Steve Vai-Reflections

[fullshred]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

PS...Can't wait to get this one signed Ibanez VAI tapestry

....along with my Vai FP77

Steve's da man [img]/images/graemlins/popcorn.gif[/img]

[ChickenScratch]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I was at the Wesbury Music Fair last night for the show! Man that rocked a*s! Vai was in top form and Tony had a lot more space to shred than on the last few tours. I was right dead center and 6 rows back from the front and at the Wesbury Music Fair that's very close, it's a fairly small venue with theater seating so there's not a bad seat in the house.

They played about 3 songs off the new one (spectacular album btw) opening the set with Building The Church. What a trip to see Tony come up on stage and start playing that sick keyboard intro! They didnt play a lot of songs that should have been obvious for a Vai show.

Oh, Eric Sardinas was really boring btw. I just don't get that sh*t.

[jwoods986]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I have been up in the air about buying this new CD. All the opinions I've read seem to be hit or miss. I think I'll hold off for now until I hear some more of it. Personally, I love his DLR/Whitesnake stuff.

Nick - If you don't have it, get Alien Love Secrets! I never thought he would match P&W but this is really close. In fact, if it was a full-length album I may have even put it above P&W!

[kmanick]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

Thanks John I'll check it out, that's one I've never listened to.
I have the Ultrazone (my old drummer Mike Mangini is on that one!)
and again a couple of the songs a great and some are so out there that I can't even listen to them. [img]/images/graemlins/scratchhead.gif[/img]

[jgcable]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

The first song Building the Church is a good song but most of the CD is totally off the wall and not memorable at all.
I am just stating MY opinion.
Steve is a great guitar player and on this CD, a lousy song writer. 1 or 2 good songs out of 12 isn't good enough for me. Reflections stinks.. period.
I guess all you older Vai fans out there must have also really been into Cat Stevens after he changed his name and stopped writing great songs.
A guitar player who writes weird songs with weird arrangements and "takes chances" by doing so does absolutely nothing for me. Maybe on his next release and tour he will be wearing a chicken bucket on his head.

The other thing that pisses me off with guitar players is that when they first start out (when they aren't famous), they write or co-write great songs. Then... when they become staggeringly popular because of those great songs, they start coming out with a bunch of wierd technical dribble. Sometimes I think they are actually laughing at their fans who rush out to buy this crap. It is a similar mass psychosis to a story back in the old days about the Beatles. They said that if the Beatles had gotten back together before Lennon was killed and came out with an album that had NO SONGS on it.. just static, it would have went multi-platinum and the throngs of Beatles fans would have defended it with comments like
"they have balls... they really took a chance on this one"
or
"they are a no compromise band that refuses to write great hit songs just to sell records"
"that static is so technical"
I say PONDEROUS... (and that isn't even a proper word)

[pythagoras]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

The human ear can only listen to so many notes. Then it turns off for awhile. When someone plays too many notes- then your ears shut down and you think the song sucks.

This is what Mozart was told by the Austrian Royalty after hearing one of his operas on opening night.
Let's give it a few listens before we make a comment.....

[BTB007]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

The more I listen to RI:R the more I enjoy and like it. It has definitely grown on me.

[ChickenScratch]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I listened to it 3 times Monday when I got it, 4 times yesterday then went to the show and I'm on my second listen for today right now. I love it and the more I listen the more I love it.

[jgcable]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I guess you have to condition yourself to like the CD. Kind of like training. I'll pass.
At least Malmsteen hits you with everything he has, everytime and sticks to the genre and style that made him famous in the first place.

[Endrik]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

That's why Steve is so great, he dosn't stick to the one genre, what is the point of repeating the stuff you have already done, and listeners want to hear something new too.

[Shawn Lutz]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

His "out there" stuff is what keeps me from buying his stuff. He's such a fabulous player on stuff like for the love of god etc. I lose interest pretty damn quick when I start hearing his interpretation of aliens masturbating with an eventide harmonizer.

[jgcable]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I love alot of his stuff, but unfortunately for me, the great stuff is surrounded by a bunch of techno alien dribble.

[hippietim]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

[ QUOTE ]
The other thing that pisses me off with guitar players is that when they first start out (when they aren't famous), they write or co-write great songs. Then... when they become staggeringly popular because of those great songs, they start coming out with a bunch of wierd technical dribble.

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, you can't say that about Vai. His first release, Flex-able, is a far cry from a typical guitar hero album.

[pythagoras]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

I'm sure everyone here wishes they were are successful and popular as Vai.....oh, I forgot he played with David Lee Roth.....what a dick....

[hippietim]

Re: Steve Vai-Reflections

John, you are certainly entitled to your opinion. I couldn't disagree more. From the very first listen I was hooked on Reflections. I'm a big Vai fan because he doesn't play straight ahead stuff. His vocals aren't going to go down in history as the best by any stretch but he's still better than these trolls in current bands that use Autotune and shit to cover up the fact that they have no sense of pitch.

Now this will be sacrilegious to some but I find a lot of the shredder music out there to be pretty lame - Satriani, Yngwie, Michael Angelo, etc. The songs are freakin' horrible. Pure fucking wank fests with no substance at all. Each of them has had their moments of brilliance (Yngwie's first two, Satch with Crystal Planet, etc.), but the majority of their catalogs are boooooooring. Those guys can all play their asses off and that is totally kick ass. I get it. Really. But hearing yet another Satriani noodle fest over a droning eigth-note 'A' pulse is just shy of musical torture. As is yet another freakin' Em/D/C/Bmaj melodic minor arpeggio festival from Yngwie.

It's funny so many have mentioned Vai's work with Whitesnake. I have a hard time listening to that album - those songs suck ass. The previous Whitesnake album had much better songs IMO. The stuff Vai did with DLR was brilliant.