Following his successful "Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar" CD,"Fuzz Universe" is the third all instrumental CD by guitarist Paul Gilbert, regarded internationally as a guitarist's guitarist. Gilbert's sales draw from ... more »nearly 20 albums and more than 20 years as a recording artist and touring musician. Racer X remains one of Shrapnel's best catalog items, fueled by guitar fans that want to hear Gilbert at his shredding best. "Fuzz Universe" contains some of Gilbert's most phenomenal playing to date.« less
All Artists:Paul Gilbert Title:Fuzz Universe Members Wishing: 3 Total Copies: 0 Label:Shrapnel Original Release Date: 1/1/2010 Re-Release Date: 8/3/2010 Genres:Pop, Rock Style: Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC:026245120822
Synopsis
Product Description
Following his successful "Silence Followed By A Deafening Roar" CD,"Fuzz Universe" is the third all instrumental CD by guitarist Paul Gilbert, regarded internationally as a guitarist's guitarist. Gilbert's sales draw from nearly 20 albums and more than 20 years as a recording artist and touring musician. Racer X remains one of Shrapnel's best catalog items, fueled by guitar fans that want to hear Gilbert at his shredding best. "Fuzz Universe" contains some of Gilbert's most phenomenal playing to date.
CD Reviews
Paul Continues to Amaze
M. A Spitzer | Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA | 08/07/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Paul Gilbert continues to expand and broaden his musical horizons with his guitar playing and composition.
Of all the 80s guitar heroes, I have the highest respect for Paul.
Vai has kind of gotten a little to weird with strange sound effects and other strange music for my tastes (although I still respect his abilities).
Satriani is very good, but except for Surfing With The Alien I have never been grabbed by his stuff for some reason.
Yngwie was my guitar god for many years and I still give him the respect he deserves for essentially raising the bar for guitar technique in the 80s and 90s, but his recent releases have suffered from stagnation and bad audio engineering & production.
Paul Gilbert seems to have the widest range of talent when you consider Mr. Big, Racer X, and his solo material.
His melodic sense is very catchy and his technique is the cleanest of all the players out there.
I confess I am jealous of his ability to still play this fast and clean well into his 40s -- Now I know 40s is not old, but I also play guitar as a hobby and have released some solo albums over the years ... but I have noticed the early beginnings of joint pain and stiffness that makes it harder to play fast technical stuff effortlessly like I did 15 years ago.
The title track is a showcase of all Paul's best trademark riffs and licks and rates as one of his best solo instrumentals.
So if you love instrumental rock guitar, this is a 5-star CD.
Now after writing all this praise, I must confess I will not listen to this CD very often.
Why you ask ?
Worry not, this is not a reflection on this CD. I am simply reaching a stage in life I guess where I am kind of reconnecting with classic hard rock with vocals like Black Sabbath, Dio, Hendrix, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden (the stuff I listened to in the 70s and 80s).
I guess after years of listening to Vai, Satriani, Gilbert, Moore, Holdsworth, Yngwie, Stump, Impelleterri .... I am a little bored with instrumental guitar acrobatics (as impressive as they may be)..... and am starting to appreciate catchy riff based rock tunes again, with a good singer and the guitar flash reserved for a 1 minute solo in the middle to climax the energy of the song.
But who knows ... after a year or two away from it, I may find myself immersing myself in all the Guitar God Hi-tech Instrumental stuff again.
And when that time comes .... Paul Gilbert's Fuzz Universe will be one of the first I grab.
Note to Paul Gilbert if you happen to scan Amazon.com from time to time ............ I woould really like to see another Racer X album !!
(smile)
"
Change can be a good thing....
Chris | 08/11/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I heard the single Fuzz Universe before the album was released, and I immediately thought this would easily be Paul Gilbert's best album. But after listening to the album as a whole, the title track might be the only song on the album that doesn't fit. This isn't a bad thing at all, just don't buy the album expecting every song to sound similar to Fuzz Universe. Paul has many changes in this album including tone, the use of wah wah, and even the unusual scale progressions I've never really heard from him. I've listened to the albums a few times through and I love it, so I've decided to do a full review.
1. Fuzz Universe - 10/10 Best song on the album in my opinion. Sounds like a Randy Rhoads tribute song, with a chorus to let you know it's still Paul Gilbert behind the guitar.
2. Olympic - 10/10 This song starts one way and finishes a completely different way. It starts off really joyous sounding, then about a couple minutes in everything changes. Gilbert plays a darker chord progression with Viking Kong type solos. It's an emotional journey throughout.
3. The Count Juan Chutrifo - 7/10 This song almost fills like a filler to me. It's fun to listen to, but nothing ever really happens throughout the song.
4. Bach Partita in Dm - 9/10 I love this piece, his tone makes it sound amazing.
5. Blue Orpheus - 4/10 The intro is good, then it becomes almost painful to listen to. Paul Gilbert did not write this song, in-case anyone hasn't read that on his site. This is a very weird and disappointing song, to me at least.
