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the real reason steve vai is a dazzling guitar god is that he is from anoother galaxy his sounds are so alien you just let your jaw drop until you wipe your drool in you mouth! the real reason vai ruled ass is that he so damn awsome my girlfriend did a cover of his song answers she played like a motherfucker!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh yeah! i did catch a video by a queen tribute band called the darkness the singer sounds like fucking freddie mercury! damn! i hope this will get rid of the nu rock crap limpdickshit is dyin'!!!!!!! wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! steve is the man and you can tell he is a guitar god!!!!!!!!!!
[added on much later:]
hey I got the elusive light and sound vol1. it has scores and skits from movies like crossroads dudes encino man bill and ted's bogus journey and pcu! get comp!
(reviewed by Nick Karn)
Steve Vai's second album is an eclectic and adventurous all instrumental journey, with a number of moments that will surely impress guitar fanatics. There's still a good amount of crazy guitar effects and humor reminiscent of the last album intact throughout his performance, as on "Alien Water Kiss" and "Ballerina 12/24" (which are both tripped out shorter numbers performed with an Eventide harmonizer), and of course the hilarious part spoken word, part shredding track "The Audience Is Listening", which is the crazy result of what happens when 'little Steve Vai plays a selection on his guitar in front of his elementary school teacher and classmates'. There's also the fascinating riff-oriented "Erotic Nightmares", which veers into progressive territory, as well as the uplifting mood pieces "I Would Love To" (my personal favorite) and "Blue Powder".
Some of Passion And Warfare's other notable tracks include the booming introductory opener "Liberty" (with affecting spoken word samples), the aggressive "The Animal", the wild jam "Greasy Kid's Stuff", and, although it's a bit too long, the powerful bluesy, lyrical guitar solo of "For The Love Of God". The rest of the album isn't nearly as worthwhile, as songs like "The Riddle" and "Sisters" drag without actually ever doing anything, while "Answers" and the closing "Love Secrets" are merely OK filler. Very impressive guitar work, though, and a lot of creative moments despite being a bit too tough to sit through.
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
At this point in his existence after Passion And Warfare, Steve Vai was probably one of the most revered modern guitar heroes on the planet (and probably still is, even at this point). Nevertheless, judging by the direction taken here, I'm sure he still had the desire to stretch out a little bit creatively, because all-instrumental music can be a pretty limited path to take, you know? So logically, the way to head instrumental stagnation off the path before it even begins to start would be to hire a singer, Devin Townsend, that's about as crazy and versatile in his pipes as Vai is on the six (or seven) string. The change in sound to a more song-oriented 'metal' vein, though, resulted in easily the most controversial album of the man's career. Some swear by Sex And Religion, calling it an emotional, dazzling songwriting masterpiece, while others dismiss it as no more than a generic and boring metal record with an awful singer and not that much of Vai magic. Where do I stand? Oh right... the middle (boy, am I ever getting used to this).
But I guess I'll play both sides within this review, first the one that loves the album, in saying that the first three or four actual songs on here (after the brief minute long instrumental bit) are nothing short of spectacular. While all of them have impressive guitar work (well, duh), their impact on the listener is due almost exclusively to their powerful, first-rate vocal melodies, but Vai, seemingly in more of a songwriter mode on this album, tends to be playing closer to the style that just adds gorgeous textures to these songs (particularly on "Still My Bleeding Heart") rather than using them as an excuse to display what his guitar can do like was the case at times with Passion And Warfare. Towsend's exceptional vocal range, meanwhile, seems to bring them to life equally (most notably on the incredibly melodic and majestic "In My Dreams With You", which is truly a ballad from the heavens, and the high-powered conviction of "Here And Now", adding to the fast intensity of that song).
None of the rest of the album manages to really eclipse those opening three songs, but there are others that I can definitely respect here. The mainly instrumental "Touching Tongues" is probably the one where Vai's virtuosic ability stands out most, with some extremely powerful melodic solos thrown in, and while it isn't that memorable, it is very nice while it's on, particularly how well the vocals merge with the playing. Elsewhere, the title track is a solid power anthem with fine arena rock precision, and "Dirty Black Hole" is probably the best of the most aggressive face-tearing tracks, with crunchy riffings and Townsend vocal screams slightly reminiscent of Sebastian Bach, and as far as really catchy choruses on this album go, it's tough to top the fine pop metal of "Survive". And the short instrumental links "State Of Grace" and "The Road To Mt. Calvary", while not too substantial, work well within the listening experience and treat you to some more peaceful guitar work.
As much as I really want to give the album an 8 (or an incredibly high 7 at minimum), however, the remaining three songs I have serious complaints about. But even including "Pig", which really emphasizes how ugly things can get when the Townsend get the desire to sound as vocally screwed up as possible and Vai gets the itch for being 'experimental', this album would still be a quite outstanding 43 minute listening experience. But no, Vai decides to throw a couple of eight minute tracks at the end, which to begin with is a bad psychological effect after listening to 11 normal-length songs or short interludes in a row, but neither "Down Deep In The Pain" or "Rescue Me Or Bury Me" have much to say at all. They're not awful while they're on (the former even has mildly memorable faster portions), but I find them incredibly frustrating, lacking any reasonable melody, spark or direction, so I have no choice but to drop a point for these pointless tracks. I would recommend this album, certainly, but my advice would be to just shut it off before those two misfires, cause you're not gonna be missing anything. This guy can sure be frustrating sometimes...
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(reviewed by Nick Karn)
A straightforward, direct and heavy instrumental EP (although at 33 minutes, this could pass as a full length album), Alien Love Secrets (the title probably taken by combining two Passion And Warfare songs, "Alien Water Kiss" and "Love Secrets") is a collection of jams which are conventional and simple by Vai's standards, but even in this setting his innovative, technical mastery of the guitar still comes through. Unfortunately, what he doesn't have are the songs, and his playing never quite reaches the compelling, emotional heights of someone like Joe Satriani, a far superior songwriter, to compensate for it - for instance, the light pop styled "The Boy From Seattle", the grinding opener "Bad Horsie" and the 'ballad' "Tender Surrender" don't really captivate much and are overlong, technical wankin' to boot.
Nevertheless, this release has some great moments that make it worth owning - the hilarious and extremely charming "Ya-Yo Gakk" features his son Julian on vocals, singing melodic lines of 'baby talk', and Steve answering those exact melodies on his guitar in spectacular fashion, with a good display of his wizardry throughout the hard-hitting song, and "Kill The Guy With The Ball" is a more furious, fast-paced moment that melts into its' gorgeous second half "The God Eaters". Rounding out the album is "Die To Live", a decent moody song, and "Juice", which comes off as a low-grade, Satriani-esque rocker.
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