Vai playing Bad Horsie live at home last year

[Chris]

[Webdood]

watching this something occurred to me

WHAT IF VAI and GILBERT did an album together....

[Chris]

I don't really get into Vai's songs with vocals but I guess Fire Garden was cool.

[RevDrucifer]

I don't really get into Vai's songs with vocals but I guess Fire Garden was cool.

Fire Garden is my favorite Vai album, next to ALS. Mostly because it was the first album of his I bought and I saw him on that tour, which is what started my fanboyism of him. While there’s some cheese in those vocal tunes, “All About Eve” is pretty fucking stellar. “Little Alligator” is fun and I love “Damn You”, despite being a nice-guy-trying-to-be-angry song.

And “The Silent Within” from The Ultra Zone is another one that I really dig, musically and even lyrically. That’s got a KILLER fucking solo in it, too. I dropped off after that and while I’ll always buy his albums, I don’t think I’ve listened to anything post-Ultra Zone all the way through in one sitting. I just stopped caring about guitar-based instrumental music. I can probably find things to appreciate about them now as far as composition/production, but overall, I have to be really high to enjoy listening that kind of music these days. Or on a road trip.

[Drew]

Alien Love Secrets" is hands-down my favorite Vai album, because I like hearing him work in a stripped-down trio format, and because I haven't listened to more than the first few seconds of "Ya-Go-Gak" in a solid 20 years.

Dude is a stupendous talent.

[desertdweller]

I don't really get into Vai's songs with vocals but I guess Fire Garden was cool.

Fire Garden was fucking amazing, end to end.

[Chris]

Fire Garden was fucking amazing, end to end.

STOP RUINING MY GILBERT GOTTFRIEND JOKE YOU ASSBAGS

[Bloody_Inferno]

I like hearing him work in a stripped-down trio format,

As much as I love Alien Love Secrets, I'm the exact opposite in thinking. It's cool when he strips down and rocks out but I love hearing Vai in all the bombastic, Zappa bred weird stuff. His composer side is what makes him more interesting and stick out over most instrumental guitarists.

When I heard Bangkok/Fire Garden Suite the first time, I saved up and bought the sheet music to both Fire Garden and Passion and Warfare albums and just consumed all the pieces with the full scores. Even if I couldn't play the hard guitar parts, I loved learning even the subtle parts like keyboard overdubs and little vocal bits. The fact that a rock shred guitarist wrote all of that fascinated me.

Basically made me want to write and compose music seriously.

[Chris]

As much as I love Alien Love Secrets, I'm the exact opposite in thinking. It's cool when he strips down and rocks out but I love hearing Vai in all the bombastic, Zappa bred weird stuff. His composer side is what makes him more interesting and stick out over most instrumental guitarists.

I am the opposite of this. I like stripped down Vai just kicking ass on his own, instead of the over the top Zappa worship.

His career has been fantastic by any measure but I can't help but think that without all of the Zappa influence he'd have been quite a bit more successful. I haven't bought one of his albums in quite a while because his music just got too weird for me.

[Chris]

I loved Fire Garden btw, I just wanted to make my Gilbert joke work. But fucking Vince and ShittyUsername McAsslips ruined it.

[Shawn]

And “The Silent Within” from The Ultra Zone is another one that I really dig, musically and even lyrically. That’s got a KILLER fucking solo in it, too. I dropped off after that and while I’ll always buy his albums, I don’t think I’ve listened to anything post-Ultra Zone all the way through in one sitting. I just stopped caring about guitar-based instrumental music. I can probably find things to appreciate about them now as far as composition/production, but overall, I have to be really high to enjoy listening that kind of music these days. Or on a road trip.

I love that song and I love The Ultra Zone, too. One of my favorites. I actually really like his vocals on not just that song but others on that album.

[Drew]

As much as I love Alien Love Secrets, I'm the exact opposite in thinking. It's cool when he strips down and rocks out but I love hearing Vai in all the bombastic, Zappa bred weird stuff. His composer side is what makes him more interesting and stick out over most instrumental guitarists.

When I heard Bangkok/Fire Garden Suite the first time, I saved up and bought the sheet music to both Fire Garden and Passion and Warfare albums and just consumed all the pieces with the full scores. Even if I couldn't play the hard guitar parts, I loved learning even the subtle parts like keyboard overdubs and little vocal bits. The fact that a rock shred guitarist wrote all of that fascinated me.

Basically made me want to write and compose music seriously.

I don't personally agrtee with you... but I totally get this. Music is pretty awesome in this way, huh? It can be so many different things to so many different people.

[Leon]

There's only one Vai song with lyrics that's worth learning...

[Megametal7]

Bad horse and for love of god is my top 2 songs by Vai.

I like that video where he has shoe polish or something in that nature on and he shows his teeth before he starts playing bad horse.

