PASSION AND WARFARE

Steve Vai's second album came six years after his first, "Flex-Able". And during that time, Vai distanced himself from the Zappa style he imitated, and more toward the hard rock style of Whitesnake and David Lee Roth, both of which he performed with since leaving Zappa's band.

Don't get me wrong. This album is not bad at all. But here Vai appears to be all too often straining to conform to the expectations of the Roth and Whitesnake fans, and this leaves many of the songs overladen with late eighties arena rock cliches.

But Vai, being one of the world's greatest electric guitarists, is too savvy to allow that to completely ruin the album. There is certainly enough shredding and guitar pyrotechnics to keep things interesting. But there are much better Vai albums than this.