Kevin Gilbert's The Kaviar Sessions released this year

The Kaviar Sessions Kaviar

Released: 2002 Recorded: 1996 Peak: 12 DF Sales (in millions): -- Genre: industrial rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Death Orgy 9000 [5:32] Picnic [4:22] Pretty [3:38] Indian Burn [5:21] Making Kristy Cry [3:35] Broken [4:06] Single [4:18] The Sultan of Brunei [4:38] Fall in Love with Me [10:03] * * includes unlisted bonus track (alternate version of “Single”) Total Running Time: ?? The Players: Kevin Gilbert (vocals/ guitar/ keyboards/ bass/ producer/ recording/ mixing) John Cuniberti (mastering) Susie Davis (keyboards/ vocals) Nick D’Virgilio (bass/ drums) David Levita (guitar/ vocals) Brian MacLeod (keyboards/ vocals/ co-producer) Paul Ill (bass/ vocals) Jon Rubin (executive producer)

Rating: 3.069 out of 5.00 (average of 12 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “So, you think you know Kevin Gilbert’s music, eh? You know all about Toy Matinee, Thud, and his masterpiece, The Shaming of the True…You may not know about…the side of Gilbert that would produce The Kaviar Sessions. Bootlegs of this material have been circulating since shortly after his untimely passing in 1996, but now…you can pick up an ‘estate-approved’ copy” SM at PopPlusOne.com. PopPlusOne.com says this is “contextually different from a majority of Kevin’s solo material as well as the Toy Matinee.” PP It is “acerbic, adult and dark. The only similarity to Kevin’s other work is the wit and humor…and those qualities alone are worth the price of admission.” PP The Kaviar Sessions documents Gilbert’s last work. It is “a group effort,” KR “but with Kevin behind the songwriting and the producing.” KR They “pulled nary a punch here in delivering a ground-breaking work.” CV “These are very,very strange compositions.” KR “The Shaming of the True hinted at the direction (or one of the directions) that Gilbert was going, but Kaviar was the extreme.” SM “Gilbert and co. here have expanded on a fine tradition used in some of the most sucessful lyrical endeavors of recent years, like Peter Gabriel’s classic third solo album, or much of David Byrne’s work, in which the singer assumes the first-person and speaks from the viewpoint of his subject.” CV Meanwhile, “the music behind Gilbert’s dark lyrics…celebrates masculinity while the lyrics simultaneously expose its unseemly underbelly.” CV This “is a collection of brutally post-modern, twisted and cynical love songs” JH “dealing largely with men whose sexual and relational hang-ups appear to bring grief and dismay to the women around them.” CV “These songs are not the simple ‘shock jock’ fodder, nor are they offensive in a traditional sense. Gilbert intelligently prods the dark recesses of the subconscious and the sick, often with craven, perverted humor. Just when you think he can’t go any more over the top, he gleefully shows you” JH with his “in-your-face sarcasm” CV “that there is yet another debased alley to explore, one you would have never imagined possible.” JH “Single” Never is this more apparent than on Single, “the creepiest song” JH on the album, in which a “disingenuous blind date…spews mushy platitudes, all the while scheming his twisted plans.” CV “From what he says, he sounds like a great catch as he cooks, loves children, is good friends with his mom, has read Bridges of Madison County, etc. The music is catchy lounge style with simple piano, drums and a twisted bass line,” JH “probably the coolest groove on the CD.” SM “But periodically we’re taken into his mind. The melody stays the same, but now it’s dark, loud and distorted, and his voice mutates into a whispered scream with lines like ‘First I’ll strip off all your clothes and put them on me’ and ‘Make me your toilet.’ The episode ends with him drugging his date. As if this isn’t enough, a ‘hidden’ track at the end of the album is another version of the date where the lead does a big line of coke, clothed tattoos are unclothed and personal body parts/orifices and their piercing are examined, all in the restaurant.” JH “The Sultan of Brunei” There’s also the character from “The Sultan of Brunei, who uses his billions to lure women into what could be fantasyland, or what could be slavery.” CV Musically, “the song would’ve easily been right at home on one of Rundgren’s mid-80s albums.” SM “Fall in Love with Me” “Even the one cover on the album successfully twists Iggy Pop’s Fall in Love with Me into a fantasy of drooling obsession.” CV “Kevin does a great Iggy imitation on the song (picture Iggy singing in his low vocal range & you’ll get the idea).” SM “Death Orgy 9000” The opening Death Orgy 9000 “is a veritable goldmine of dark and humorous quotes for Gilbert fans.” SM ‘Orgy’ “pictures a world where Battlebots meets monster truck racing in a demolition derby arena where the cars are driven by scantily clad robot supermodels, 70 feet tall, an arena where ‘dismembered parts bump and grind’ and ‘kids under twelve are free.’” JH “Picnic” “Only Gilbert could make the line ‘I wanna take you on a picnic’ sound like a personal threat instead of a pleasant afternoon, all bathed in the body-moving smorgasbord of guitars and drums that is Picnic.” JH The song “features a killer bass line, but it’s the handclaps that really make the song. Like the previous song, Kevin’s vocals are heavily processed. It’s hard to tell it’s him singing until the middle of the song.” SM “Pretty” “Another killer track is Pretty, combining a creepy, spoken male voice saying, ‘I mailed you a picture of myself / Along with this letter/ Because I want you to tell me if you think I’m pretty’ with a writhing orgy of guitars and bass where the vocalist screams ‘If you don’t think I’m pretty / I’m gonna kill myself.’” JH This “is the only song from the disc that was ever performed during Gilbert’s live shows.” SM “Indian Burn” “Kevin’s lyrical wit is in full force on Indian Burn” SM while the music “typifies Gilbert’s intense genius with so many intricate, interesting parts, each different and convoluted but somehow all coexisting in the same space, complementing each other in a manic fusion of furious sound and all played by real musicians.” JH “There’s a horn section on the song, and D’Virgilio’s percussion work on the track is outstanding.” SM “Making Kristy Cry” “Making Kristy Cry makes excellent use of strings. The song slowly builds into an intense cacophony on the chorus, only to be offset by the children’s choir.” SM “Broken” “One of the many things Gilbert had going for his was uncanny sense of timing. ‘Kristy’ is a good example, but Broken is even better. The way he worked around the phone message in the song (which can also be heard in The Rubinoos’ track, ‘Gone to Seed’) is simply amazing.” SM Conclusion What to say in wrapping up? It is hard not to be “inexplicably drawn” JH to Kaviar, yet “repulsed, partly by the scathing lyrical content, partly by how different it is from past work while still retaining the Gilbert trademark. The musicianship is top notch and always inventive,” JH but the overabundance of spoken lyrics creates “a novelty feel and reduc[es] the desire for repeated listens…the words are so awful, but the music is so sweet…Only those not easily offended should check this out.” JH

