Finest example of the genre I've ever heard!
Nothing very unusual at all about this musical combo; guitar w/orchestra is common in movie musical scores and visionary rock musicians. This is the best music I've heard in quite a long time. This is the finest example I've ever heard, quite frankly.
Not only would Frank have been proud, he also probably would've been jealous! Poor Frank worked so hard to get a decent recording of an orchestra playing his music, sinking his own money into the projects and getting so-so results.
Vai's arrangements, playing and production are top notch. In fact, this album is at such a high level of perfection, it seems impossible when you listen to it.
awful
But where the idea came for this arranged marriage. This is AWFUL!! I love Vai's music, and as usual his guitar is the greatest. . . Like, "oh yah, let's join screaming metal guitar with kettle drums and oboes and lots of brass, I don't why nobody thought of this yet" I'll tell you why: because it is awful. I listened to it every day for ten days and still the only enjoyable part was the guitar. Guess what? I already have the guitar music on the original CDs, although the recording of the crowd is great, as if I'm in a Roman Coliseum, lots of roaring. This album has a lot of five star reviews, but the fact that it costs new more than $20 before shipping fees, but second-hand goes for $8 (for a double album)may suggest that a lot of other people wonder about its value. If you liked Robert Plant singing "All of My Love" you'll like this.
Not for guitar geeks only!
When you boil it all down, those albums are just overbearing wankery, used only to show off how cool the guy thinks he is. Usually when you see a guitarist put out an album recorded with an orchestra, you can roll your eyes and laugh at the sheer arrogance of the whole thing.
Not this time. There is GENUINE MUSIC on these two CD's. This set really shows off Steve Vai as what he is - A COMPOSER. His music translates remarkably well to the orchestra. The pieces were very obviously lovingly, painstakingly arranged. If you've never heard Steve's music before and heard these versions, you'd think they were always meant to be played that way. "Salamanders In The Sun" is a perfect example. WOW.
I've seen some people whine about CD #2 not having Steve playing on it. They need a wake up call. Even though Steve is not on the stage, you can still hear him loud and clear. He is, after all, a composer.
Delightful
Just two words. From the difficulties to understand the performance from the beginning, it turned out to be perfect. . . Steve Vai! .
Pretty Blah.
I do think he's one of the most creative and talented guitarists out there, and on top of that is a brilliant composer to boot. I'm a pretty big Vai fan, having purchased pretty much everything he has released, including all of his studio work plus several DVD's. Unfortunately he often goes off on weird tangents that, for him and others who tire of music that is musical, probably is a joy and wonder to listen to despite its non-musicality. That's pretty much what we have here.
The first CD is a bunch of familiar songs arranged for orchestra and then apparently Vai added some guitar in the studio or some such. . . in all cases (except maybe The Attitude Song) the original studio versions are not only better, but these versions simply didn't really need to happen. . . it's cool to bring an orchestra in and really flesh things out, but it's a bit over the top here. For the Love of God has a great start until, believe it or not, the guitar kicks in: ruins the mood he spent the first three or four minutes creating. So unfortunately: good idea, but poor execution.
Disc 2 is also a good idea: I was interested in hearing Vai flex his compositional muscles, but again it's basically that over-the-top Vai weirdness arranged for an orchestra. I found myself thinking that it would be better if he had just created ordinary songs out of these (e. g. Lucky Charms: brilliant little tune that's "just right" on The Ultra World. . . doesn't need an orchestra and, having heard this, I don't want to hear it with an orchestra).
I prefer Vai the eccentric, maniacal guitarist. . . and I appreciate the sonic exploration he does, but I've come to expect the occasional bit of madness that simply doesn't connect. Unfortunately this two-disc set is just that.
You can see a complete list of all Steve Vai discography, or go back to the Steve Vai tabs
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