Although Paul Gilbert himself released some killer shred guitar instructional videos during the 80's, 90's and even in today's time, I was very thrilled to find that Andy James and Lick Library had recorded a Quick Licks DVD in Gilbert's style. So thrilled that I preordered mine immediately. When I finally started working with this DVD, I was not only blown away by the performances of the licks but also by how approachable it really is, especially for an advanced level DVD. I found that I was able to take away something new for the first moments of studying this DVD. However, this is still an advanced guitar DVD and it will take time to master the licks. For intermediate level players, perhaps a little longer. But despite that, if you are a fan of Paul Gilbert and shred guitar, that alone should serve as a motivator to get this DVD and work through the licks and by all means have fun doing it. Now as we know, Paul Gilbert is by no means a simple player. He is well known for his incredible command of shred guitar due to his flawless technique in alternate picking, string skipping and at times, legato as well as being terrifyingly fast, even at a young age (His albums with Racer X could more than account for that!). So therefore, you will be taken through a lot of alternate picking and string skipping at speed. The key centre for this DVD is A Harmonic Minor which is probably best known for being the scale of choice for neoclassical metal and shred. However, I have found that the licks that Paul Gilbert shreds and those in this DVD somehow stand apart and work on their own unique direction without entirely being tethered to the neoclassical shred genre. As with the Quick Licks series the licks are taught slowly and played up to speed. To cap it all off, there is a killer backing track for you to practise your licks. I would recommend this DVD for intermediate to advanced level players but as I stated before, it is an essential DVD for Paul Gilbert fans and shredders.
Vinay Mulukutla