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Kevin Gilbert JH Jason Hoffman, Whatzup.com SM Steve Marshall, TheNightOwl.com PP PopPlusOne.com KR Kaj Roth, Melodic.net CV Chris Vreeland, ChrisVreeland.com Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 8/30/2009; last updated 11/8/2022.

 

Kevin Gilbert The Shaming of the True released

The Shaming of the True Kevin Gilbert

Buy Here:

Released: February 13, 2000 Recorded: 1984-1996 Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: neo-progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. Parade [3:44] City of the Sun [5:55] Suit Fugue (Dance of the A&R Men) [2:24] Imagemaker [3:38] Water Under the Bridge [5:29] The Best Laid Plans [5:38] Certifiable #1 Smash [7:20] Staring into Nothing [5:51] Fun [5:33] From Here to There [2:11] Ghetto of Beautiful Things [4:53] A Long Day’s Life [7:28] The Way Back Home [4:55] Johnny’s Last Song [2:15] Total Running Time: 67:27 The Players: Kevin Gilbert (vocals/ bass/ keyboards/ piano/ percussion/drum programming) Nick D’Virgilio (drums/ bass/ guitar/ keyboards/ backing vocals) Brian MacLeod (drums) Robert Ferris, Jennifer Gross, Skyler Jett, Claytoven, Sandy Sawyer, Jon Rubin, Tommy Dunbar (backing vocals) Tommy Dunbar, Russ Parish, David Levita, Bill Bottrell (guitar) The Le Petomane Ensemble (horns)

