Feb 17, 2003 11:55 AM
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(Updated Feb 17, 2003 01:05 PM)
In the mid 70s a long haired , leather attired teenager was learning a few juicy chops from Joe Satriani , a legend in his own might . This was the time when Rock was a culture and not just a genre of music .Every other guy had a band and tried his hand at the six-string.But this guy was different from those ''other guys'' . He had astute control of the guitar and was blessed with amazing technical prowess . He went on to become arguably the best guitarist of all times . The name was Vai , Steve Vai and he dreamt of making it big . In search of this dream he moved to Los Angeles . As they say , talent never goes unnoticed . Within a year he was seen playing with the legendary Frank Zappa . He was the stunt guitarist of the band and in a short while went on to become the class act of Zappa's shows .After leaving the band he was involved in some projects with Whitesnake , Alice Cooper , Alcatrazz , and ex Van halen frontman David Lee Roth.
Passion and Warfare was his second solo project , the first being Flex-able Leftovers . But Passion and Warfare was released in 1990 , six years after the release of Flex-able . So in a way it saw the baptism of vai's solo career . He went on to release several solo albums like Flex-able Leftovers , Alive In An Ultra World , Fire Garden etc.
Critics have often been quoted as saying Passion and Warfare bears testimony to the best and worst of Steve Vai. Well thats for the listener to decide . But throughout his career Steve Vai has fit the stereotype of the modern ''guitar hero'' in perfect detail . His place is more justified among the bands of Heavy Metal genre rather than those who made the so called Art Rock . Steve once said about Passion and Warfare
''I guess in every person's career they have an inspired concept and all the pieces of Karma come together to produce something that is a milestone in their creative consciousness. When I sat down to make this record, I stripped myself naked of all outside expectations, all hang-ups and fears of what might happen. I made a record that I wanted to be a statement of my most inner feelings, a blueprint of my personality . ''
There are a few great traits in this album which deserve a special mention . First and foremost Tris Imboden is absolutely awesome in the tracks ,''For The Love Of God'' and ''I Would Love To '' .Finally a drummer who seems to be knowing what cymbals are all about . Secondly , it seems like while making this album , Steve gave a damn to what others thought . And as a result the album is a confident endeavour to say the least. It appears the effort of a musician who knew exactly what we wanted to create . Finally , the use of the H3000 harmonizer was magnificent in ''Ballerina '' and '' Alien water Kiss '' . Its a pity these two songs are the shortest in the album .The use of the Rocktron line of effects processors is pretty extraordinary .
The album opens with the anthemic solo ''Liberty '' which kind of builds the rush of blood . An uplifting track you could say. Personally I feel the best tracks on the album were ''Answers'' , ''Love Secrets '' and ''For the Love of God '' where Steve ends saying Walking the fine line between Pagan and Christian . This album shows a combination of sitar effects , hyper-fast soloing , distortions and some short but meaningful lyrical passages . In '' The Audience Is Listening'' Steve makes clever use of the guitar to imitate the voice of a young kid and uses his guitar to say the words ''ok'' , ''so happy '' and ''dont be nervous ''. You have got to hear this to understand what I'm talking about. Some tracks like ''Riddle'' and ''Greasy Kid's Stuff'' fall short by his standards. But nonetheless they are mostly listenable.
The biggest letdown of this album is the new age stuff on the cover . It shows Steve amongst the flames of hell. Above him rests the ''eye-pyramid'' symbol, gazing out on a panorama of sky-nymphs. The light of heaven burns on his right hand and flames of the netherworld on his left hand. The cover makes no sense whatsoever .
The greatness of Steve Vai , lies in the fact that he does not suffer from any Jimi Hendrix or Paul Gilbert hangovers. A Steve Vai piece can be recognized out of a thousand guitar solos.He had the rare and gifted abilty to speak throuh his music without uttering words .His creations have been rebel anthems for young guitarists with big amplifiers . After Hendrix there hasn't been a more complete Rock Guitarist than Steve Vai. The album Passion and Warfare has its ups and downs but overall its a great addition to your collection specially if , hard and heavy metal is your kinda stuff.
''Playing the guitar effortlessly is a sanctuary of divine personal revelation ''
Steve Vai
