Stone Pushing Uphill Man

Stone Pushing Uphill Man is a strongly conceptual covers album on which Paul Gilbert translates other artists’ original songs into his own sound. Rather than viewing it as a mere song selection, the great pleasure of this work is hearing the process of interpretation — how Gilbert transposes external songs into his own timing, singing and guitar sound. His broad musical roots and rich affection strongly appear in the song choices. Rather than merely relying on the fame of the originals, this guitarist’s own sure quirks and aesthetic clearly emerge within the powerful drive of the rhythm, the guitar phrasing and the distinctive air flowing around the solos. The way familiar songs show a wholly new face by Gilbert’s hand is a truly fresh experience. Content letting you savor both his singing and guitar appeals. A record on which one wants to turn one’s ear not only to the origins of each included song but to the unity born within the album’s ordering. Though a project album a little apart from the flow of the signature works, an artist’s aesthetic strongly appears precisely in the method of how it interprets and reconstructs others’ songs. Letting you confirm Paul Gilbert’s musical outline in three dimensions, it is an intriguing covers work.