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THE INFINITE STEVE VAI - AN ANTOLOGY

Steve Vai

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Steve Vai The Infinite Steve Vai - An Antology album cover
3.49 | 11 ratings | 2 reviews | 9% 5 stars

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Boxset/Compilation, released in 2003

Songs / Tracks Listing


DISC ONE

01. Liberty
02: Die To Live
03: The Attitude Song
04: Salamanders In The Sun
05: The Animal
06: The Riddle
07: For The Love Of God
08: Bangkok
09: Fire Garden Suite: Bull Whip,
Pusa Road, Angel Food,
Taurus Bulba
10: Ya-Yo Gakk
11: Blue Powder
12: Bad Horsie
13. Tender Surrender
14. All About Eve
15. Dyin' Day
16: The Blood & Tears
17: The Silent Within


DISC TWO

01. Feathers
02: Frank
03: Boston Rain Melody
04: Kitten's Got Claws
05: Lighter Shade of Green
06: Giant Balls of Gold
07: Whispering A Prayer
08: Jibboom
09: Windows To The Soul
10: Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways)
11: The Reaper
12: Christmas Time Is Here
13: Essence
14: Rescue Me Or Bury Me
15: Burnin' Down The Mountain

Line-up / Musicians


Steve Vai and collaborators.

Releases information

Release Date: November 18, 2003
Catalog: Sony/Epic Legacy E2K90713
Original Recordings Produced by: Steve Vai, Mike Clink, Keith Olsen & Eddie Kramer
Compilation Produced by: Jeff Magid

Taken from the official Vai's web page:

"A career-spanning collection of 32 digitally remastered tracks over 2CDs - including work with other artists such as Alcatrazz and Whitesnake. Sony/Epic released this CD as part of their "Legacy" series."

Thanks to The Crow for the addition
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STEVE VAI The Infinite Steve Vai - An Antology ratings distribution


3.49
(11 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of rock music(9%)
9%
Excellent addition to any rock music collection(45%)
45%
Good, but non-essential (36%)
36%
Collectors/fans only (0%)
0%
Poor. Only for completionists (9%)
9%

STEVE VAI The Infinite Steve Vai - An Antology reviews


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

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by Mellotron Storm
PROG REVIEWER
4 stars In the liner notes it reads "Vai honed his chops at the legendary Berklee College of Music, where at the age of 18 he transcribed the notorious piece of music by Frank Zappa known as "The Black Page". He then sent Zappa a tape of a solo guitar performance of the piece.The move earned him a gig as lead guitarist in Zappa's band. Over the next five years Vai toured and recorded with his idol before striking it out on his own in 1984." Mike Keneally who plays a lot with Vai, (and who played with Zappa) is featured on keyboards on many of the songs on the second disc. I really like this compilation and if you like any of Vai's songs and don't have any of his albums, then I highly recommend this two disc set.

Some of the highlights on disc one are "Liberty" with the uplifting guitar solos."The Attitude Song" is the most well known Vai song to me. It was the theme music to a rock news radio show I used to listen to. A very uptempo and complex song. "Salamanders In The Sun" is a jazzy song with choral sitar, synths and flute. "The Animal" is a heavy, powerful tune with Stu Hamm on bass. Amazing guitar solos from Vai. "For The Love Of God" is a beautiful song with tasteful guitar and synths. I love the ending. "Bangkok" is a nice change of pace as it has an Eastern flavour that works really well. Great tune ! "Ya-Yo Gakk" has a really good beat with Steve's toddler son Julian singing the words and Vai responding with his guitar. This is if anything cute and funny. "Blue Powder" is an emotional song with some amazing bass later from Hamm. "Bad Horsie" is one of my favourites. A heavy duty, grunge like tune. "Tender Surrender" is mellow to begin with before Vai lights it up. I was reminded at times of Stevie Ray Vaugn on this one. "All About Eve" has Vai on vocals and it's a great song. Some catchy guitar melodies on "Dyin' Day" and "The Blood & Tears" is different with female Indian vocals and words. It works !

Disc two opens with "Feathers" and as the title would suggest this one is fragile and beautiful with light drums, synths and guitar. Some good bass on "Frank" gives it a heavier feel.The chorus is great and the song is beautiful. "Boston Rain Melody" is another laid back tune with intricate guitar solos as it ends with rain and thunder. "Kittens Got Claws" is actually a WHITESNAKE song when Vai played with them for an album. It's a straight ahead rocker. "Giant Balls Of Gold" is about Poland and is a heavy song with tasteful guitar melodies throughout. "Whispering A Prayer" is about Ireland. A gentle song that slowly builds. Some good back ground synths. "Jibboom" has some scorching and filthy guitar solos. "Windows To The Soul"is a gorgeous song with uplifting, soaring guitar. Nice. "Essence" is a cool song with sounds from a Roland VG88 and GR33 ."Rescue Me Or Bury Me" sounds like Jimmy Page playing to open and Devin Townsend is on vocals and Terry Bozio on drums. Some breathtaking guitar on this one. The final song "Burnin' Down the Mountain" features guitar and percussion and it sounds fantastic !

4 solid stars !

Review by Magnum Vaeltaja
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
3 stars It always seems a little redundant writing reviews for compilations, but what the heck. They serve a purpose, after all. A good compilation should serve as a broad overview of an artist's output, with all their most popular hits, while also acting as a bit of teaser, enticing you to explore their back catalogue a little deeper. And this anthology does each of these quite well.

With two full discs of music, there's plenty of material for newfound Vai fans to sink their teeth into here. The tracks included were compiled from the bulk of Vai's career, with songs included from each of his studio albums from 1984 to 2003. That isn't all, of course, with a few live cuts ("Giant Balls of Gold", "Whispering A Prayer") thrown in for good measure, as well as the hair metal rocker "Kittens Got Claws" by Whitesnake, and "Lighter Shade of Green", a solo instrumental Vai recorded during his stint with Alcatrazz.

As far as Vai's solo career, I'm generally satisfied with the inclusions. All of his most famous material, like "For The Love of God", is included. There's also quite an exhaustive representation of the many different sides to his career. There are hard rock shredder tracks, succulent prog material like "Liberty", "The Riddle" and "Fire Garden Suite", a handful of ballads, and even the vaguely Zappa-like "Salamanders In The Sun". There are some questionable exclusions, of course, such as the shred-tastic, humorously autobiographical "The Audience Is Listening", as well as other less famous but still notable tracks, such as "Juice", "Hand On Heart", or "Erotic Nightmares".

For potential buyers, it's worth noting that in 2011 Sony BMG re- released this two-disc set, with the same track listing, as "The Essential Steve Vai". In all, this is a solid release as far as compilations go. I'd recommend this as a good introduction to Vai's music. And even then, it's not just "Vai 101"; this anthology includes some bonus-y material that established fans may not have been able to get their hands from the studio releases.

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