of the genre? The answer: It most certainly can! Let us step into the six string super shred machine and traverse the 64th note highway and explore the wider realms of SFBADR.

Overview!

The title track is first out of the blocks and it has a really nice groove to it and recalls some of Paul’s work with Racer X and features a great tapping melody as one of the main sections. Eudaimonia Overture opens with some crazy tapping before settling into a more Halenesque vibe. The first thing you notice is the real emphasis on melody which was not always apparent on early Gilbert releases and the fact that it sounds very live, as if the band are all playing together in the studio. The upbeat nature continues on The Rhino which has a nice 6/4 then 7/4 groove. Norwegian Cowbell has the kind of riff that wouldn’t have gone a miss on Mr Big and also features that classic Gilbert lick from his GIT days.

Proceedings take a mellower turn for I Cannot Tell a Lie. Again the emphasis is firmly on melody and Paul really wrings the notes on this one. Bronx 1971 does as the title says and has a real Jeff Beck/Jan Hammer feel to it. It made me want to put my pimp out fit on and cruise around in my fat Cadillac! The next track, Suite Modale, is my favourite and has a beautiful oriental melody and superb use of the whammy pedal.

You won’t believe the restraint shown on his one but the king of shred proves he ain’t dead on the next number, The Gargoyle, as he rolls back time to the halcyon days of the mighty RACER X. After these highs the album does tale of a touch but the variety is still impressive and the arrangement of Elvis Costello’s I Still Have That Other Girl is really cool.

Conclusion

Overall this is a very good release and, at just over 42 minutes, it doesn’t outstay its welcome. This is a very important point that Paul Gilbert has taken onboard. Far too many instrumental albums are very long and indulgent these days. This has a negative effect on their ability to reach anywhere beyond other guitarists but this album has some nice songs your girlfriend would like and, if she is getting bored, well she only has to stand 42 minutes of it!

One negative point is the production. A little more air on the instruments would have been nice and there is a touch too much (sorry couldn’t help myself) top end on the guitar for my liking but come May time, you can be sure that Paul G will armed and ready (there I go again!) to take any stage by storm with this arsenal of songs.