Search - Kevin Gilbert :: The Shaming Of The True

Ambitious rock opera of the opera of rock

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 02/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gilbert's untimely demise leaves his second solo studio production as his final musical statement. This ambitious song cycle of a musician's ingestion by the record industry is Pink Floyd-like in its musical sophistication and Who-like in its visceral impact. As songwriter, singer, producer and principal instrumentalist, Gilbert has created an independently produced album of extraordinary quality - far in excess of the product churned out by a record industry whose pathological commercialism he deconstructs with his songs.



As the cast-off key contributor to Sheryl Crow's breakthrough "Tuesday Night Music Club" (not to mention his own brushes with almost-fame in Toy Matinee), Gilbert earned his cynical view. But his distaste for the industry never poisoned his love of music, and here he weds his history of prog-rock (with Giraffe) with the sly, soulful rock that he penned for Crow. Even more impressive, at the time of his death this album was a pile of tapes and handwritten notes on the expected running order; Gilbert's friends and collaborators finished off the album, showing that his musical impact had not shuffled off this mortal coil along with his body. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]"

A True Masterpiece

Todd M. Beasley | Riverside, CA United States | 08/16/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Please support Kevin Gilbert's legacy. If you are reading this, you already know the brilliance of his music.



This CD is in print and available for $16 (KMG004) direct at:



http://www.popplusone.com/gilbert.html



The track list is:



01 Parade

02 The City Of The Sun

03 Suit Fugue (Dance Of The A&R Men)

04 Imagemaker

05 Water Under The Bridge

06 The Best Laid Plans

07 Certifiable #1 Smash

08 Staring Into Nothing

09 Fun

10 From Here To There

11 Ghetto Of Beautiful Things

12 A Long Day's Life

13 The Way Back Home

14 Johnny's Last Song



Also available at the popplusone site are two other Kevin Gilbert CDs:



Kevin Gilbert and Thud - Live At The Troubadour $15 (KMG002) LIVE AT THE TROUBADOUR



Kevin Gilbert's Kaviar $25 (KMG005) The Kaviar Sessions



Also available is a comp of two Giraffe CDs (The Power Of Suggestion + The View From Here):



Gifaffe $15 (KMG001)



Even before Giraffe, Kevin was in a band called NRG (vinyl only). This is available with bonus tracks at:



http://www.kevingilbert.com/Sounds/NRG/NRG_album.html



Please visit http://www.kevingilbert.com/ for interviews, rarities, and the missing tracks from the Giraffe CD.

"

"Believe in what you're doing, remember who you are.."

spiral_mind | Pennsylvania | 11/08/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's hard talking about artists who die too young while trying to look past the myth that tends to surround them. Was Jeff Buckley as great as everyone says? Would Nick Drake's appeal be as deep & timeless if he hadn't died at 24?



Yes and yes. But that's beside the point, which is: in a just world, any list of such artists would also include the name Kevin Gilbert. The man could sing, play any instrument, engineer/produce, and (best of all) write brilliantly. He managed to be consistently serious, witty, catchy, sophisticated, accessible *and* eloquent all at once. No mean feat. Check out Thud to discover one of the greatest masterpieces of the 90s.



His final posthumous work The Shaming of the True is a rock opera, and a marvelously inventive & eclectic rock opera it is. Every story album can use a couple big rockers, nicely provided in "The Best Laid Plans" and "Certifiable #1 Smash," while the requisite slow tunes thankfully avoid being cheesy. "Fun" is a smooth lounge piece. "City of the Sun" is sinuous pop with a prog twist. The a-capella "Suit Fugue" is a nutty taste of Gentle Giant by way of Mr. Bungle. The whole thing has a great dynamic flow and there's really no filler to be found (the dated mentions of Leo DiCaprio and Tonya Harding notwithstanding).



The premise - rising star gets chewed up & spit out by some soulless record company - is marginally similar to Pink Floyd's The Wall, but that's where the resemblance ends. Kevin skewers the industry and its fun and games with a frank true-to-life eye rather than Roger Waters's self-absorbed character study. TSotT is sharp, darkly funny and infectious even though the cynicism is still there in spades. At the same time it's touching enough to make our protagonist's hope and disillusionment almost tangible. The mix of honesty and humor would have done Leonard Cohen or Warren Zevon proud.



If you don't know Kevin, go for Thud or the self-titled album from Toy Matinee first. A great discovery awaits."