Racer X
Getting Heavier

A rich and prosperous period in the musical field from 2000 to 2003 for Paul Gilbert. Yes, because after the end of his tenure with Mr.Big, the good Pablo did not lose heart but instead began to churn out some solo albums accompanied by numerous tours around the world. He also found time to reunite his first, historic band, those Racer X who gave him fame and notoriety at the end of the '80s.

Some excellent albums emerged from the reunion, like "Technical Difficulties" and "Superheroes," and a couple of live albums under the titles "Snowball of Doom I" and "II"; after these, we arrive at this "Getting Heavier" dated 2003, which is, for now, the quartet's last studio release.

If already from "Technical Difficulties" a slight change of direction was noted compared to the first, furious speed-glam metal of the beginnings in favor of a more classic and solid heavy metal, but in the subsequent "Superheroes" one could find reminiscences of that early period (particularly in the title track), with this "GH"the sound becomes even more essential, almost raw, highlighted by the total lack of guitar overdubs for practically all the songs: just one guitar, one bass, and a drum, and the usual powerful voice of Jeff Martin, who has abandoned the high and ungraceful screams of the early years to acquire a strong and precise timbre.

The result, however, is not completely up to expectations. In fact, compared to its post-reunion predecessors, it is definitely a step back: let’s be clear, the value of each band member is beyond question as well as their performances, but something is not right...

Already the opener "Dr. X" does not make you cry out for a miracle: a fairly classic mid-tempo in which Martin's voice alternates with Paul’s, featuring a good finale of guitar solos that stop abruptly; better instead is the subsequent "Lucifer's Hammer", fast and compelling, one of the best on the entire CD.
The previous situation is found a bit throughout the CD: a continuous alternation of highs and lows; on the one hand, excellent songs like "Golden God", a powerful and energetic hard-rock in AC/DC style featuring a remarkable string-skipping solo by Paul; "Empty Man", a mid-tempo that is not very original but engaging in its sounds; "Ghost Dance", a ballad with dark and melancholic atmospheres (excellent interpretation and expressiveness by Martin in this case); on the other hand, "gaps" and missteps that frankly leave you a bit amazed: "Bucket of Rocks" is a modest rock also in '70s style, "Go--GG--Go" is trivial and feels a bit like a pointless filler, "Siren's Eye" starts quite well but then gets lost among unconvincing tempo changes, sounds, and melodies... the peak of uselessness is found in "Everything's Everything", disarming in its flatness and the boredom it causes from the first listen: truly an evident sign of a lack of inspiration!
Rather nice is "Endless", a song that easily grabs the listener with its immediately memorable choruses and its lyrics that evoke atmospheres of travels and adventures of an average man; definitely amusing is "Heaven in '74", which evokes in both music and lyrics the memories of the '70s, looked at with a nostalgic eye; finally, great is the concluding instrumental "Catapult to Extinction", highlighting classic guitar-bass duets of the Gilbert-Alderete pair.

In short, a good CD in the end, which perhaps due to having to compare itself with the aforementioned predecessors, already starts at a slight disadvantage; a situation worsened by the shortcomings represented by those 4-5 songs that lower its overall value.