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JOE SATRIANI, STEVE VAI, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN- G3 ROCKIN' IN THE FREE WORLD

Steve Vai

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Steve Vai Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen- G3 Rockin' In The Free World album cover
3.00 | 30 ratings | 4 reviews | 20% 5 stars

Good, but non-essential

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Live, released in 2004

Songs / Tracks Listing

CD1:
JOE SATRIANI:
1. The extremist
2. Crystal Planet
3. Always With Me, Always With You
4. Midnight
5. The Mystical Potato Head Grove Thing
STEVE VAI:
6. You Here
7. The Reaper
8. Whispering
Yngwie Malmsteen:
9. Blitzkrieg
10. Tricoty Suite Opus 3- Movement One
11. Red House Blues
12. Fugue
13. Finale

CD2:
THE G3 JAM:
1. Voodoo Child
2. Little Wing
3. Rockin' In The Free World

Line-up / Musicians


Releases information

Somy Music Entertainment Inc (2004)

Thanks to MANDRAKEROOT for the addition
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Buy STEVE VAI Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen- G3 Rockin' In The Free World Music



STEVE VAI Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen- G3 Rockin' In The Free World ratings distribution


3.00
(30 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(20%)
20%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(40%)
40%
Good, but non-essential (23%)
23%
Collectors/fans only (17%)
17%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

STEVE VAI Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen- G3 Rockin' In The Free World reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by OpethGuitarist
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars The essential guitar textbook.

Perhaps the 3 most influential members of electric guitar after Zappa's prime were these men, at least in solo guitar. For me, Satriani is the one that I always look to for inspiration. If you look at his whole career, he's influenced numerous famous guitar players and always had a knack for songwriting while showcasing his impressive chops. Just ask his students, Kirk from Metallica and Steve Vai, who played for Zappa and then started his own solo career; he knows what he's doing around 6 strings.

Satriani's set is filled with some of my favorites, including the really groovy Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing, which has to rank right up there with some of the funnest songs ever. Vai's set was filled with some selections that weren't really my favorite, but he's always the showman. Malmsteen, as much as we enjoy making fun of his weight and his attitude, still was one of the biggest influences on metal guitar soloing and Blitzkreig was perhaps one of his best, a dazzling display of technical ability that few can match. The G3 Jam mostly serves as a tribute to Hendrix and his legacy, which really paved the way for all electric guitar players.

It's difficult to call yourself a fan of the guitar if you've never checked out a G3 project. While not always the most intricate of material, their abilities are only behind a select few. Heck, even Robert Fripp likes these guys, so there's your nostalgic connection. Great for guitar fanatics, not necessarily something general proggers would like, but if you love the guitar, you need to grab (or go!) to a G3 experience.

Review by 1800iareyay
PROG REVIEWER
2 stars Another G3 album displaying the height of guitar wankery. This time, shred pioneer Yngwie Malmsteen joins Vai and Satch to unleash his scalloped fretboard workouts. As with all G3 albums, they end before it gets good. Each guitarist only gets a few relatively short songs, followed by a great collaborative jam. None of the solo songs add much to the studio recordings. The covers that comprise the jam are a bit odd for metal shredders: all bluesy numbers from Neil Young and Hendrix. The jams, as always, are what make this worth buying. Fans of shred metal might like these, but considering the sheer talent of the players, I expected a lot more.

Highlights: Satch's MPHGT, Malmsteen's Blitzkrieg, the G3 jam

Grade: D

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
3 stars This was recorded live in Kansas City and is a two disc set.

Satriani starts thing off with "The Extremist" and the beginning of it is really heavy. I really like this fast paced, hell raiser. The blistering guitar throughout is steller. "Crystal Planet" shows Satriani changing gears a lot from the tasteful guitar sounds to open to the screaming guitar 3 minutes in to the absolute shred-fest later. Great tune ! "Always With Me, Always With You" is a beautiful song that has some nice guitar melodies throughout. "Midnight" doesn't have a lot of melody but it does have some intricate playing from Satch on it. "The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing" is one of his best and he nails it. Vai is up next with "You're Here" a song that immediately gives us a different sound then Satriani did. This is due to the keys from MacAlpine who also plays guitar during this set. Billy Sheehan is on bass. There are also vocals from Vai on this one.The extended guitar solo 2 minutes in is great ! "Reaping" is the best song on the first disc and maybe on either disc. Vai shows such a variety of styles and solos it's unbelieveable. He lets it all hang out on this song. "Whispering A Prayer" is a cool song that Vai really extends far beyond it's normal length. The final guitarist is Malmsteen. He is my least favourite of the three. His famous song "Blitzkrieg" is all about speed. I must say I am so impressed at how fast he can play and at the same time be so smooth. Amazing ! This continues on the next song before he does a cover of a Hendrix song "Red House". It does seem weird that he plays the blues especially when he opens this song with about a hundred notes per second. "Fugue" has a classical flavour,while there is some screaming guitar on "Finale".

