Paul Gilbert's most cohesive album for many years.

Even though he is the guitar player in Mr Big, as well as Racer X, Paul Gilbert is also a prolific solo artist and 'I Can Destroy' is no less than his eighteenth solo album.

Gilbert is a guitar genius and one of my favourite players of all time. Those who wanted to hear him shred were disappointed by his debut solo release 'King Of Clubs' which saw a collection of original vocal songs boasting Cheap Trick and The Beatles style Pop hooks. Subsequently, he's covered a variety of genres including Rock, Metal, Classical, Jazz, and Pop; he's even covered The Spice Girls. Usually you expect the unexpected, but with 'I Can Destroy' the album is very much centered around Rock.

After several instrumental albums, Gilbert is back to full-vocal songs, bolstering things with the addition of his cohorts Freddie Nelson and Tony Spinner, both singers in their own right, to help out with guitars and vocals. With Kevin Chown on bass and Thomas Lang on drums providing the rhythm section, and producer Kevin Shirley overseeing everything, this Gilbert album has an extra vocal dimension.

'Everybody Use Your Goddamn Turn Signal' is the perfect taste of what's to come, featuring Gilbert's riffs, his distinctive humorous lyrics, and the new three-part harmony he can achieve with Spinner and Nelson. 'I Can Destroy' is thumping Rock driven by Lang's double-bass drumming, topped by the super catchy and amusing 'Knocking On A Locked Door' which sees Gilbert, Nelson and Spinner all taking a turn on lead vocals to great effect.

After the initial opening salvo of Rockers, Gilbert adds some different flavours, incorporating his love of Jazz into the guitar line of 'One Woman Too Many'. 'Gonna Make You Love Me' is a brilliant foot tapper, featuring a duet of Nelson and Gilbert, while 'I'm Not The One (Who Wants To Be With You)' is another out and out Rock effort with a cheeky nod to the title of MB's signature hit.

'Blues Just Saved My Life' is textbook Blues, 'Make It (If We Try)' is breezy Pop and 'Love We Had' is an acoustic effort that makes full use of the harmony work. The album closer – a blistering cover of Ted Nugent's 'Great White Buffalo' – is superb. A fitting way to round off what I consider to be Paul Gilbert's most cohesive album for many years.

James Gaden