He may have wielded a cordless power drill for supersonic tremolo picking and a slide to summon the voice of Ronnie James Dio in the past. Still, this latest recording is the sound of a musician defiantly broadening himself into new uncharted horizons for his first vocal album since 2016’s I Can Destroy.
 
Go Not Thither pairs throbbing vibe pedals with regal harmonies, classic metal riffage and ZZ Top boogie blues. Talking about the song, Gilbert muses, “Hundreds of years ago, everyone must have been walking around kicking the earth. They kicked the earth so much that a rule had to be invented to put a stop to it! The rule to “Play not the peacock” is more difficult to follow. I know this, as I can’t resist playing guitar solos while wearing a tricorn hat.”
 
The idea for the album came to him on the flight home from the last show of Mr. Big’s final tour, where the group bid farewell to a packed house at Tokyo’s Budokan Arena. 
 
“I don’t know why it came into my head,” he shrugs. “But I love using lyrics to build melodies. I think I was looking for my own Bernie Taupin – because Elton John has written very few lyrics. Rush is another example. Neil Peart wrote the lyrics, while Alex Lifeson and Geddy Lee composed the music. I wanted to find my own Bernie or Neil, because while lyric writing is something I’ve done, it’s not really my favourite part of the process. So I got George Washington to be my Bernie Taupin!”
 
On further investigation, it became clear that the first president of the United States Of America had simply copied an English translation of the Rules Of Civility & Decent Behaviour In Company And Conversation as a school writing exercise, inadvertently becoming its most widely credited author. Its lineage, however, can be traced even further back to a 1595 French etiquette manual written by the Jesuits.
 
As someone who has vividly shaped the role of the electric guitar in rock music, Paul Gilbert knows a thing or two about which rules to follow — and when to break them. In Mr. Big, he was responsible for pioneering pop rock anthems that saw the group top charts and headline arenas around the world. In Racer X, he pushed the electric guitar to its furthest limits, in a more metallic direction, leaving listeners and audiences mesmerised by how his compositions could be so technically thrilling and tastefully musical at the same time. As a solo artist, he’s traversed both instrumental and vocal-led sonic landscapes that have crossed over from blues, classical and jazz to straight-up rock.

So, for Gilbert, there was palpable excitement in resurrecting these 16th-century guidelines for the hyper-advanced social order of today’s world. “I’ve never in my life had such a good time writing songs,” he admits. 
 
Other than the lead vocals, the album was recorded live over four days at The Hallowed Halls in Portland, with Nick D’Virgilio on drums, Doug Rappoport on guitar, and Timmer Blakely on bass. 
 
It all kicks off with Keep Your Feet Firm And Even, which is based on one of Washington’s more challenging rules, whilst the hook-laden Speak Not Evil Of The Absent, which saw Gilbert paying extra attention to the phrasing and delivery of a rule that’s now 430 years old, is still very much pertinent for modern society. A lot of these rules should still be easy to follow today, the singer/guitarist reasons.
 
“I’m really excited to play this music live and see how people enjoy it,” adds Gilbert. “I would say WROC is one of the most musical and listenable albums I’ve ever done. There’s very little that came from my fingers. It came from my sense of melody. As I improve as a songwriter, I’ve been trying to connect with that more. I feel like this is the most successful connection to my inner melodic generator, thanks to George Washington and those who went before him. They were my Bernie Taupins. That’s what made the process so enjoyable, and you can hear that joy in the tracks.”

Track list:
1. Keep Your Feet Firm and Even
2. Show Not Yourself Glad (At the Misfortune of Another)
3. Maintain a Sweet and Cheerful Countenance
4. Go Not Thither
5. Orderly And Distinctly
6. If You Soak Bread in the Sauce
7. Let Thy Carriage
8. Speak Not Evil of the Absent
9. Turn Not Your Back (To Others)
10. Conscience is the Most Certain Judge
11. Every Action Done in Company
12. Spark of Celestial Fire
13. George Washington Rules