<- - - - - Here's a link to amazon.com if you'd like to support Paul Gilbert and the rest of the Racer X gang by picking up a copy of "Street Lethal".
My dad's friend let me borrow this one on cassette. I plopped it in the cassette player and let the first song, "Frenzy", roll. It was probably the only time my jaw ever dropped from listening to music. I had never heard a guitar played like this in all my years. This was something beyond Eddie Van Halen's "Eruption" (no disrespect to the guitar revolutionizing solo). This was just an incredible and seemingly inhuman display of cataclysmic sweep-picking fury by Paul Gilbert.
The rest of the album consists of up-tempo (and some mid-tempo) Judas Priest-ish riffing and unbelievable shred. The songs are solid (I can definitely see how someone might need some getting used to Jeff Martin's vocals, however). It is 80's shred metal, and may I place extra emphasis on "80's" and "shred"...but also the "metal". There are some cheesey lyrics, but I really don't care. This album still rocks and if you come for the shred, you'll be more than satisfied. Also, there is some really great bass playing by John Alderete (now a member of the Mars Volta). John isn't featured all that much on the album (save for the excellent "Y.R.O.", definitely an album highlight)...but keen ears will detect his great lines throughout "Street Lethal". Other standout tunes include "Blowin' Up the Radio", "Loud and Clear", and the title track, which features one of the greatest intro riffs of all time (in my opinion).
Trivia-ish facts about the album:
"Y.R.O." stands for "Yngwie Rip-Off". This came about because Shrapnel label head, Mike Varney, thought the song reminded him of Yngwie's "Black Star". I can see where Mike is coming from for sure, the tempo and groove are very similar...that's about it though.
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