The second disc is where the three play a jam together. Malmsteen picks a Hendrix song "Voodoo Child (slight return)" to open. His vocals are rough after he opens it with a blazing solo. They eventually all join in to create a wall of guitar sound. Vai picks another Hendrix song "Little Wing" and he also does the vocals,and the opening guitar. His vocals are really well done I might add. Malmsteen ruins this one for me with his seemingly out of place solos running rough shod over this beautiful song. "Rockin' In The Free World" is a Neil Young song that Satriani sings on. The guitar playing of the guys 8 minutes in is a highlight of the second disc.

There is enough on this double disc to warrant a 3 star rating in my opinion but like the earlier one with Eric Johnson I feel Malmsteen brings the rating down a notch. Hey, maybe the next one with Pertucci is the one that will do it for me.

Review by Petrovsk Mizinski
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars This is the second of the G3 CDs and a fine double CD set it is indeed. As always, we have 3 legends of virtuoso electric guitar for the ultimate guitar fest. The production is great for a live album, and we get a great set list too.

Joe Satriani begins with the heavy rocker The Extremist, and he does well here with his blistering guitar work. Cyrstal Planet is somewhat more moody and maybe a little more emotional too, again a great song. Always With Me, Always with you has always been of my favorite Satriani songs, and this live version is even better than the studio album. The attention to detail he puts into the guitar work in this song is astounding and it just has an incredible vibe, which adds up to the remarkable beauty of this song. Midnight is even better than the studio version, and always feels so moody from the start to end. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing is perhaps more remarkable to see in a live DVD or in a live show, but nonetheless still a powerful song, which is so fun to listen to and has remarkable technical moments throughout.

Vai's set could have been better to be honest, but was still good. You're Here is very melodic and tasteful, and features Vai's vocals, and is a great listen. The Reaper was not a bad song, but it just seemed to drag on, and the only that might somewhat save it is the cool guitar solo medley, featuring solos from previous records, that he does during the song. Whispering a Prayer has always been a favorite of mine, and I love how he makes changes to each version of the song, yet they never make the song any less than the original version. This is a beautiful piece of music that will steal your heart from start to finish with a majestic guitar solo that despite its speed will grab you with the superb note choice. Easily the best of his set.

Malmsteen's set is absolutely shredding, but still wasn't as good as either Joe or Vai's set. I love all the songs here, don't get me wrong, but they don't always seem to grab my emotions as quickly and/or effectively as Vai and Satch's sets and there seems something odd about the rendition of Red House, from his voice to the guitar that doesn't always seem entirely fitting. I would say Finale is my favorite of his set list.

The jam is sheer brilliance, for a lack of a better descriptive phrase. Voodoo Child has Malmsteen on vocals, and he has a rough fairly harsh voice, but it seems to work better than you expect. The guitars are blazing, yet still firey with emotion, but if there is a beef, it's that Malmsteen could put some more twists in his solos.

Little Wing is fronted by Vai for vocals and the intro guitar part, and he does well here. Steve's first solo has that crazy one hand tapping style lick that he does, but it always grabs me and feels so right in the musical context. Satch's first solo seems to one up him in the emotion department. The way he phrases his licks just spend shivers down my spine and lift me up so high. Amazing stuff.

Rockin' In The Free World just rocks, with some great guitar fills during the verse. The chorus is very uplifting and despite Satch's limited capability on vocals he sings it well and it sounds very suitable in the context. The solos soar high and above your average shred fest, a testament to the skill and passion of the 3 Gs. It will no doubt leave your emotions stirred from start to end, and even after the song is finished my spine still tingles.

This is not as good as the DVD version, but still a great G3 performance.

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