The album is great! there are a few tracks that a skip but with more listens those tracks are definitely resonating a lot more with me. My favourite tracks so far are "The Story of Light" - that riff at the start just pulls you in and then builds up to that blissful lead guitar that seems to just break through and hit you like a kick in the face (but in a good way) "Velorum" - Is amazing from start to finish amazing track nice and heavy, probably the track I listen to the most."Racing the world" - Something about this song I cant get enough of I think it's those little peppered keyboard parts that hit during the chorus hah

Anyway...as for the nonsense chat I'm seeing on this thread about "Vai's compositional pieces". Every single song is a compositional piece & the difference between Vai & what you could call your standard "rock guitarists" is that he writes his ideas out in musical notation and structures them almost as if he is writing for a small orchestra & builds the tracks up & so much of his music isn't actually "rock" so I think that along with a million other things makes hem very different from your usual rock musician or rock guitarist. Pushing the boat out trying new things and being innovative is why I love Vai, his technique is a vehicle he uses to deliver his ideas and it's delivered perfectly this time (to me anyway) so I don't see the fuss about his "loss of technique"

The album is great!!!!! No Fire Garden but then again nothing can be................. Love you Steve, see u Friday NJ and Tuesday in NYC. Can't wait for EVO meet and greet, it's been too long. Wilshire Theater LA LAST TIME.

I wouldn't call the argument about his compositional approach as "nonsense". It's a totally valid discussion. There are plenty of fans on the board who would rather he just went back to playing guitar songs, such as Fire Garden, ALS. The whole orchestral approach to his work now is a little mundane. The Middle of Everywhere? There are parts in that 'song' that make me cringe.

Almost EVERY interview he does now is about his compositional approach to music. I remember when he used to talk about jamming, amps, cool guitars, playing fast, writing riffs, coming up with new ideas, working with new talent. I don't get the same buzz now as I did from previous albums.

I'm not buying the 'loss of technique' argument either. Not sure where that comes from.

I just don't really see the huge appeal of the appeal for fans like me. I love his weird stuff....but his weird stuff now just isn't that appealing for some reason.

Once again .. IMO, Steve doing what he wants to do is likely to result in an overall better/more authentic record than Steve doing what some fans want him to do.

Well, yes, of course.
But IMO he always did what he wanted to do with as far as his solo career is concerned starting with Flexable. I don't think he was ever really concerned about what people thought or wanted him to do. In that case he never would have done the S&R album I just think his approach and style is evolving and changing....and to me it's perfectly understandable that some people have a hard time relating to new concepts like the RI story, the orchestral stuff, etc....

Totally agree - and that's just fine. I wouldn't want him to do a thing (any thing, really) just for the sake of it.

Absolutely. I just find what he's doing now as, well, not that great.

Anyone know why his Sony deal wasn't renewed? Did he buy himself out of it?

Hi all,

I find most albums have to live with me for a bit before I form an opinion. Not the case with this one. I was listening with a smile on my face the entire time.

1. The Story of Light - I love this! Usually tracks this dense show up near the end of Steve's albums. They are always the most rewarding listens (to me anyway) so I love that he just embraced this side of himself and put it right out there.
2. Velorum - Starts out with that heavy straight forward riff but eventually evolves further into the Vai-isms that I love. Again very dense.
3. John the Revelator - Blind Willie's voice at the beginning makes Tom Waits sound the Velvet Fog - Wow. Beverly's vocals are awesome here and Steve's heavy deep guitar fits perfectly.
4. Seven Seals - Again, I love this track. The vocal arrangement starts off very white bread but evolves and moves more toward true gospel at the end. Story wise, I imagine a very straight person staring into the pool and gradually surrendering to their spirituality. Steve never plays "blues" but we hear his version here and every little lick is unconventional.
5. Creamsicle Sunset - Awesome clean guitar sound with a slack-key Hawaiian feel. Very beautiful and relaxing though the straight drums stick out to me a little.
6. Gravity Storm - love the heavy riff. Until hearing some of Steve's interviews, I assumed it was accomplished with the whammy bar. Knowing that's not the case makes this even cooler.
7. Mullach - Beautiful phrasing. Very touching piece. I listen to it with a smile thinking Wow, am I really hearing this? It's reminiscent of Jeff Beck's ballads but of course unmistakable Steve.
8. The Moon And I - cool mood here and a great solo. So rare to hear guitarists go outside as he does at 3:45. That sense of adventurousness is what puts Steve so far beyond most players.
9. Weeping China Doll - Deep sad minor key riff with a great solo
10. Racing the World - straight forward melodic rocker in the Satriani vein.
11. No More Amsterdam - another favourite for me. I love Aimee's lyrics - for me, they speak of regrets for choices in life that, in hindsight, didn't focus on the important things. Perhaps Steve will open up to more future collaborations - interesting to think where that could go. I'm not sure why but this song also reminds of acoustic work by Prince. No insane guitar here but pure Vai.
12. Sunshine Electric Raindrops - the title says it all. A nice upbeat finish after dealing with some heavy emotions through the album. It's a very hopeful song.

