PASSION AND WARFARE

One of the interesting things about Steve Vai is that he started playing when he was young and, even though he didn't believe himself to have a ton of natural talent, he worked hard and became incredibly fast.

Then he toned it down. He realized that there was a lot more to music than speed, and technical fluency is not equivocal to instrumental viruosity. He started to develop skill in alternative techniques and made some truly out of the box songs. He made his playing more about making music rather than showing off.

Music and technicality come together in the astounding album Passion and Warfare, an album I believe to be among the greatest of all time. From the start of Liberty to the end of Love Secrets, songs transition from more traditional instrumental (if instrumental can be called traditional) to become more and more esoteric and, to some, strange. The tension of this tradeoff reaches its peak in the seventh song, For the Love of God, a powerful ballad which shows both Steve's expressive capabilities as well as technical facility. To Steve, playing For the Love of God is a deeply spiritual experience, and is nothing like what any other musician does. Stains from the incredible mental experience for intent listeners are wiped clean with the comic relief of the next song The Audience is Listening, which is truly one of my favorite songs (my first taste of Vai, actually).

The rest of the album does not lack in intensity either, but I'm tired and wanna go to bed.