[Bloody_Inferno]

I am the opposite of this. I like stripped down Vai just kicking ass on his own, instead of the over the top Zappa worship.

From a guitarist's perspective, I can agree with this. And it's cool when they do it too, since they compensate to fill space by just ripping away. Andy Timmons is the best example of this atm. Vai is too unique of a player/musician to sit still.

His career has been fantastic by any measure but I can't help but think that without all of the Zappa influence he'd have been quite a bit more successful. I haven't bought one of his albums in quite a while because his music just got too weird for me.

I'm not so sure. The fact that Vai managed to have a successful longevity of being a solo instrumental guitarist behind Satch is a small miracle. For most, to be a more successful guitarist above Vai's current situation is to join an established band/artist a la Joel Hoerkstra doing residencies with Cher, or join a band and get established, which usually ends up in a legacy classic rock act a la Chickenfoot. Sex And Religion is the last time Vai has tried doing the band effort, and if history, shows, he can't or won't do it. He's way too much of a control freak to be a team player.

[Chris]

All fair points.

[Ghost.]

Yeah, Vai wasn't much of a band guy in the end. Too creative in other ways.

Though his best time was with David Lee Roth when he had them "Goin' Crazy." No pun intended.

I'd have to say, my favorite Vai song is probably "Building the Church," he is pushing his playing to the limit and playing something beautiful all the same time. Just like "Bad Horsie" but that song has far more groove.

[RevDrucifer]

I really love everything from P&W-Ultra Zone, but Fire Garden and ALS are my standouts. “Fire Garden Suite” is the song I’d consider to be a definitive Vai song because it wraps up so much of him into one piece and that might be my favorite Vai song. I can totally understand why he doesn’t enjoy being in a band. I fucking HATE sitting in a practice space while other people are trying to figure their parts out and I loathe the “Let’s try this 20x to see if we can make it smooth and then we’ll try that other idea.”

I work so quickly in my studio that it just feels incredibly stifling and constrictive being in a band. The last 3 I was in I was only singing and then I’d go home and write entire songs on my own. I’m not satisfied writing for just one instrument. I can imagine someone like Vai, with the command he has over music and the output he has, I wouldn’t want it constricted by other people either.

This kind of blew my mind a couple years back, but when I turned 36 I remember thinking, “JFC, I’m the same age Vai was when I saw him on the Fire Garden tour…..he already pulled all that shit off before my age!” I used that as a bit of drive to kick my ass in the studio and get more work done.

And I really want the black PIA.

[Chris]

And I really want the black PIA.

Me too man. I wish they weren't so damn expensive. I just can't bring myself to pay $3500 for an Ibanez.

[Ken]

Me too man. I wish they weren't so damn expensive. I just can't bring myself to pay $3500 for an Ibanez.

It's the way of things. I would love to have a Japanese Universe again, but it's not 1994 anymore and for some reason my head is still stuck there when it comes to prices. The indo stuff is okay, I suppose, but it's not the same.

The Vai clip was cool. As for his music, well, I just think it's cool that he's authentic and owns what he does. I'll listen to the orchestrated stuff, but I gravitate more to the stripped down stuff. Juice just slays me everytime.

[Ghost.]

Me too man. I wish they weren't so damn expensive. I just can't bring myself to pay $3500 for an Ibanez.

Amen.

[Bloody_Inferno]

Me too man. I wish they weren't so damn expensive. I just can't bring myself to pay $3500 for an Ibanez.

Just do what I did and get an awesome MIJ RG and do it up.



Sure there's no handle but whatevs.

[Dominic]

And I really want the black PIA.

I haven't got used to reading PIA like JEM yet, so my brain got "I really want a black IPA".

I then googled for an example of one, found this


and simply must try one. ASAP.

I can even forgive the misspelling of "thrash" because the idea and its graphic interpretation are so awesome.

:beer:

I'm also rather partial to the black PIA.

[Hulk Krogan]

Yeah, Vai wasn't much of a band guy in the end. Too creative in other ways.

Though his best time was with David Lee Roth when he had them "Goin' Crazy." No pun intended.

I'd have to say, my favorite Vai song is probably "Building the Church," he is pushing his playing to the limit and playing something beautiful all the same time. Just like "Bad Horsie" but that song has far more groove.

I love this album and I saw this iteration of G3. His backing band was so good.

[RevDrucifer]

I haven't got used to reading PIA like JEM yet, so my brain got "I really want a black IPA".

I then googled for an example of one, found this


and simply must try one. ASAP.

I can even forgive the misspelling of "thrash" because the idea and its graphic interpretation are so awesome.

:beer:

I'm also rather partial to the black PIA.

I would definitely try it, but despite it saying "Black IPA" on it, I'd still expect it to taste like a 4Loco or something from the packaging.