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The Friday Five: September 7, 2012

R.E.M. - “What If We Give It Away?” (Lifes Rich Pageant, 1986)
This is the R.E.M. that I prefer—catchy songs, jangly guitars, and Michael Stipe’s voice at times just on the verge of cracking. Love it.

Foo Fighters - “Have It All” (One By One, 2002)
I guess if Stipe and the boys give it all away, Dave Grohl and company can have it all. I love Foo Fighters, and they can do very little wrong in my eyes. This album was heavier and more aggressive in places than previous ones and is full of the stadium anthem rock that the Foos have come to be known for. If There Is Nothing Left to Lose had not already sucked me in, this album would definitely have done it.

Black ’N Blue - “Action” (Black ‘N Blue, 1984)
Terrible cover of Sweet’s (or The Sweet, depending on where you’re from) “Action.” Worst song on the album, and I’m really at a loss for why they included it given the strength of the rest of the album. Unfortunately they never repeated the magic of their debut.

The Police - “How Stupid Mr. Bates” (Message in a Box: The Complete Recordings, 1993)
How stupid, Police. This sounds like it could have been some of Copeland’s soundtrack fodder. Unlike his excellent work for the 80s TV series The Equalizer, this is just meh.

Portnoy, Gildenlow, Gilbert, LaRue - “In the Light” (Hammer of the Gods: Two Nights in North America, 2006)
Dream Theater founder and former drummer Mike Portnoy is no stranger to side projects and supergroups. This time he teamed up with Daniel Gildenlöw (Pain of Salvation), Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), and Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs) for a one-off Led Zeppelin tribute band (similar to his Beatles tribute band Yellow Matter Custard, also with Paul Gilbert) to play and film a couple of shows that ended up on a DVD. Here I guess they do a respectable job of “In the Light” (never one of my faves, by the way), but if memory serves (I haven’t listened to the entire album in quite awhile), this combo makes for a great Led Zeppelin cover band. Search the YouTube to see for yourself.

Tomorrow Soon Will Be Your Yesterday

Neal Morse - “Momentum” (Single Edit)

OK, so apparently every song on Neal Morse’s new album Momentum is going to be as good as “Thoughts Part 5.” And as the video implies, Paul Gilbert does indeed appear for a blistering solo. Nice!

However, I have two questions that need answering. How did I miss this video when it was released back in July? And what exactly am I missing in the 2:13 that was cut from the album version of this song?

Enjoy!

The Notes Go Right Into Your Heart

Paul Gilbert runs through his rig for Premier Guitar

Premier Guitar runs through Billy Sheehan’s bass rig

It’s time for another rig rundown with Premier Guitar. This time, in lieu of having their techs go through their rigs, Mr. Big shred-meisters Paul Gilbert and Billy Sheehan discuss their guitars, amps and effects themselves, all the while displaying how genuinely nice and down-to-earth they both are. No rockstar egos here, boys and girls. The only question I have is … where’s Rebecca?!

Enjoy!

This is part of the fun of growing older: being out of touch and not caring. Teenagers might not know The Beatles, and my revenge is to not know…come to think of it, I don’t even know who I’m supposed to not know!
Paul Gilbert on being out of touch with modern music, Music Radar interview
The instrumental stuff is a good challenge, … but I’m totally happy to bang away on some chords, sing some harmonies and play some wailing blues solos after the second chorus.
Paul Gilbert on once again being in a vocal-based rock band, Music Radar interview
In the end, music is a medium to broadcast emotions.
Paul Gilbert, Music Radar interview
It’s taken me about 30 years to recover from hearing “Eruption,” but I’m finally getting back to where I was going before Eddie Van Halen came along and made everyone want to follow him.
Paul Gilbert on how his guitar playing has changed since the 1995 version of Mr. Big, Music Radar interview

She Lives By Golden Rules That Don’t Apply

Mr. Big - “Undertow”

I was never a huge Mr. Big fan, being familiar only with the big radio and MTV hits. And while I liked those songs well enough, I’ve become more attracted to Paul Gilbert’s post-Mr. Big output, especially his involvement in one-off supergroup tribute projects and obscure music-based Japanese game shows with former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman. But if the rest of the upcoming Mr. Big album What If…—the first all-original-members release since the early-2009 reunion—is as good as this, it might be worth a closer look.

Enjoy!

My inspiration for [“Will My Screen Door Stop Neptune”] is kind of unusual. I wanted to write a song with my favorite tempo. What is my favorite tempo? “Neon Knights” by Black Sabbath, with Ronnie James Dio on vocals, of course! … And hopefully the spirit of Ronnie James Dio resides in the music just a little bit.
Paul Gilbert, Premier Guitar, September 2010
I’m happy anytime I can sound like Brian May.
Paul Gilbert, Premier Guitar, September 2010
The Beatles are kind of my musical DNA. If I could sing like them, write like them, and make girls jump up and down and scream like they did, then I would never have to play instrumental music at all.
Paul Gilbert, Premier Guitar, September 2010