If I had to describe Paul Gilbert’s playing style, I’d say…  “it sounds like Saturday morning cartoons”.  Huh?  Well, you remember when you were a kid and how excited you were for Saturday morning to roll around…  you had no school, you got to sleep in late, and when you rolled out of bed you ran into the kitchen, grabbed you a big bowl of Sugar Smacks, and plopped down in front of the TV to tune into Scooby Doo or Fat Albert or Sigmund The Sea Monster or He-Man or whatever floated your boat at such a young age.  That overwhelming feeling of elation and joy is a perfect description of what I feel when I listen to Paul Gilbert play ANYTHING.  He’s that good.

If I had to pick a Paul Gilbert song from one of his projects (either Racer X, Mr. Big, or solo), I’d have to go with the killer supersonic bluesiness of “Down To Mexico”.  Pick any version (live or studio) and not only do you have a shredtastic delight , but you’ve also got a song too-  this ain’t just three and a half minutes of non-stop noodling; you’ve got yer typical verse/chorus section and singalong bits but it’s that jacked up intensity of the riff, punchy band performance, and over the top soloing that grabs your ear and keeps me hitting the replay button.  And while singing of the fun ‘n sun down Mexico way is kinda cool and all, that ain’t what’s bringing you here now is it?  Naaaaah baby naaaaah…

So yeah Paul Gilbert is my “Saturday morning cartoons”…  how can you not feel a sense of excitement when listening to “Down To Mexico”?  It’s that non-stop push and energetic fervor that’s on full display; the bends and slides in that oh so toxic intro; the unison bass/guitar noodling at the tail end of that main riff; and that slippery middle guitar section that is my Scooby Doo.  And when it’s over I put it back on again and it’s my Speed Racer…  and then on again and now it’s Grape Ape…  and then on again and it’s…

“Black Feathers” Spiritual Beggars, On Fire

In the early days of the Internet I was hunting high and low for the next big rock band and happily stumbled across Spiritual Beggars-  if you like Deep Purple, Rainbow, and early Whitesnake you should love these guys.  “Black Feathers” features second singer JB’s strong pipes, Per Wiberg’s killer Hammond organ work, tight rhythm section in Sharlee D’Angelo and Ludwig Witt, and fab guitar work from Michael Amott.  Just a solid, solid rock cut that takes elements of early 70s heavy rock bands and creates a slightly more modern piece of work.  Highly recommended.

“All Of My Friends Were There” The Kinks, Village Green Preservation Society

As a huge Kinks fan thanks to their raucous late 70s/early 80s arena rock period, it came as a shock to hear some of their earlier material.  “All Of My Friends Were There” is certainly shocking; quite far removed from that rock period courtesy of Ray Davies’ somewhat silly vocal throughout but beautifully mixed with the playful instrumentation and melodic chorus.  Village Green is a bit of a concept album and the song definitely fits in with the rest of that material, mixing old English traditions and values via reminisces from Ray Davies’ youth.

“Radioactive” Paul Rodgers, Live In Glasgow

From his days with Jimmy Page and The Firm comes Paul Rodgers’ live take on that bands’ “hit”, this version from his cracking Live In Glasgow album.  If you remember the original there’s not too much different here other than two lead guitars playing that quirky Page noodle (that always felt a bit out of place to my ears) but the calling card is Rodgers glorious voice, a mix of bluesy rock ‘n soul like very few others.  Yeah man, the band is tight and nails the groove but this is Paul Rodgers we are talking about here!  He’s definitely on point, maybe a tad too playful but great nonetheless.

“Repeat (Stars and Stripes” Manic Street Preachers, Generational Terrorists

Not really a song as much as a remix of their album cut “Repeat (UK)” thanks to the work of The Bomb Squad, this version gets a bit hip hoppy in sound effect yet tosses in some of the rock elements as well.  But no…  that’s not what’s going to catch your ear, especially if you are familiar with that original.  It’s those pure punk vocals; the “repeat after me fuck Queen and country” which I’m sure gained them quite a bit of notoriety and fandom in equal measure.  That original is really the version you want to grab as this remix is more of an interesting curio than anything else.

“What Went Wrong” The Smithereens, 2011

I’m a big Smithereens fan and it makes me said that this is the last studio album we’ll ever hear from Pat Dinizio.  2011 is prime Smithereens and “What Went Wrong” is a fab cut, sounding like a classic mix of The Who and The Kinks due to Dennis Diken’s Keith Moonisms and Jim Babjak’s dead on Dave Davies/Pete Townshend buzzsaw guitar.  Dinizio’s slacker cool vocal is on fully display on this bouncy and swinging rock cut, so if you miss those swingin’ ’60s maximum R&B days this cut is your perfect tonic.  RIP Pat, you will be missed!

“Warning” Queensryche, The Warning

If I have a Queensryche preference it’s definitely anything pre-Empire with most of my love for Operation:Mindcrime and The Warning albums, the latter of which you’ll find this cut (makes sense, doesn’t it?).  “The Warning” is a good reason why I like the band; solid militaristic, fist raising riff and Geoff Tate’s ungodly vocals are enough to grab any headbanger’s attention.  Still, the production (as with a good chunk of Queensryche albums) leaves me a bit cold as the guitars are a bit layered and deep in the mix with little fatness on the bottom end.  But hey, I still like it!

