Paul Gilbert
King of Clubs (Mayhem)
by Martin Popoff
Mr. Big’s sprightly sparkly axeman paints his world in the rainbow hues of his main influence and lifelove, The Beatles, slotting into line another product thereof. King Of Clubs buzzes comfortably on a shelf populated by Cheap Trick, Enuff Z’nuff, Elvis Costello, and Joe Jackson records. And of course, given a past bookended by shred machines Racer X and Mr. Big, Paul Gilbert exhibits a certain Vai-cynical disdain for the process, marbling the record with punctuations of light-speed Zappa zaps.
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