Rating: 3.999 out of 5.00 (average of 15 ratings) Quotable: ”An epic, sweeping, complete work…from one of the brightest lights to emerge in the last 15 years” – Matthew Greenwald, AllMusic.com Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Dream to Record a Rock Opera At the time of his death, Kevin was working on “a life-long dream – to record a rock opera” PA “in the style of Tommy by The Who, an album gave him so much enjoyment in his childhood.” KF Even though such animals were “resolutely out…Gilbert clearly didn’t care. He was intent on venting his rage and self-loathing in a carefully circumscribed series of closely connected first-person vignettes.” SF “You know the story; it’s been on VH1’s Behind the Music a million times. A star (insert name here) comes out of nowhere and becomes the biggest thing since sliced bread. Everyone lies to him from managers, to agents, to promoters. The people can’t get enough, and the record company continues to push the artist to the limit. Finally, the artist has had enough and takes a break, but with that, the fans move on to the next pre-made star and the industry chews you up and spits you out.” EP That’s the premise for Gilbert’s “concept/semi-autobiographical project” PA which details “the rise and collapse” IO of Johnny Virgil, “a boy from the sticks who goes to the big city to become a rock star.” MA Jon Rubin, who managed Gilbert’s estate after his death, said Virgil “is hell bent on success in the music business. The story follows him as he is chewed up and spit out by the very thing he coveted.” BM “In Johnny Virgil, Kevin Gilbert created the perfect vehicle to voice his own frustrations, naiveté, hopes, and lessons learned.” UB He “travels through the music industry sausage grinder” AM and “battles the demons of stardom” PA because “he desperately wants fame” EP and “the quick buck.” IO He “compromises his artistic vision to produce what the record companies and fans want.” EP He “is stripped of his integrity, his passion, his art, and his soul, and so naturally rises to unparalleled heights on the charts” UB before his “rock-star dreams crash on the shoals of A&R men, hangers-on, drugs and the whole Hollywood scene.” SF He “finally comes to peace with his life at the end.” PA Gilbert’s Untimely Death Unfortunately, Gilbert died tragically at age 29 in 1996. He left behind great promise as a musician who’d already built an impressive resume which included touring as a keyboardist with Eddie Money, doing session work for the likes of Madonna and Michael Jackson, and co-writing the bulk of the material which comprised Sheryl Crow’s debut album, Tuesday Night Music Club. At his death, The Shaming of the True was unfinished. He left a “brief handwritten note describing the current running order of the songs at the time” NO and a “massive collection of tapes with songs in progress, some dating back to the 80’s,” NO “scattered in studio drawers and bins with quality ranging from full 24 track masters to cassette tapes.” IO “The story of how this fresh sounding album was, in some cases, literally rescued from the trash can would…make a book in itself.” IO Nick D’Virgilio Steps In KG had “worked closely with Nick D’Virgilio on the project.” MO-KG Nick was a “long-time friend” NO and the drummer with prog-rock act Spock’s Beard. “At the beginning of their carreer, [Gilbert] was almost considered the sixth member of the band. [He was] a great friend, influence, and producer of their first two albums. The track ‘The Great Nothing’ on their…album V is said to have been inspired by Kevin’s story.” IO Nick and others catalogued everything for Gilbert’s estate. Blair Lamb and John Cuniberti came in soon after to start work on the opera. D’Virgilio said that then “It was me and John C. going full bore…We re-recorded and mixed at the same time. It just depended on the song and how much it needed.’” NO Jon Rubin, KG’s “friend, ex-manager and executor of his estate” SF was also instrumental. Completed and Released The “magnum opus” SF was completed in late 1999 and released in 2000 by KG’s estate and through www.kevingilbert.com. PA To no one’s surprise, it followed in the steps of its predecessor and paired great reviews with poor sales. However, it “won a Grammy for its elaborate packaging (the first issue of 1400 was in a beautiful 40 page hard-bound book).” PA The Music As for the music, it “isn’t progressive rock per se,” CW but “several tracks feature plenty of meaty instrumental interplay, much that could be called progressive.” CW “There are guitar riffs and solos here that most guitarists can only dream of coming up with.” CW “The album goes a lot of places…pulsing grooves on some tracks bring Pink Floyd to mind, while multi-part harmonies on other tracks would make Freddy Mercury grin.” CW This is “anti-pop [with] grandly produced tracks and polished vocals that recall the prog-rock pop magnificence of…Genesis or Yes.” SF “Loaded with both pathos and humor as well as some rock-solid performances,” AM “this tortured masterpiece takes its place alongside other depictions of the cruelty of Hollywood such as Nathanael West’s The Day of the Locust or Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard.”SF “When you consider the brilliance of Shaming as a whole, it makes you appreciate the insight that D’Virgilio and Cuniberti had into the mind of Gilbert. But first and foremost, it shows Kevin’s potential in no uncertain terms” NO – it is “a flawless work of musical art.” CW “This is one of those rare albums that grabs you the first time you hear it, and then keeps getting better with each listen.” NO “Stellar musicianship. Passionate vocals. First class compositions. Top-notch production. This album has absolutely everything.” CW Former bandmate Chris Beveridge says, “Kevin went through some intense personal and professional struggles after he moved to LA, and it sounds like he was able to capture the essence of his experiences and lessons in music and lyric.” CB-KG “While he may be describing his personal nightmare, Gilbert never falters in his assurance, his belief in his own talent, and The Shaming of the True is his testament,” SF his “reigning masterpiece.” NO It is “a bittersweet farewell from one of the brightest lights to emerge in the last 15 years.” AM Songs Which Missed the Cut There are two other songs that may have been part of the rock opera but were pulled at the last minute by Kevin. They are The Best of Everything and Miss Broadway.” JC-KG The former wouldn’t officially surface until 2009, when the Nuts and Bolts collections were released. The latter showed up on the 1999 Live at the Troubadour release, recorded in 1995. The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Parade Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 9 Click for codes to charts. About the Song: In the opening song, “Johnny Virgil’s desires are laid out.” EP “Johnny Virgil, perhaps sitting in his bedroom, [is] strumming his acoustic guitar singing a song full of hope and ambition.” IO “After a wash of orchestral keys that fade away, we just get Johnny and his acoustic guitar, a very self assured young man who knows he’s gonna be a star. The concept’s main musical theme is already present in this song.” KF

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

City of the Sun Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 29 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “To reach his goal Johnny has to move to The City of the Sun (L.A.?). Here he moves through the regular ‘wanna be rock-star’ circles of dumps, sidewalks, bars to get acknowledgment.” KF There is “an excellent dialogue about meeting a would-be rock star gas station attendant.” EP This “is one of the proggy numbers, moving through a chain of musical ideas, some gently acoustic, others reminding one of King’s X before falling into the kind of sound that Yes might have come up with in their 80s incarnations.” CW

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Suit Fugue (Dance of the A&R Men) Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1995-96 Released: Giant Tracks (various artists, 1997), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts.

