Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another album, another masterpiece!, July 25, 2000
What an album! Half instrumental, half vocal. "There's a Fire in the House" starts off this one in fine fashion and has been used by me to wake people up, as it starts off with an explosion! Very cool! Those with sub-woofers will definitely shake the rafters with this one. "The Crying Machine" is a feel-good song that is one of Steve's most mature-sounding ballads. "Whookam" and "The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover" are two strange, short numbers that help the album progress nicely. "Whookam" features Devin Townsend on vocals, who was the singer on Steve's full-on heavy metal album "Sex and Religion." "Bangkok," followed by "Fire Garden Suite" are my biggest reasons to recommend this album. This lead-in and suite are worth the full price alone. Steve plays eveything on these except drums and that includes guitars, bass, sitar, piano and a few other things besides. This is a true masterpiece and is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing pieces ever written. Very, very impressive! It is hard to describe how awesome this is. The flow is perfect, and so is the writing. I can't say enough about this song. Check it out! "All About Eve" is Steve's favorite vocal selection on this one, but mine is "Brother," a very heartfelt number that is similar to the Foo Fighter's "My Hero" in it's message. This is a very impressive album overall and should be displayed on mantlepieces as an example of modern genius in songwriting.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Introduction To Steve Vai, August 4, 2005
This was the first Steve Vai album that I ever heard. I only had to hear track one and I knew I had to have it. I really like his sound! Definitely cool stuff. I also own The Ultra Zone. That album is an interesting journey, and pretty far out at times. Consider both for your collection.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Among Vai's Best Work, October 18, 2005
Tune by tune:
There's a Fire in the House: this is one of those wild, loud, frenetic, insane Vai things that's always fun to listen to but is unfortunately somewhat forgettable when compared to his most amazing work; (think "Answers" for instance: great tune, but no "For the Love of God"). Killer guitar solo, of coruse!
Crying Machine: Great sing-songy tune that's mostly guitar solo... ends with about a minute and a half of left channel right channel leads - very, very cool tune... amazing guitar work of course.
Dying Day: Vai instrumental power ballad... just as good as all the rest. Vai emotes so well with the guitar that it annoys me when some morons think blues guitarists with big bends display more emotion than guys like Vai. Vai just rips your insides out and leaves you gasping for air. This is one of those sorts of things.
Whookam: Just a little interlude thing; backwards masked... if you reverse it and listen it's quite homorous even if rather irreverent. It leads nicely into the next song and doesn't really stand on its own...
Blowfish: Another of those freakish Vai extravaganzas that, like Song 1, is excellent but somewhat forgettable compared to the rest.
Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover: totally insane noisemaking that isn't so much a song as a lead-in to the next song...
Hand on Heart: The 7th song on the CD, Vai always goes for raw emotion in this spot and succeeds brilliantly. This song really runs the gamut of emotion - bleak loneliness, soaring highs, madness, etc... more evidence of his ability to assail emotional mountains that others don't even know exist. Brilliant!!!
Bangkok: Very cool eastern sounding thing; stands nicely on its own but could just as well be considered another movement in the Fire Garden Suite that follows.
Fire Garden Suite: Simply breathtaking... not only mind-boggling for the guitar parts, but for the sheer imagination of composition. This is where Vai beats all the rest in my opinion: his ability to compose the most amazing music around. There may be a few guys who can stay with him for technical proficiency (and that number is small enough), but then add in brilliant tunes like this, and he has no equal. This (along with the lead-in Bangkok) is some 12 minutes of sheer, mad brilliance. Perhaps THE SINGLE BEST THING I've ever heard out of Vai.
(OK, on to the vocal end of things. As we all know, Via isn't exactly Geoff Tate in terms of great vocal tone, but he is a perfectionist and he certainly hits the right notes everywhere. I like that he sings his own songs since that way it's basically "all Vai" which I think is better than having any external influence).
Little Alligator: This is just a fun, happy little tune that features plenty of crazed guitar, and as noted, just has a real happy, positive vibe about it. And is more catchy than some of Vai's other excursions.
All About Eve: Vocal power ballad... and powerful indeed - every bit as good as the other two ballads I already applauded. Very nicely sung by Vai, and the arrangement really fits together well.
Aching Hunger: Starts out with an insane guitar line... vocals get a little chaotic in the middle, but it's a vocal vision of our inner desires... and yeah, you all know the sort of vacation Vai can take you on along those lines. that's just what he does here.
Brother: An ode of sorts to his brother and father. Very powerful song: emotion packed and gut wrenching. Bravo!
Damn You: Lyrically not as up to par as the rest; vocally it's just fine and overall... even though it's not at all a bad song I'd say it's about the weakest on the CD.
When I was a Little Boy: Just a humorous little interlude - not actually a song at all... or a lead-in either. It's short, though, so not a bother.
Genocide: Lyrically another slightly weaker tune, but vocally OK... better than 'Damn You', though, and has a wicked guitar solo in there; the lyrics while not spectacular are also somewhat catchier than 'Damn You,' and are the feature piece in the song... you'll have to listen. Good song, but not what you'll buy the CD for.
Warm Regards: This is an instrumental ballad-ish sorta tune that's just as worthy of the 7th slot as 'Hand on Heart' (in other words, it's simply excellent!) But the title makes it a fitting album closer, and that's what it is!
Overall:
74 minutes or so of great stuff. While I hack on the occasional song here, there are none that I skip while listening: all are worthy of the minutes spent listening, and as is typical of Via, you're always hearing something new, even after YEARS of listening.
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