“Things Ain’t Working Out Down At The Farm (BBC Radio 1 Version)” Thin Lizzy, Vagabonds Of The Western World

Like mentioned in the Kinks blurb above, I first got into Thin Lizzy due to the radio hits from the Robertson/Gorham era and was a bit surprised to hear the early material with Eric Bell on guitar.  “Things Ain’t Working Out” is a great little tune, this version from a BBC live session that allows the band to stretch out from the original version, giving Bell a bit of room to get “Hendrixy” near the end.  Of course Phil is a joy on vocal as usual, full of confidence at such a young age and Brian Downey provides rock solid timekeeping and snappiness on the drums.

“Calling Dr. Love” KISS, Sonic (Boom Bonus Disc)

Yeah baby!  But what’s this?  It’s Dr. Love but not Dr. Love and I’m sorry, I prefer the original because when I was a kid KISS meant the world to me and it has to be the original Fab Four here (no Ace, no Peter…  sorry!).  All that said, I have full respect for Gene and Paul wanting to continue with replacements and this version is very good but since I dressed up as Ace for Halloween and had the smokin’ guitar poster it has to be the original.  No disrespect to Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer (a killer drummer) but the original is one of my fave KISS songs of all time!  That riff…  whew!

“Back On My Feet” Vandenberg, The Definitive Collection

Vandenberg’s debut was a great little album and “Back On My Feet” is one of my favorite songs, taking a hot ‘n ready Schenkerized riff and tossing in a bit of funkiness during the verses and prechorus then getting some bass n drum double time during the chorus and lead solo section.  Vocalist Bert Heerink sounds strong here, maybe a bit like Klaus Meine in vocal tone midrange but also with his own unique stylings in the higher ranges.  Band namesake Adrian Vandenberg features a hot solo but bassist Dick Kemper’s thunder is pretty cool too.

“I Will Follow On” The Answer, Raise A Little Hell

Big fan of these guys, thanks to past plugs from Classic Rock magazine.  “I Will Follow On” is a bonus track on fifth album Raise A Little Hell, which peels back some layers of over the top rock found on their previous material and leaving a bit more of a slinkier, sexier tune.  Much of that is due to guitarist Paul Mahon’s greasy riff, although lead singer Cormac Neeson’s vocal is a bit more laid back than usual, easily sliding into the band groove and staying away from a Plant-esque belt.  Certainly less Led Zeppelin/Free this time around and more Stones/Aerosmith, which works very well.

Tough picks this time around!  I gotta go with “Black Feathers” as the number one this week with “Radioactive” not far behind and “What Went Wrong” bringing up the rear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg52j2pEKkE

I’ve had an idea for a top ten “Favorite Covers” post for a good while but I changed my mind after pulling out a CD mix of obscure cuts from 1980-1985 and being gobsmacked all over again by this Gary Moore version and thinking…  why limit myself to a top ten?  Just hit on a number of covers every so often and tell why I like them and maybe giving you a reason to seek out the cover and (possibly) give you an incentive to check out the original as well.  Kinda like my “Shameless Plug” series but focusing on great covers yet not choosing one version over the other like in my last “Showdown” post.

My first exposure to the fantastic Irish musician Gary Moore was a memorable one-  after being THE rock station in Cincinnati for years, WEBN faced a new challenger down the dial around 1983/1984 in 96 ROCK.  While the former focused a good chunk of their playlist on older, well known classic rock artists, the latter found holes in their playlist to uncover some of the lesser known hits from those artists as well as focusing on some newer rock at the time.  It was on this station that I heard this cover of the Yardbirds classic (ironically first heard by me on WEBN) but it was much different; a little less bouncy, definitely louder in guitar, and much, MUCH heavier.  And to top it all off, an absolutely off the hook guitar solo that I’d not heard from anyone aside from Eddie Van Halen.  As a kid who loved all things guitar, THIS song was a revelation and now I had another guitar hero to add to my ever growing list.

Little did I know at the time that the Gary Moore version is actually a cover of the Jeff Beck Group version, which in itself is a bit slower and much more bluesier than the Yardbirds original thanks to Rod Stewart’s soulful vocal and Jeff Beck’s otherworldly guitar work.  I finally heard that version much later in life and enjoy it for the grooviness entailed, but as far as outright rock intensity and over the top punch, the Gary Moore version rips.  Starting off with a descending riff, Moore’s tone is thick and heavy and matched in thumpiness via Ian Paice’s cannon shot snare until the first verse kicks in with a strong vocal and wide open chords of chunky distortion.  Each consecutive verse changes up the main riff a hair, either double timing a power chord here and there or layering another rhythm guitar into the mix.  But man….  get a load of that solo!  Essentially a cop on the first few bars of Jeff Beck’s solo, Moore turns up the heat and slams it into overdrive as he increases the intensity and speed in his playing, eventually reaching a crescendo and dropping things down to a simmering tempo until ramping it back up again and roaring through the final chorus.  Truly a master class in guitar histrionics.

While the rhythm section is definitely solid (Paice is a master sticksman and Neil Murray is a great bassist), this version is pretty much the Gary Moore show.  Not only is the guitar work lethal but his vocal is suitably aggressive yet passionate-  check out the hair raising screams at the tail end of the final verse.  A fitting finale to one fabulously awesome cover of a cover!  If you like what you hear, much of his other material is worth checking out but keep an open mind:  Moore’s 70s/80s discography (including his stint in Thin Lizzy) mixed heavy rock with some balladic material and his 90s/00s records were blues based.  Still, his passionate playing is on full display regardless of which album you choose.  This cover is featured on his 1983 album Victims Of The Future, which may be hard to track down but is well worth it.  Happy hunting!