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: Gilbert originally wrote “the ridiculously complicated musical track” PD “Dance of the A&R Men” for a tribute to the little-known progressive-rock group Gentle Giant, one of his favorites. Jon Rubin, Gilbert’s estate manager, explained that, in the context of the Shaming album, this “is the chorus of record execs (A&R, Promotion, etc.) as they seduce Johnny.” BM It “is a hilarious parody on how all these record executives are so phony;” EP one exec says, “You sound like Air Supply meets GWAR…in a good way.” It “is nothing short of a masterpiece.” CW “The execution of the vocals is amazing,” EP showcasing “enormous talent in the studio, overlapping vocal after vocal,” SM-S all of which are actually Gilbert’s voice, BM “to create the (mainly) acapella conglomeration of messages left by PR men, agents, and other musical lowlifes on Johnny’s answering machine.” SM-S “Johnny gets the advice to drop the band (they are in the way) and adopt an IMAGE: ‘No we need a sharper hook – like a scandal. Maybe you can rape a nun, or better still a priest.’” KF

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Imagemaker Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1986 Released: Sometimes Why (1986), The Power of Suggestion (Giraffe, 1987), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: In this song, Johnny “gets a makeover. The song is a punchy guitar driven track” KF with “Pink Floydish moments,” CW or, as Bryan Beller, the bassist of the live performance of TSOTT at Progfest ’02, says, “‘a Peter Gabriel type of tune because a) he inflected his own vocal with that kind of delivery; b) he used a gated delay effect on the vocal that emulated the production perfectly.” BB-JM It is “the first of three songs from Giraffe, Gilbert’s band from the late 80’s,” NO recorded here as “more rocky and less percussive (mechanical) than the original.” KF

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Water Under the Bridge Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Robert Ferris See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 26 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Now “we see Johnny making his first compromises. He [asks] ‘What’s a drop of water in an ocean of compromise?’” KF “The song is one of the highlights, a beautiful ballad that brings out the best in Kevin’s voice” KF and “has an ear catching melody.” EP It “captures the type of pseudo progressive sound that allowed Pink Floyd to cross into the mainstream and make a killing.” CW It also “features some excellent drumming by D’Virgilio. Tommy Dunbar contributes a Beatlesque guitar solo to the song, giving it just the right touch.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

The Best Laid Plans Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1991 (by Toy Matinee) Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 11 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Here “we get a glimpse in the kitchen of the corporate music business. Here careers are made and broken and you can sell your soul for thirty silver pieces.” KF This is “one of the best tracks on the record” EP – “another up-tempo rock song in Who style” KF with “a dose of note perfect Quadrophenia.” UB It could also be a “supercharged Billy Joel” CW or “early ‘70s Elton John.” NO Beller concurs that the song “‘sounds like it could be right off of a mid-‘70s Elton John record. Well, that’s because he got the exactly correct piano and electric guitar sounds.” BB-JM It “features a pounding groove that’ll make auto drivers press the pedal to the metal.” CW It ‘has ‘hit’ written all over it.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Certifiable #1 Smash Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Nick D’Virgilio, Robert Parish See lyrics here. Recorded: June 1, 1995 (live) Released: Live at the Troubadour (1995), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts.

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: It all pays off for Johnny when he lands the big hit – his certifiable #1 smash. The song is “a wicked look at the way stars will do anything to sell a record and get attention.” EP “Gilbert’s anger and discontent with the music business…is in full bloom here.” NO In particular, “the video idea section is quite hilarious,” KF “told from the narrative of a video director selling Johnny Virgil on his ideas.” EP With an obvious “poke at the video ‘Like a Prayer,’” EP “it appears Madonna is the target of Gilbert’s diatribe.” EP It is “likely one of the most obscene prob songs ever written…Kevin gives instructions on how to write a hit song that include things like ‘sadomasochistic latex sex,’ ‘Tony Harding nude, and…’an OK from the Pope.’” PD Musically, “Smash” is “another guitar driven punchy track in the prog meets MTV era guitar rock mould.” KF In addition to the “insanely great guitar work, [there is] “a wonderfully nasty funk section the likes of which hasn’t been heard since Sly and the Family Stone’s ‘I Want to Take You Higher’ at Woodstock.” CW “It’s quite spooky with cool use of Mellotron” KF and, “once again, D’Virgilio’s drumming is spectacular.” NO Also of note – “since Gilbert died before he was able to lay down a vocal track for the song, his vocals…were lifted from an earlier performance at the Troubadour…You can still hear the crowd in places, but in the end, it just adds more character to the song.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Staring into Nothing Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1984 (by NRG) Released: No Reasons Given (1984), Decent Exposure (1985), Point Blank (1987), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 12 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: This “brings us to the place where Virgil is now successful but is feeling totally empty.” EP “This sudden fame and continuous touring wears our hero out” KF “Success has not brought him happiness, and fame has made him miserable. He is just going through the motions, not caring about what is going on around him.” EP “It’s at this point in the story where we find that Johnny’s quitting the music business, due to exhaustion;” NO Virgil “is staring into the bright lights and feels lonely and empty.” KF The song was “originally recorded with [KG’s] pre-Giraffe band, NRG. Parts…sound like your typical 80’s fare, but Kevin turns in a great, flanged bass line on the song.” NO It also “harkens back to the hypnotic sounds of early Genesis” UB and “there’s an obvious Yes influence permeating throughout the song, due in part to the use of the acoustic guitar and mellotron.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Fun Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, David Baerwald, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 17 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: At this point, “Johnny has a lot of time on his hand and a lot of dispensable cash. He dives heavily into the good life of coke, sex and other earthly pleasures. All he wants to do is have some fun. In passing, we get introduced to several celebrities Johnny meets on his partying, like Arsenio and Sheryl,” KF “all fictional, according to D’Virgilio.” NO It “is probably the darkest song on the album,” KF with “a groovy bass driven tune that’s very funky” KF and “an ultra cool arrangement, making it one of the best tracks on the CD.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