Overall, this is my favourite work by Steve in a long time.

Kurt

I saw this article in the APPress. Went to show last night on New Brunswick. 1'st row center. Steve and the band were gracious as usual and amazing. He ripped through alot of material. Played for almost 3 Hrs. Un F'n real.

Finally, I recieved my deluxe edition with CD and DVD. I already had the digital version for three weeks but I wanted to wait with my review until the CD arrives, so that I can read the story in the booklet. I think reading the story while listening to the album makes you realize the music in a different way.

Here is a short song review:

The Story of Light: Epic! Especially the great guitar solo. It´s unique. I´ve never heard a solo like this before. It´s kind of a melody solo you would never expect. Difficult bass work during the solo section. I found the woman´s voice a bit strange...until I read what she is actually saying in the story. Great powerfull worlds about the origin of the whole creation! It absolutely fits in the song now! Can´t wait to get a transcription of the solo part (hopefully for 6-string in standard tuning).

Velorum: The most fantastic parts in the song for me are the calm part with this heartwarming melody (good idea to play the same melody with an acoustic guitar in the background) and the cool chorus sections! The story in the booklets fits good with this song.

John the Revelator: What a voice! My favorite parts are the second verse and the guitar. I don´t think its overproduced or kills the message of the original song like some people are complaining, and I don´t really see it as a cover. It´s totally selfcontained.

Book Of The Seven Seas: Though normally I don´t really like gospel choir music, this one is cool because of Steve´s extraordinary guitar work (especially this fills in the "tell us who´s riding" part.) It is characteristical for his music: give it a few more listens and you will like it, whatever you thought about it at the first time.

Creamsicle Sunset: I really can imagine this feeling Steve got during an amazing Hawaiian sunset. The song name fits perfect. Every note is crystal clear, you can actually taste it

Gravity Storm: I think for many of us this was the first song we´ve heard from the new album. My first reaction, minutes after Steve posted this song on his fb page, was: "Oh no, this sounds terrible, no melody in it. And this horrible solo section". Well, this was my first reaction, and now: It is one of my favorites (read what I wrote above at the book of the seven seals). Steve can not get much cooler than in this song, can he??? (Certainly he can, he is Steve Vai ^^)

Mullach a´tSI: Every note is perfectly played. Sometimes the guitar sounds like a violin and it is a very nice melody. But what I don´t like is that it only consists of two different parts. There´s no theme changing or something. Of course he always plays the parts different...but it is not what I expectet to be a seventh song. However Steve knows what he is doing and it is nice to listen to it anyvai.

The Moon and I: One of the best Vai solos ever in this song. And the lyrics are wonderful. After my first listen to the album this was the first song I played again, only to here Steve singing and the call and response solo.

Weeping China Doll: I want this flowers in my garden too. And I will buy a 5-lined fence... To see what other ABSOLUTELY AMAZING melodies this flowers have to offer. And the solo is so.... Can´t find the right words. It would be great if Steve would post the photography he took to write this song. Can´t wait to get tabs for this one too!

Racing the world: Tabs please!!! But I figured out the riff, the first verse and the chorus myself for now. A straight song, listening to it (and playing it!!!) makes you feel like racing the world

No more amsterdam: I have to admit that I didn´t really understood the lyrics until I recieved the booklet. But now the song got even better, because I know what it is all about! Aime Mann has a beautiful clear voice! Good idea to do this as a duett.

Sunshine electric raindrops: I found tabs for this one already. It isn´t as easy as i thought. This song makes me smile and feel good every time I hear it. It´s simply cool!!! And a big contrast to the first song!

What else can I say? I only took a short look at the DVD, but I will watch it completely this evening.

Remember, there are only five options to rate an album:

Bad - Moderate - Good - Perfect - Vai

By the way, is it normal that the CD looks exactly like the DVD??? Not even the inscription "Bonus DVD" or something?

I think the guitar speaks far less in Mullach than it does in almost any of the previous 7th songs. I don't think it has nearly the attention to detail-- articulation, dynamics, a song structure that builds and releases tension, like the previous 7th songs-- that songs like FTLOG, LF, TS, WTHS have. In light of those songs, I agree with the other guy that Mullach is just mundane. And the tone on it is pretty bad too, in my opinion.

Lastly, ***SPOILERS ALERT BELOW***


I think the fact that Steve didn't play Mullach on this tour, yet DID play a number of the previous 7th songs means something too. Mullach should have been favored since it's a new song. I don't hate the song, it's tolerable. It just wasn't the same beautifully crafted 7th song we've come to expect from Steve. The song structure is just totally flat.

Burnin' Down The Mountain?

Also, gain isn't the component to good tone. I think it's beautiful, personally.