Artist: Paul Gilbert
Title: Fuzz Universe
Type: Album
Label: Mascot Records

Following his career with Mr Big, a super group at the time, Paul Gilbert has since released two instrumental solo albums, ‘Fuzz Universe’ being his third. Instrumental albums by guitar wizards are something of an acquired taste for me, they have to be very metal, I do remember years ago training my ears to Malmsteen, Satriani, Friedmann and Vai. I knew Paul Gilbert’s work from Mr Big and a little from Racer X. Paul was also part of the G3 tour a few years back, showcasing some of the most talented musicians in the business. The only thing that really bugs me about instrumental albums is the drumming; it is often either lacklustre or clearly a drum machine. On ‘Fuzz Universe’, the former is the case; there are very simple patterns with a thin sound. The guitar sound varies, but you do have “the fuzz”, not so much of the Fu Manchu fuzz of course, but clear tones and distorted sounds that display Paul’s precise picking technique. He states that if the musical notes on this album are akin to one grain of sand, then this album would produce 72 buckets of sand. An oddball statement, but true in what it does. Up and down the fretboard, there is light and shade and stand out numbers include ‘Olympic’, ‘Blowtorch’ and the classical rendition ‘Bach Partita in D Major’.

I don’t see this as a very metal album; it is a guitar player’s album, producing much inspiration to players old and new. As an album, I got very bored, but listen as a musician, it is remarkable stuff. Purchasing this album will depend on where you stand in the musician/fan spectrum. ‘Fuzz Universe’ show’s Paul Gilbert as a talented musician, and when a recording like this comes out or is written, it is very much written with the musician in mind, not a cohesive band possessing memorable tunes and melodies. So in that sense, I see this as a musician’s album or backing track, a listener expecting proper songs will be dismayed and bored. ‘Fuzz Universe’ is what it is, a wealth of musical ideas laid down in the studio.

http://www.paulgilbert.com/
http://www.myspace.com/paulgilbert
http://www.mascotrecords.com