From Here to There Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1988 (by Giraffe) Released: The View from Here (Giraffe, 1989), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 24 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Then “Johnny has a moment of clarity, realizes what he has become.” UB He knows “that his lifestyle will lead to his destruction and he needs a way back home.” KF He is “in an emotional state where he feels like a robot” KF so he “withdraws from the machine that made him a star.” UB It is “a genuinely unsettling ballad” UB as “things get a bit eerie at the end of the song as you hear someone quietly say, ‘my mind is quiet and still.’” NO This “is Gilbert at his emotive best as he builds walls of lush orchestral sound that seem to come crumbling down around him, all set to a rhythm track of eerie footsteps.” UB “This is another Giraffe tune from the second album and fits in perfect with the concept.” KF The song also “is a sort of prelude to ‘The Way Back Home.’” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Ghetto of Beautiful Things Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 (by Kaviar) Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000), The Kaviar Sessions (2002) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “The pure anger…gets its point across.” EP It “is an aggressive manic track that [is a] preview of…the Kaviar project,” KF which Kevin was also working on when he died.

A Long Day’s Life Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 7 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Here we get a glimpse of Johnny as “a vulnerable character” KF “in a much more reflective state of mind, detailing recent dreams he’s had.” NO He “takes a look back at his life so far and finds that at the end of a long day’s life he is lost and all alone.” KF It is “the longest song on the album” CW and “one of the most complex songs on the album.” NO It “is another proggy number that moves from great pop melodies into Pink Floydish territory.” CW and “will be a treat for any fans of Genesis’ Duke album.” UB “It starts…behind the piano and leads us through the track with tortured vocals” KF and “builds to a climax with some great guitar work.” KF It is “one of the…most beautiful” NO and “best-penned songs” KF “Gilbert has ever written.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

The Way Back Home Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1988 (by Giraffe) Released: The View from Here (Giraffe, 1989), The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “You can tell the end is near.” NO “The story shows us Johnny, who sad and disillusioned, crosses the path of a man who claims to be ‘Jesus’; he finally shows Johnny ‘The way back home’: it’s love.” KF This, “the final tune…from Kevin’s back-catalogue…is quite different from the original” KF Giraffe tune. “It’s a percussive track reminding [one] of Peter Gabriel’s later work” KF or “Tears For Fears alterna-pop.” UB”According to Cuniberti, the only things they had to work with on this track were ‘drums, piano and a guide vocal’…Knowing the importance of the song in the opera, D’Virgilio took it upon himself to finish the track. David Levita was called in to lay down the guitar solo at the end of the song, and did a superb job.” NO

artwork by John Seabury from CD booklet

Johnny’s Last Song Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert See lyrics here. Recorded: 1996 Released: The Shaming of the True (2/13/2000) Peak: 12 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: This wraps up the tale. As John Cuniberti says, “Kevin wanted this last song to sound as down and out as Johnny Virgil must have felt” JC-KG so he “recorded it outside the studio…onto a portable cassette player” JC-KG “with an old, beat up guitar; effectively capturing Johnny’s desperation at this point in his career.” NO “Old and wise, he gives his advice to young wanna-be-musicians: Believe in what you’re doing, remember who you are. And who knows where you’ll go.” KF “The wash of orchestral keys returns before it’s drowned by” KF “the sound of falling rain and train whistles in the distance [that make] the song that much more poignant.” NO As Cuniberti says, “Kevin recorded the wonderful rain track himself. The faraway train whistle…was another stroke of brilliance on Kevin’s part.” JC-KG

Resources/References: AM AllMusic.com review by Matthew Greenwald BB-JM Expose Magazine (Fall 2003). “Interview with Bryan Beller” by Jeff Meltron BM Blazemonger.com (3/27/1997). “Suit Canon – Fugue of the A&R Staff: The Inside Story” by Jon Rubin CB-KG KevinGilbert.com “Memories of Giraffe and Kevin” by Chris Beveridge JC-KG KevinGilbert.com “Notes on My Experiences Mixing The Shaming of the True” by John Cuniberti KF Kabelfoon. Doesn’t appear to be online anymore. MA MetroActive.com “All Rocked Out” (August 1996). By Richard Sine. NO The Night Owl (2012). review by Steve Marshall IO Ian Oakley MO-KG Michael Ostrich, KevinGilbert.com. No longer online. PA ProgArchives.com biography by Michael Ostrich PD Progladytes.com “Prog Redemption: Kevin Gilbert, The Shaming of the True” (2/4/2018). by Thomas Hatton EP ProgressiveWorld.net (7/03). By Eric Porter. No longer online. CW ProgressiveWorld.net by Clayton Walnum SF San Francisco Chronicle “Kevin Gilbert Triumphs with Posthumous Shaming” (2/13/200). By Joel Selvin. UB UsedBin.com. (2004). “I Was Murdered by Sheryl Crow.” No longer online. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/11/2011; last updated 8/26/2025.

