
OK, I know I'm new and all, and this is a somewhat old and well beaten thread that may not be read or heard much, BUT...
Wouldn't it be really great to know where (as in spiritually) Steve got the inspiration for this deeply touching and very emotional composition? I will not believe perhaps the single most amazing collection of somewhat organized noise on our planet could simply be something everyone else thinks is stolen. We may have all enjoyed a song that had origins in other peoples music, or even someone else's cover of an original song. As long as the artist covering the tune pays homage, respect, and rights to the creator and owner of the tune there is nothing wrong with it.
Further, It has been my dream (as has been the dream of millions of other guitar players) to play FTLOG through from start to finish. I heard it for the first time in 1992, and with the invention of VAItunes, and Garageband I now have a very sucking quality rendition (due to my own playing, NOT due to Naked tracks or Apple Inc.) of myself trying very hard to sound like the master. This has only taken me 15 years, but worth the wait. Spend 1 hour per day with the same song for over 10 years. If you still love it more than any other song, you may be obsessing, but I prefer to think it is more like hypnotized, entranced, enamored, and even more than that... still satisfied after all these years. There have been many more technically brilliant and sonically adventurous compositions from Mr. Vai since FTLOG, but those first eleven notes reach so deep down into your soul that each breath becomes a prayer for the next seven minutes of life. No matter who is playing it (perhaps Mr Kenneally), or on what instrument, (Oboe, Violin, Piano...) it is FTLOG and not an old TV theme. Certainly NO one can render the music like the marvelous fingers of Master Vai.
So, all that to say this, What spiritual place did Steve find himself in to hear such an amazing tune? Does anyone know the answer?