Fretplay.com Steve Vai CD reviews Steve Vai guitar tabs Steve Vai CD reviews Steve Vai tabs Sex & Religion


Steve Vai - Sex & Religion Audio CD

A fair review of the Steve Vai "Sex & Religion" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Steve Vai reviews here, or go back to the Steve Vai tabs.

Steve Vai Band: Steve Vai
Title: Sex & Religion
Rating:
Release Date: 2008-03-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Earth Dweller's Return 2: Here & Now 3: In My Dreams With You 4: Still My Bleeding Heart 5: Sex & Religion 6: Dirty Black Hole 7: Touching Tongues 8: State of Grace 9: Survive 10: Pig 11: Road to Mt. Calvary 12: Down Deep into the Pain 13: Rescue Me or Bury Me

This is a Masterpiece!
"Rescue me or bury me" is one of those songs that I'll never forget. The Musicians involved in this project are world-class! I have listened to this one time and time again and keep finding new layers and crazy details I couldn't perceive before. I love how Vai never conformed or sold out. He always kept going where his creativity took him and managed to tour the globe away. The only thing he sold out are concert venues including The Paramount theater in Seattle where he played with Malmsteen and Satriani. One of his songs held SO MUCH emotion I even cried. Buy this, you won't be disappointed! This is what Freedom In Music is all about!.


STOP SCREAMING AT ME!!!
Albums like Passion and Warefare, Alien Love Secrets, and the Ultra Zone represent Vai at his most, and really capture his essence. As a musician Steve Vai has always run hot and cold with me. Vai does nothing for me emotionally. He is not a "plug into a Marshal stack and play" type of guitarist. His albums are usually heavily orchestrated and effects driven. His overuse and abuse of the whammy bar gets old too. But every now and then all of that combines to make a fantastic and interesting album, such as the aforementioned. Every now and then however, an album like Sex & Religion gets made. . .

This album posed many questions to me after first listening to it 15 years ago:

1. Why is the singer screaming throughout the whole album?
2. Why do the songs suck?
3. Where are the creative instrumentals Vai fans were longing for after Passion and Warefare?
4. How could Vai release this dreck after a masterpiece like Passion and Warefare?
5. Why did Vai think that bringing in stellar musicians like Terry Bozzio and TM Stevens would make bad songs sound good?

These and other questions remain unanswered, so I chock this up as the "Vai album I'll pretend he never made. " Thankfully Vai must have realized his mistake and followed this up with Alien Love Secrets, one of his best. You would have to be a die hard Vai fan to find much value in this album. For the curious and/or new to Vai's music, I would recommend you stay away. We deal with enough noise pollution every day in increasingly crowded cities, do you really want someone screaming at the top of his lungs at you for ~30 minutes as well? .


the bio says it all
When the album proved to be a disappointment both critically and commercially,". Vai's bio here says it all: "their one and only album in 1993, Sex & Religion. . . and well deservidly so.
I guess Vai is allowed a stunt, and I hope he doesnt release a vocal album ever again; a few songs here and there I might tolerate. My advice is to skip this one unless you are a hard core fan.
.


The best - period.
Steven's & Bozzio lay down a brutal rhythm section and Devon Townsend. I understand I am in the minority on this topic, but I think "Sex & Religion" is the best band album Steve ever released. . . well, it's the best vocal work he's ever done. Then there is Steve's guitar playing, his compositions, his production.

What can I say - Steve Vai at the height of his creative powers!.


The One Vai CD Unique from all the others
That much has been evident for quite awhile. Steve Vai is an incredible guitar player. This release shows he can also write lyrics and tell a rather compelling story. I've owned this CD since its release and to this day my jaw still drops open in awe. My favorite cuts have to be "Dirty Black Hole", "Pig", "Survive" and "Down Deep Into The Pain". The spoken part in "Down Deep Into The Pain" are a conversation between a child about to be born, and God. It really makes you think. . .
Steve's virtuosity on guitar is very well complemented by Devin Townsend's vocals. This is CD rests comfortably in my top 10 CD's of all time.


You can see a complete list of all Steve Vai discography, or go back to the Steve Vai tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

Search guitar tabs

#ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
[ Search tabs | Guitar tabs | Bass tabs |
Easy guitar tabs | Guitar solo tabs |
Acoustic guitar tabs | Guitar chords |
How to read guitar tabs ]
Forum topics
Music forums
- Bands and artists - Songwriting and lyrics - Tablature talk - Promote your band
Instrument forums
- Guitar basics - Gear & accessories - Bass guitar
Community
- The pit - Site Feedback - Reviews
[ User survey | About us | Privacy statement ]