PASSION AND WARFARE

Hhmm. Great licks doth not a great record make - well that's my take on this album. A great sidesman for Zappa, and in terms of technique on electric guitar one of the very best, Steve Vai's compositional skills let him down badly. Not only that....there's a lack of energy and commitment about the proceedings, always a danger with solo projects by soloists, where unless you're very disciplined, you need help to channel all that talent into something meaningful. To be your best you need to surround yourself with equals, with people who will challenge and help direct you, criticse you when they think you're going up a blind alley; here Steve seems to have just surrounded himself with session musicians and family members, and it shows.

The best track is "For the Love of God" which combines blues-style with some lightning fast licks (well, most every track has the lightining fast licks...). But overall the tracks are lightweight - meaning that they pall with repeated listenings - and after a while even the super fast soloing wears a little thin. Two stars for "For the Love of God" but otherwise this was so nearly my first one star review....