Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
You can’t escape Christmas, it is as inevitable as a political gesture, it is as demanding as a court summons, and for some the meaning has become blurred, lost, sacrificed to the ring of the till and the steady heartbeat beep of the transaction.
Perhaps such things were always there in the background, and so by contrast we have made the most of them, we have allowed the need to be replaced by want, that we are showing love through the showering of money, and not in the belief of the joy of artistic pursuit and the natural state of sharing a common endeavour of the sparkle, the glistening interaction afforded the time of year.
It is to art, and not the dowry of expenditure that makes a gift all the greater, for it is in the beauty of expression that we are here for, to create, or at least appreciate, and one that, if Christmas has a meaning that is worth while in a secular 21st century, carries the full weight of what it means to be human,
Twas the way of many, the minstrels of old who would perform lullabies and serenaded compositions for the masses, a fire providing warmth and light against the physical darkness, art delivering mental safety as winter passes across the lands and to the hope that it carries in the appearance of spring.
The seasonal offering from Paul Gilbert falls superbly into that hearth, it is original, and yet direct from a time when carols were heard without the notion of being insincere; and in Twas that sense of optimism, the application of greatness, is refreshing, pleasurable, and is absolutely out of this world.
Enlisting the huge talents of Dan Balmer, Clay Giberson, Timmer Blakely and Jimi Boult, Paul Gilbert weaves an instrumental narrative of expression, a rock spectacular, that rivals, for example, the Christmas greetings provided by the undaunted talent of the Barnsley Nightingale Kate Rusby; for in the ability to alter the way we perceive the songs and tunes associated with the time of year, we strike home the belief of change, that being traditional does not mean unable to be progressive.
Whilst containing two original compositions, including the sensational and apt Three Strings For Christmas, it is in the full band effect that brings out the joy and rock enlightenment of tracks such as Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer, the wonderful Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Silver Bells and Winter Wonderland, that the album becomes not just catchy, memorable, and beguiling, but one that it is haunting in is grace; for Twas is about illumination as well as celebration, and one that Paul Gilbert has moulded into its own perfect Christmas offering.
Paul Gilbert releases Twas on November 26th via The Players Club/Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall