Paul Gilbert: Alligator Farm

What can I say? Paul Gilbert just rocks. Again, he takes rather simple pop forms and makes them into stuff fun, rocking, grooving and just awesome. He's the ultimate punk rocker in a way. He uses simple songs with great solos and funny lyrics. I don't know any other band that pulls off this brand of semi-goofy power rock so dang well. Every lyrical song is very catchy and sing-along-able. Every solo is just "Bliss". I usually hate pop music because it's aimed at being acceptable to everyone. But I cannot imagine anyone listening to PG's CDs and not liking them, and I love them to death. Go figure. The instrumentals are just ridiculously good as well. "Let The Computer Decide" is a ripping romp. The classical closer "Whole Lotta Sonata" will hurt your brain with its amazingness. Just buy it. And the rest of his CDs. I'm guessing you won't regret it.

Not only is he by far such an amazingly talented groovy shredder, He has such great licks, riffs,and everything he plays is just a roll off the guitar in perfection. He has such a special spot in my music world, To play mucis with him Someday would be such a gret dream, The Alligator Far, is By Far one Great Album, It has your heavy jams but slides on back to a easy chill groove factor. ROCK ON PAUL!

Not the best-sounding surround album ever. Not bad though. It's a bit on the quiet side, compared to what I'm used to for surround mastering, but the volume knob fixed that. Sounds slightly "dingy" to these ears though. The "surround wow" is withheld, for the most part, until the final few tracks. I think the music gets a little whackier then, so the mixing engineer had the opportunity for more surround fun. If you like Paul Gilbert and surround music this will be worth it. If you're only collecting the best sounding surround discs, hold off on this one until you're bored and need something coming in the mail.

Paul Gilbert is easily in the top five guitarists of all time. And he just may be #1. His guitar play is artistry.

Paul Gilbert is amazing

This CD has an almost experimental feel to it. It goes in many different directions, even has some Ramones and Cheap Trick vibe in spots. Some punk, some blues, some pop, some jazz. A lot of different influences show through. If you just want full on, pure shred, this is NOT the CD for you. Paul shows he's a musician FIRST, shredmaster second. Of course, there is a little bit of it, like in "Let The Computer Decide." But remember, the album as a whole is a showcase of many different styles. Some people didn't like the Spice Girls cover, reviewing it at face value. Fair enough. But I did catch the humor in that song, Paul even lays Jimmy Page's Stairway solo in there, and made it fit perfectly! I seem to recall much later in a guitar clinic, that Paul thinks the Spice Girls song makes for a nice study in chord progressions. One of my favorite tracks is the jazz fusionesque "6 Billion People." The lyrics are light hearted and whimsical, but the true brilliance is in the beautiful underlying chord structure and the odd scale he uses for the jazzy & melodic lead. Another reviewer said he repeated this song over and over in his CD player, and I admit I have done the same. I also find this CD very good for days when I'm really grumpy, or just having a crummy day altogether. Paul is genuinely a good hearted guy, and in this particular album, it really shines through with Paul's upbeat and fun songs. It's hard to stay grumpy with this in the CD player.

Unfortunately not one of Paul's best. The vocal tracks detract from Mr. Gilbert's real talents. . . smokin' hot guitar riffs. Less talk and more music is what I was looking for, and the opposite makes this one just average.

Being a big fan of Gilbert, I could not take this CD with an excellent price.