 

Kevin Gilbert released Thud, first solo album

Thud Kevin Gilbert

Released: March 21, 1995 Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. Sales (in millions): -- Genre: adult alternative/progressive rock

Tracks: Click on a song titled for more details. When You Give Your Love to Me [3:20] Goodness Gracious [4:08] Joytown [4:53] Waiting [5:05] Tea for One [5:49] Shadow Self [6:06] The Tears of Audrey [4:47] Shrug (Because of Me and You) [3:54] All Fall Down [5:35] Song for a Dead Friend [5:56] Total Running Time: 49:33 Other Songs from This Era: Kashmir The Players: Kevin Gilbert (vocals, drums) Bill Bottrell (guitar, backing vocals) Brian MacLeod (drums) Dan Schwartz (bass) Robert Ferris (backing vocals) Steve Steinberg (sax) Lyle Workman (guitar) Salvation Army Brass Band: Skip Waring, Toby Holmes, Jay Mueller, & Bruce Friedman

Rating: 4.280 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

KG’s Background “Kevin Gilbert played and wrote on numerous albums and was a veteran of the L.A. music scene by the time he released his solo debut, Thud.” TD Not only had he “written and produced songs for Madonna and Michael Jackson,” JRA he’d also recorded two albums with the band Giraffe, another with Toy Matinee, and, most famously, was part of the famous collective that spawned Sheryl Crow’s blockbuster debut. Crow signed on as the touring keyboardist for Toy Matinee in ‘91 and she and Gilbert became romantically involved. He brought her to a laid back gathering of musicians known as the Tuesday Night Music Club and the casual sessions turned into material for Crow’s album of the same name. When she became a superstar, Gilbert and other TNMC’ers felt slighted as she took what they deemed was more than her fair share of the credit. “As Crow’s relationship with Gilbert deteriorated…an increasingly bitter Gilbert threw himself deeper into his own album.” JS96 Producer Bill Bottrell, “who used to hear Gilbert thumping away through the common wall” JS96 at Toad Hall, said, “‘it was a long process…He sat over there endless nights.’” JS96 His First Solo Album The result was an “absolutely stellar album” RU that really lives up to the title of being a “solo album” – Gilbert “takes a hand at virtually every instrument at some point on the record. He also engineered and produced the record at his own Pasadena studio.” RU “The music focuses on the use of acoustic guitar, powerful lyrics and accentuated vocal style.” GW “Much like…Toy Matinee…there’s not a weak track on the album, all songs showing evidence of his troubled musical genius.” PX “Each song is expertly written, arranged, played, and produced.” JRI To emphasize the words and vocals, “the production is generally very low-key;” EB Kevin “deliberately chose to stick to simple sounds on Thud.” EB “There’s not a lyric anywhere…that you can’t get from just listening,” CH says KG, because “the voice is really dry and right up front in the mix.” CH “Giraffe and Toy Matinee…both utilized synthesizers and significant production efforts,” EB but these “songs are mostly acoustic rock, with electric guitars thrown in for effect in places.” EB Gilbert says, this is “a lot more true to what I am because it was just me doing it.” CH The Album’s Reception Upon its release, the “masterful but underpromoted effort” JS96 hit the music world with, well, a thud. “Perhaps Gilbert’s distinctive style is hard for the music industry to get a handle on – that is, sell easily to a mass audience.” JRA “But that shouldn’t bother anyone looking for a rock artist who ranges from folk to pop and (occasionally) goes out even farther on the musical ledge.” JRA “Thud showcases Gilbert’s satirical bite, his talents as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, and vocalist.” PX “This complex yet accessible collection of material demonstrates a remarkable range as well as some incredible musicianship.” RU “Gilbert’s vision sometimes gets too dark for its own good…but the artist (and he is an artist) is so startlingly fresh and worthwhile, you’re willing to indulge the musical detours.” JRA “Thud is an overlooked album that is worthy of not just a first glance, but also of several subsequent glances.” PX This is “prog-pop heaven” JRI – “literate, adult rock that unfortunately serves as a solitary testament to Gilbert’s talent” TD since “Gilbert would die in an accidental suicide” TD a little more than a year later. The Title Of the album’s unfortunately ironic title, KG said Thud “is a lot of things. It’s what the record is, the sound of the other shoe dropping. Thud is the sound that my studio makes at the moment because of all the old weird gear I have in it. I like the word.” CH As KG says in the album’s liner notes, “Thud is the sound one’s head makes as it hits the table.” The Cover The comment makes more sense in the context of the cover art, which is also explained in the liner notes: “That’s the Baron George Hoyningen-Huene having ‘A Vision at Glyphada.’ Photographer Herbert List captured his head hitting the table on the plains of Glyphada, Greece in 1937.” EB The photo undoubtedly captured Gilbert’s frustration with his inability to reach the audience he deserved. His “intelligent, well-crafted pop [offers] an occasional nod to the experimental, reminiscent of his Music Club cohort David Baerwald.” BS His “introspective songs” TD share “the same pop sensibility of Sheryl Crow” TD and “his thoughtful lyrics and clever word-play,” BS along with “the way his pained vocals delivered his clever lyrics” PX on “pessimistic songs about the state of the world that would be mundane in the hands of lesser intellects.” BS Reissue A 20th anniversary, 3-CD edition was released by PopPlusOne.com which includes “3 new studio tracks and 18 previously unreleased demos, instrumentals, and alternate mixes.” PP The Songs Here’s a breakdown of each of the individual songs.

