WROC, which stands for "Washington's Rules of Civility," could very well be the guitar superstar's most outlandish offering to date. Using George Washington's Rules of Civility as a conceptual homing beacon, Gilbert has dared himself to think outside the box and use an etiquette guide dating back to the late 1500s as his main source of inspiration.

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 – who writes all the lyrics for Elton John. Neil Peart is another example, as he wrote the lyrics for Rush, 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 certainly done, it's not really my favorite part of the process. So, I got George Washington to be my Bernie Taupin!"

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 mesmerized 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 had such a good time writing songs in my life!" he admits.

The album was recorded live over four days at The Hallowed Halls in Portland, Oregon, with Nick D'Virgilio on drums, Doug Rappoport on guitar, and Timmer Blakely on bass. Paul recorded additional vocals at home to sweeten the tracks, but the core energy comes from the live band jamming face to face.