The guitar virtuoso himself is back with his first solo album in nearly three years. Being a big fan of Mr Big, I’ve been excited for this since it first came across our emails, though I have to say I haven’t listened to much of his solo stuff in the past. We could be in store for anything! But still, if it’s anything like his band projects, we’re in for something special. Let’s dive right in and see what this is like!
Showing off his insane guitar talented right from the offset with some insane soloing, a great riff soon bursts in to start ‘Keep Your Feet Firm and Even’ off strong. The vocals soon come over the top and is surprisingly catchy for a verse! And still, it all builds to a HUGE chorus, the harmonies making it even bigger. It hooked me immediately and I already expect it to be stuck in my head for the rest of the day. We also get some more absolutely insane, blistering soloing tucked away in the middle of this. I love it dropping down to simple bass and drums to really highlight the guitar more, and builds up steadily again into the stomping stuff for the final parts. I love the melody of the main riff coming back as a solo too, real masterful playing and writing. And another big final chorus and solo takes us home in style. A fantastic way to open the album, and an easy early-album highlight!
‘Show Not Yourself Glad’ instantly kicks things up a notch into pure punk territory, and I’m all here for it! It does drop back in the verses to a more soft-rock style, and honestly the lyrics felt a little too on-the-nose for me. However, the harmonies are still fantastic, almost giving more of an ELO vibe. The two parts fit together far better than they have any right to. We also get some awesome soloing over a slower, stripped back bridge, feeling very reminiscent of his Mr Big days. His talent really is off the charts, and is highlighted perfectly here. And ending on that insane solo was definitely the right call!
‘Maintaining a Sweet and Cheerful Countenance’ keeps the pace high but dips back into his blues sound. I want to highlight his band at this point too, as both the bass and drums is going hard throughout, almost as hard as Gilbert goes. Once again the lyrics are a little blunt, repeating the song title an awful lot, but the instrumentation is so good it’s hard not to love it! The same can be said for tracks like, ‘Go Not Thither’, ‘Let Thy Carriage’ and ‘Turn Not Your Back’ all being blues and prog infused bangers. They have a similar structure of lower energy verses and sometimes choruses, while having some heavier instrumentation around them. And of course, the guitaring is the big highlight through them all! The latter is a big personal highlight of the album as a whole, giving off big Electric Boys vibes in the best ways. A track that easily makes it onto our playlist!
‘Orderly and Distinctly’ is a bit slower in pace again, and also feels a bit pop-infused as well as soft rock. It feels more like a ballad track of the album, and perfectly placed too to break up the higher pacing so far! It’s a pretty beautiful song, and the lyrics here are much more interestingly written than other tracks on the release. It gives more of a Floyd or even Beatles vibe, but definitely in a good way! And we also get another amazing solo tucked away in the middle, once again melting my face off. Another clear highlight!
Tracks like ‘If you Soak Bread in the Sauce’ and ‘Speak Not Evil…’ are fun, bouncy, bluesy soft rock songs. Again, both are great songs in their own right, but definitely fit together well as a similar sound. The musicianship throughout both is off the charts, and the only reason they’re pushed together here is so I don’t come across as a big old fangirl from repeating the same praise over and over. However, the latter is one of my favourite tracks on the album, and may have my favourite chorus Gilbert has laid down in a good while!
‘Conscience is the Most Certainly Judge’ is another slower track, perfectly breaking up the rockier songs again. It’s a fun, bouncy song with a pretty decent chorus, but does scream ‘album track’ a little. Meanwhile ‘Every Action Done in Company’ is another prog-blues track that does Gilbert’s lyric-repeating technique to the max. Then you have the incredible riffing of ‘Spark of Celestial Fire’ and a straight-up blues track closes things off with ‘George Washington Rules’. All are good songs in isolation, with the closer being particularly fun and another highlight. However, they do reflect the extended length of the album, and none really bring much new to the release that we haven’t heard already. But still, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a good time listening to any of them, and the bands’ talents are that grand that they could make anything incredible!
Overall: This is a damn good release! As I’ve said multiple times throughout this, Gilbert is an insanely talented musician, and has surrounded himself with the same in his solo band, making this filled with some of the best playing around. And while some of the lyrics are great, overall it’s the weakest part for me. However, it does have some kick-ass, catchy-as-hell choruses! If you are a fan of any of his other work, you’ll surely enjoy this too, and I’d recommend it to anyone even remotely curious or big into 80s and 90s rock!
The Score: 8/10