When You Give Your Love to Me Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 10 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: The “heartfelt” PJ When You Give Your Love to Me is “one of Kevin’s best efforts.” EB It “is a catchy little ditty” JRA that “starts with acoustic guitar rhythm followed with Kevin’s powerful vocal with strong accents. The music flows seamlessly with acoustic guitar plays important role as rhythm plus drum as beat keeper. But still, vocal is the key driver of song structure and composition.” GW Lyrically, this “finds our man pleading his case for love in a way that’s both winning and funny.” JRA “‘There’ll be global peace and religious tolerance/There’ll be a perfect harmonic convergence, when you give your love to me.’” JRA These “are among the many fringe benefits promised by the singer in exchange for his lover’s affection.” BS The “tongue in cheek” EB lyrics allow “for a somewhat more fulfilling experience than the usual fluff that exists in love songs.” EB

Goodness Gracious Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 14 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “Goodness Gracious exudes the essence of Gilbert.” JRA The song “is more uptempo but still seems angry” PJ “with its creepy, irrestible melody” JRA and “Kevin’s indignation with a society that has stuck him with the bill for its past excesses:” EB “Goodness gracious, we came in at the end/No sex that isn’t dangerous, no money left to spend/We’re the cleanup crew for parties we were too young to attend.” JRA It is also “spooky in its clairvoyance – its lyrics even more true today than they were at the time of the album’s release. ‘Goodness Gracious/ I’m not listening anymore/ Cause the spooks are in the White House/ and they’ve justified a war/ So wake me when they notify we’re gonna fight some more.’” PX Musically, the song “starts interestingly with a blues-based acoustic guitar” GW but “the incorporation of electric guitar sound at the back is good.” GW “In line with its aggressive tone, this…[is] the most rocking tune of the album, with the possible exception of ‘Shadow Self.’” EB

Joytown Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Dan Schwartz Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 8 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Joytown is a “whimsical song” EB “composed with music loop as basic song structure.” GW “The song moves excellently with Kevin’s singing style…Kevin’s vocal moves ups and downs with the flow of the song…Sax work is incorporated at the end of the track.” GW Lyrically, this offers “musings on contemporary life littered with pop culture icons over a bluesy shuffle.” TD Gilbert adds: “it’s very alternative. It doesn’t have much at all to do with things progressive.” CH In singing of “an idyllic place where all of our fallen heroes live the lives they deserve to lead;” EB “not only do ‘people tear down parking lots so they can build more parks,’ but ‘Lennon never has to sing a Paul McCartney song.’” BS KG described the song as “a product of the Tuesday Music Club.” CH Drummer Brian MacLeod continues, explaining that it was a “thing we did in Bill’s studio…it was just me, Kevin and Dan. In New York I saw these guys playing on trash cans. So I went to a hardware store and bought a bunch of plastic trash cans. I brought them in and said, ‘Kevin check this out!’ So Kevin put a microphone up inside and goes ‘Oh, that sounds amazing!’ …Kevin put up a mic and hit record, and he just recited those lyrics out of his head.” BM Gilbert notes that “the song gestated in my head as a concept for three or four months,” PS1 but it really fell together “one night at TNMC [when] we were sort of jamming and I started rapping on these lyrics spontaneously – all those things spilled out and over an hour I assembled them into couplets that rhymed.” PS1

Waiting Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 16 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: While the “eerie” JRA Waiting “is a pretty catchy song, its tone is still heavy on the darker side of things.” PJ It “excellently dispels the myth of the promise of better days to come.” PX “The fantastic line, ‘I’m waiting for the Mafia to make this song a hit’” EB showcases his clever wordplay and sarcastic humor. “In Gilbert’s vocal delivery you hear his skepticism that the better times he’s waiting for will ever actually arrive.” PX Instead, there seems to be “a certainty of future disappointments that the longer he waits for things the less apt they are to happen.” PX

Tea for One Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 18 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: The “stirring” JRA “Tea for One is “a memorable late night track for discerning listeners.” PJ It “is a good melodic song” GW “with some killer hooks,” PJ “simple structure and Kevin’s low register notes vocal” GW that really suggests KG “could have filled-up Genesis’ music when Peter Gabriel left the band.” GW This “is one of the sadder songs on the album” EB as it “captures the pain of loneliness and unrequited love with a stark emotional poignance.” PX “Gilbert writes some fantastic lyrics and this song is full of them.” PJ The song tells “the story of a man named Duncan whose infatuation with a woman goes unfulfilled due to his hesitance to make an advance.” EB The song is delivered in a manner “that allows the listener to feel the pain of Duncan…and make an emotional connection with the music that is lacking in more conventional pop songs.” PX The vocals…ring very true, with the perfect aspect of forlorn wailing while still singing words to music.” EB KG also “adds a toy piano to the mix to good effect.” TD

Shadow Self Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995), Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: 22 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: Shadow Self, the album’s “ambitious centerpiece,” PS1 is “a mini-prog epic about the devil inside us all.” JRI KG says it “was actually supposed to be called ‘Late for Dinner,’ but it got the less subtle title of ‘Shadow Self’ due to a mixup with the publisher.” EB Under any title, it is “an elaborate, almost progressive rock-styled piece” EB with “some symphonic nuance,” GW “a different style compared to the other” GW songs on the album, that features “lots of distortion, filters and different vocal tracks.” EB There’s also “great drumming and inventive bass lines.” GW As KG said: “I went nuts production-wise. I just wanted train wrecks of styles, so like every eight bars it changes styles dramatically…There’s acoustic guitar and then this hip-hoppy bass part and a male choir of vikings singing at the same time. Then there’s out of context things where a really sweet sounding flute is against these very punk drums because I like the clash of style. That’s my favorite track in an adventurous sort of way.” CH From a lyrical standpoint, the song is a warning to prevent the Shadow Self from taking over. The song says that “all of us have…a darker evil version of ourselves, a Shadow Self, [that] we keep at bay, that feeds off of our negativity and grows…the more we give into that negativity.” PX KG described the song as “an essay on the dark side of human nature.” CH “It’s not unlike ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ by The Rolling Stones, except that instead of being spoken by a specific being, the words are those of the evil within each person, trying to gain influence over the person’s actions.” EB

