Review for Steve Vai Alien Guitar Secrets Masterclass 2018
3.49 | 52 ratings | 12 reviews | 25% 5 stars Practiced, but non-essential
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Songs / Tracks Listing
i. Bad Horsie (v:51)
2. Juice (3:44)
3. Die to Alive (3:53)
iv. The Boy from Seattle (five:03)
5. Ya-Yo Gakk (2:52)
6. Kill the Guy with the Ball the God Eaters (seven:02)
vii. Tender Surrender (5:01)
Total Fourth dimension 33:26
- Steve Vai / guitar, keyboards, bass, Eventide H3000 harmonizer, drum programming, composer & production
With:
- Tommy Mars / organ (7)
- Deen Castronovo / drums (3,four,6,7)
- Julian Vai / baby vocals (5)
Artwork: Neil Zlozower (photo)
CD BMG Music - A 708864 (1995, Us)
LP Relativity - REL 478586 (1995, Europe)
Alien Dear Secrets was written and recorded in less than vi weeks as a stripped-down guitar, bass and drums tape with minimal keyboards.
and to Quinino for the terminal updates
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Collaborators/Experts Reviews
Review by Menswear
PROG REVIEWER
Oh well, prepare for something weird to a sure extend. Mayhap working with Zappa shook things in Vai's psyche? Hey listen to Ya-Yo Gak and tell me this guy'due south hasn't imagination. He really got his 2 year old boy to sing on the tape!
Cute and bizarre.
Review past imoeng
PROG REVIEWER
This EP is really for a collector or a guitarist. As I said on my previous Vai's review, Steve Vai actually has a cracking technique and skill, besides guitar result. Those power pb to his "foreign" songs that sometimes but prioritize on technique and sound effect, which subtract the feeling of the song itself.
Bad Horsie - I don't really know what the meaning of the vocal, whether he wanted to tell a story well-nigh a equus caballus or just wanted to create a sound effect of a horse. The song is very heavy rock, with heavy rhythm throughout the vocal.
Juice - This vocal was played at the G3 concert, I guess the G3 2003 with Yngwie Malmsteen. A good song, for me, very dynamic and energetic with good balance of solo and rhythm. The song really reflects Vai'due south ability to play guitar as he used many technique in this song and some beautiful notes in this song, somewhat different with Bad Horsie.
Die To Alive - In my opinion, this is a really expert vocal, uncomplicated intro and beautiful. The harmonics on guitar create some good feeling. The verse started at ane:14, real beautiful, with heavy rhythm but elementary solo. At 1:56, the solo gets even better, the rhythm changes to make clean and the vocal slows down.
The Boy From Seattle - This is a very not-Vai song. The song is very jazzy and bluesy, like Eric Johnson's Manhattan. The sound is very clean and expert, with nice tone. Well this is my second favorite song in the album, very relaxing. And again, the best office is the sound effect, very clean and pure. At 3:27 infinitesimal, the distorted guitar was played with much delay furnishings, very Steve Vai. After that, the jazzy sound dorsum, very "groovy".
Ya Yo Gakk - Funny song for me. Vai asked his son to sing for the vocal, and so that Vai tin repeat the same notes like his son sings. I have seen the video clip and its hilarious, and I mean, his son looks fun and enjoy it : ). The solo is actually groovy and followed with the aforementioned concept with the intro of the song. In the end of the song, his son said, "babay", real funny!!
Kill The Guy With The Ball - Really heavy intro and rhythm section with dynamic drums. This is probably the heaviest song is the EP, and the drum was but astonishing. However, just like I said in a higher place, his technique and skills makes the song lack of feeling, well, in my opinion. The song was ended in a very slow tempo and there were some heartbeats in the cease.
Tender Give up - Another beautiful song, just like The Male child From Seattle. Very clean acoustic bluesy sound. This is my favorite song! The coolest part is when the drum stops and and then continued when Vai hits the final note, simply really beautiful. At iii:14, he used his ill ii-handed tapping using 2 strings at a fourth dimension, truly a virtuoso. Afterwards that, the sound went back to clean jazzy audio. Very cool!! A prissy song to end the EP.