6. Will My Screen Door Stop Neptune - 8/10 The main riff is promising, but it's never really fulfilled. Still a great song though.
7. Propeller - 10/10 This is where the album starts to pick back up in my opinion. I love the jazzy sound and tone of this song. It's so emotionally great on the chorus, and there's solo from each instrument which is really cool.
8. Don't Rain On My Firewood - 9/10 The song really remains the same throughout, but the main riff is so great is my opinion that it works anyways. And it had a cool breakdown towards the end.
9. Plastic Dracula - 9/10 This song is similar to DROMF, has a great riff that drives throughout the whole song. But this song also has some of his greatest solo work that's reminiscent of the solo in Technical Difficulties.
10. Mantra The Lawn - 9/10 Another fun song. This is where you start to realize that Paul Gilbert is just having fun on this album. He wasn't trying to over think anything, just pure fun guitar grooving.
11. Blowtorch - 10/10 The final standout on the album I think. This song feels like a tribute song to himself, and I think he should have ended this album here.
12. Batter Up - 7/10 This might have been a fun song to play, but no way to end this great album. It should have been placed somewhere else. But then again the Japanese version of this album doesn't end here, so maybe those weren't Paul's intentions.
Overall, great album, 5 stars easily in my opinion. Has a few dull tracks but the others more than make up for that. If you're a guitarist, just listening to this album will make you better, more so than any other Paul Gilbert album.
"
Another Incredible Instrumental Album from Pablo Gilberto!
Andrew M. Hively | 08/03/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Paul Gilbert is an amazingly gifted guitarist and on his third instrumental CD, Fuzz Universe, he brings his chops, musicality, and awesome tone together for a sweet set of tunes. If you liked his last 2 instrumental CD's, you will love this one. Buy it! Now!"
A guitar clinic in musical shredding
Ian Martin | Auckland New Zealand | 08/06/2010
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was totally taken with Gilbert's second instrumental "Silence followed by a deafening roar" so didn't hesitate picking up "Fuzz Universe". The opening blistering title track takes off where the last album ended. That unmistakable sweet,crunch tone. Exciting yes, and flashy with trills on even the melodic slower segments. This piece is a Gilbert tour de force with everything from intense shredding to an emotional slower bridge and then back again for a thrilling conclusion - all in the opening track!
Guitar clinic part one comprises the first two tracks, "Fuzz Universe" and "Olympic" and these are outright impressive with screaming lead lines that take your breath away with the precision and speed of execution. The mix seems even more guitar heavy with bass and even drums less prominent than on the last album. That's not to say that Jeff isn't thundering away in timed runs with Gilbert, but rather know the guitar is in your face. So my first impression is that this appears more a Gilbert showcase than a band effort. Indeed on the album insert I struggled to find any mention of the band musicians other than in small print "Craig uses Grabbit/Hamilton stands' and 'Jeff uses Tama drums".
"The Count Juan Chutrifo" has a Hendrix-like vibe with noticeable keyboard background which certainly added and was a more cohesive composition than the two first tracks. Then comes guitar clinic part two: Can Gilbert play? Just put on the Bach track for a virtuoso performance of solo electric guitar. A complex classical piece but after a while I hoped somehow the band would kick in. They didn't.
"Blue Orpheus" is quite experimental with a mish-mash of a Brian May intro meets Satriani over a repetitive drum-machine like riff. This seemed out of place. Strange. Indeed the rest of the album never managed to get back to the heights of the opening four pieces.
"Will my screen door stop Neptune" - a gripping start, a great recording with band kicking in and a grungier groove - more organic but other than a ripping solo this sounded in the end like a left over Van Halen track.
It gets stranger with "Propeller". I don't know what to make of this - another groove with an unusual almost fusion feel including a spacey organ solo followed by a great bass solo and indeed on this track for once the bass is more prominent.
"Don't rain on my firewood" - another driving wah-wah infused groove. Certainly great squeals, bends and mini interludes with some cool, muted runs. This built and began to take me on a journey but then faded...
"Plastic dracula" although could be described as another song with a Satriani-like key riff, is fortunately saved as there is always a twist musically in Gilbert's compositions that lifts this and the track ends with a kick.
"Blowtorch" has a scorching opening but then moves into a very different middle section possibly spoiling it although has a ripping ending with Jeff applying the heat, which moves nicely into "Mantra the lawn" which ends with a tip of the hat to the Beatles.
Yes,again I was amazed by his playing ability and loved the musicality, yet I felt this album didn't hold together as well as his previous release. The compositions were of mixed interest and a few seemed completely out of place. Ending on "Batter Up", a hard blues shuffle seemed quite an anticlimax.
You know the guitarist is phenomenal. So if you like buckets full of notes exquisitely well placed and played with a super tone then you'll love this. It gets 4 stars for this and the first four tracks but overall perhaps this should be 3 star rating. In the end that fourth star is because Paul is no ordinary shredder and neither is this album.
(For a comparison see my 5 star review for "Silence followed by a deafening roar".)"
Track Listings (12) - Disc #1