The Tears of Audrey Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 28 DF Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “The lovely lament The Tears of Audrey” JRA is “haunting and beautiful,” PJ laying “its heart firmly on its sleeve.” PJ It “is a mellow track with low register notes voice line. The melody is good, the arrangement is simple. It’s like a pop song.” GW It is about “putting up walls to keep love out.” PX Audrey is “a woman who, following the death of her husband, bottles up her feelings and isolates herself from the world.” EB “The listener wants the tears of Audrey to fall, to break down the emotional walls many of us are guilty of putting up.” PX “The tone of the song is actually unusual when contrasted against ‘Tea for One’ and ‘Song for a Dead Friend,’ which both deal with loss, because ‘The Tears of Audrey’ is written from the perspective of a gentle third party.” EB

Shrug (Because of Me and You) Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert, Bill Bottrell, Brian MacLeod, Dan Schwartz Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: “There is absolutely nothing that better demonstrates Kevin’s personal growth over the years than the difference in title between [Shrug (Because of Me and You)] and ‘Because of You’, from Giraffe’s album The Power of Suggestion. The lyrics are almost exactly the same, with a few minor changes in the order of the lyrics and a few turns of phrase that work better in ‘Shrug.’ As far as music goes, ‘Shrug’” EB is “another pop-rock song in slow tempo with firm drum beats and cool guitar fills. Kevin’s vocals combine a balanced high and low points.” GW It “has a much more casual and organic tone to it, as befits its title and Kevin’s change in musical style, whereas ‘Because of You’ has Giraffe’s signature thick synth sound and heavy engineering making it a more driving, aggressive song.” EB

All Fall Down Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: All Fall Down is another reworked Giraffe tune; the original is from The View from Here. It “is a melodic song with good arrangement.” GW “The order of the lyrics here…really highlight Kevin’s increased confidence in his writing. The Giraffe version relied much more strongly on repetition, particularly…of the chorus, which ends up diminishing the power of the lyrics in the verses; inversely, the Thud version allows the lyrics to tell a story and paint a picture with a better (and less frequent) chorus. As far as the music goes, the Thud version goes out on a limb slightly from the rest of the album, incorporating muted brass and more elaborate orchestration, as well as backup singers, which are less evident on the rest of the album. However, it works very effectively in creating a musical tone that represents a wake for the world.” EB

Song for a Dead Friend Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Kevin Gilbert (see lyrics here) Released: Thud (3/21/1995) Peak: 1 DF Click for codes to charts.

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Song: The album’s dramatic closer, the “touching” JRA Song for a Dead Friend, is “an acoustic-guitar-based composition with main characteristic on powerful vocal quality of Kevin Gilbert.” GW There is a “Peter Gabriel’s ‘Here Comes the Flood’ nuance” GW in the “melancholy piano [that opens the songs] and just grips your soul.” PJ From a recording standpoint, KG says, “There’s not production on it;” CH indeed, “the only musical accompaniment is a simple piano sequence with some sparse guitar work in the chorus.” EB The words are “so personal as to be almost too painful to hear.” BS KG said, “I wrote [it] about a really good friend of mine who killed himself a couple of years ago.” CH Via the song, “Kevin addresses his friend directly about the suicide and laments his failure to measure up to his friend in terms of friendship.” EB

Kashmir Kevin Gilbert

Writer(s): Robert Plant, Jimmy Page Released: Kashmir EP (1995) Peak: -- Click for codes to charts. About the Song: A promo-EP of Kashmir and four alternate versions of songs on Thud were shipped with some versions of the album. Gilbert originally recorded “Kashmir” for the Led Zeppelin tribute album Encomium but it was dropped from the disc at the last minute. JS You can read more about the original Led Zeppelin version of “Kashmir” here.

Resources/References: TD Tom Demalon, AllMusic.com EB Everything.Blockstackers.com CH Christine Holz, co-editor (11/94 – 1/95). “Toying with Kevin Gilbert.” Music News Network. TheDebster.com PJ Paul Jordan (1/21/06). ProgArchives.com BM Brian MacLeod interviewed by Wayne Perez. Posted at KevinGilbert.com PS1 Performing Songwriter. (Jan/Feb 1996). “Kevin Gilbert.” Online at Bewtiful Freak PX Perplexio (4/26/06). Blog posting. PopPlusOne.com JRA Joe Rassenfoss (3/24/95). Rocky Mountain News. “Kevin Gilbert debuts with a Thud.” Originally found online at ShadowSelf.com JRI Jim Rigberg, Plantmellotron.com RU Roland Users Group. Online at Bewtiful Freak JS Joel Selvin (9/22/96). San Francisco Chronicle. “Dark Secrets.” Online at TheDebster.com BS Brian Simon. 1995). Caffeine. “Kevin Gilbert – Thud.” Online at Bewtiful Freak GW Gatot Widayanto (7/25/05). ProgArchives.com Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/6/2010; last updated 8/27/2025.