I give this EP three star, when compared to progressive music. In addition, this EP is really for a collector or a guitarist or someone who likes Joe Satriani or John Petrucci or Yngwie Malmsteen. Peace!
Timur Imam Nugroho - Republic of indonesia
Review by Petrovsk Mizinski
PROG REVIEWER
First up with Bad Horsie, in which Vai uses a drib tuned six string guitar, which is non common for him. Information technology is a very heavy song, hands catergorised as an instrumental heavy metal song. I can definitely hear the 'Bad Horsie', with lots of heavy riffage and compression harmonic screams manipulated with the whammy bar. The main solo screams and wails all in the one solo, with a blistering and crazy tapped lick that he manipulates with the wah wah pedal, only this part speaks just as much as the solo sections of the solo, so no worries or concerns here for me.
Juice is a straight up rocker, with a slap-up mix of pb and rhythm playing. I don't run into annihilation actually remarkable in this song, but it is well written and a great listen.
Die To Live is a song that is played with just 1 guitar part, but Vai's intention was specifically to create a song that would combine the rhythm and lead guitar parts in ane flowing motion, and he certainly suceeded here. In that location are odd time signatures in this vocal, but Vai make information technology feel so natural that we almost don't observe they're here. A beautiful melody and rhythm in one, and just so uplifting.
The Boy From Seattle, as one might guess, is a tribute to the great homo from Seattle, Jimi Hendrix. It features a Hendrix trademark rhythm playing, with chords being played with melodies played in between and notes being hammered on to the chord beingness played. Around ii:fifty, we even hear some Stevie Ray Vaughn manner playing. Of class this song is a tribute to Hendrix, only that one section that sounds a bit similar SRV even seems to exist a lilliputian tribute to him too. A touching, soulful song and superbly well written.
Ya Yo Gakk features Vai's son of vocals, while Vai sports a vii string guitar for rhythm guitar duties. There is an amusing call and response between his son's vocals and Vai's guitar. Vai does an excellent job of making his response sound as much as possible to his son'south vocals as much as possible. This was probably my least favorite vocal on this EP, as sometimes information technology simply gets abrasive and I can't seem to desire to listen to it everytime I put this EP on.
Kill The Guy With The Brawl is easily the most experimental sounding of the songs, and features a crazy guitar line that sounds like a robot, simply is in fact Vai playing with an ultra expensive harmonising effect device. The rhythms are only crazy and you wonder how he stayed in time during these parts, just crazy. The God Eaters kicks in a keyboard into the mix, played chords, while Vai plays a melody over the top, very upfliting and beautiful sounding at times, sometimes being contrasted with darker shades too.
Tender Surrender is merely amazing for a lack of a better discussion to depict how good it is. Information technology is a carol blazon vocal for the about part, starting off with nice and melodic Hendrixy blazon chording. He kicks in the distortion for a pb tone then the song just takes off and simply beyond and higher up the ceiling and into the sky with some truly majestic phrasing that takes my exhale away. The solo is but superb, as fast as it is, he never loses the fire and a passion here in his speedy licks, and it is definitely my favorite solo on the record. Stunner from start to stop.
I wouldn't say this is Vai's best and definitely isn't his about important work, but it however has some excellently written songs and some truly astonishing guitar playing.
Review by snobb
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
Don't expect there nothing connected with his work with Frank Zappa. Yes, Steve Vai has cracking technique but doesn't utilize Zappa legacy or experience for his solo works. Music is quite usual guitar heavy metal, zippo likewise much different from style standard.
To say more, the album is GOOD heavy metal guitar playing technique demonstration . Compositions are played by main, and there are elements of prog almost everywhere. ( Comparison with his future partner in guitar projects John Petrucci, Vai is great PROGRESSIVE guitarist of heavy metallic). But whenever guitar instrumental heavy metal is style very limited by itself in it'southward possibilities, I believe, that this album is more often than not oriented to guitar instrumental music fans. However, good work between style competitors. Strong 3,5. .
Review past Evolver
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Crossover & JR/F/Canterbury Teams
Never heed the wild sounds Vai comes up with on his guitar, the whinnies in Bad Horsie, the faux of his son in Ya Yo Gakk, and the strange vox in Kill The Guy With The Brawl, there are virtuoso twists and turns everywhere, symphonic chord progressions and wild arrangements.
Harrumph! Prog related. Yah. Sure.
Review by Magnum Vaeltaja
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Eclectic Prog Team
The anthology'south style ranges from heavy to melodic, bluesy to romantic and showcases flawless guitar technique with a good for you dose of inventiveness. The album is very close to a masterpiece but in that location are some slight pitfalls now and again. "Ya-Yo Gakk" comes to listen, which is a humorous difficult rock song featuring Steve'south 2-year-quondam son Julian on lead vocals and loses its novelty quite quickly. The metal-oriented songs, "Bad Horsie" and "Kill The Guy With The Ball", while initially quite exciting, do tend to wear a trivial thin after years of listening. That isn't to diminish from the other iv songs on the album, though, equally they have all stood the test of time or even improved with repeated listens.
"Juice" is the uptempo rock shuffle that southern stone would envy being, a highway boogie romp with impeccable trade-off fashion guitar licks. Though not progressive, it's certainly a classic. "The Boy From Seattle" is a classic, with gentler guitar textures and bluesy melodies. "Tender Surrender" is the emotional masterpiece of the album (and even Steve's career) and will leave you satisfied for years to come provided yous don't have any qualms with its hyper-romantic nature.
"Alien Dear Secrets" is heaven for guitar lovers and may just offer some great material to other listeners too, proghead or not.
Review by TCat
FORUM & SITE ADMIN GROUP Eclectic / Prog Metal / Heavy Prog Team
Other than this, Vai is more often than not known for his solo work even though he has worked with many other bands and artists. Normally, as a rule, I tend to stay away from solo albums that characteristic guitar players, considering they usually finish up sounding all the aforementioned. Certain they are smashing to heed to a song at a time, but when they are played together in an anthology format, they tend to wear out their welcome. I already know y'all can play that guitar, how most showing us a little variety now and let'south come across how talented you lot actually are.
This EP is just about the correct size as far as I'm concerned for this blazon of music. Vai gets to show off, which is fine, he has every right to practise then. But, with but barely over thirty minutes, this EP does not wear out information technology's welcome. And Vai even dares to add a little variety while he'due south at it, and then I actually enjoy this album. Guitar greats that do this like Vai, Alan Holdsworth, Eric Clapton, and and then on are the ones that dabble in other styles and are non afraid to try out new things. I tin mind to these artists because they prove how diverse they are and don't have to rely on one style of music.
The EP starts off with "Bad Horsie" which is a good style to start things, no holds barred Hard Stone. Forget the fact that he tin make his guitar sound like a equus caballus, The Osmonds did the aforementioned thing back in the 70s. Information technology'southward much more that, it's a hard driving heavy metallic song that lets out all the stops. The adjacent 2 tracks are pretty much formulaic though and don't accept annihilation unique well-nigh them. Subsequently this notwithstanding, we are treated to "The Boy from Seattle", Vai's homage to Hendrix. This is an first-class track, with a completely different fashion, more than bluesy along the lines of Hendrix without trying to be him with a little Stevie Ray thrown in for good measure. "Ya Yo Gakk" is a very innovative and playful number done with Vai's young son. I love this. His son sings and Vai answers dorsum imitating his son with his guitar. "Kill the Guy with the Ball/The God Eaters" starts out fairly straightforward simply eventually wanders into a scrap of progressive territory merely then around the iv:30 mark, things go really interesting for a little while, then the suite moves into more than mellow territory when the percussion disappears. Swell. The terminal runway is a nice jazz-blues number called "Tender Surrender". This is very reminiscent of some of Santana'south slower numbers, merely with some different tricks. You can also tell that you oasis't mistakenly put on a Santana vocal because it still has Vai's wild signature sound as it moves on.
The EP is overnice to listen to on occasion and because in that location is some variety present, it also makes it more than pleasing and not so traditional when it comes to guitar solo albums. There isn't much in the fashion of progressive stone hither, simply his technique can exist so unique that you almost remember you are listening to something progressive. No incertitude that Vai is a guitar hero and that he can do more than grind an axe. He is likewise a master.
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