Steve Vai - Where The Wild Things Are (September 29, 2009)

Uh, Steve? I think someones already using that. Yes, this year. Yeah, I'm pretty sure its a big deal. Are you sure? I mean, we could think of another-- Okay, fine. We'll keep it, but it better be good.

This is how I imagine the conversation went when Steve announced his intention to name his latest album after his favorite childhood storybook.
//Oh God, I wish I was funny..

Its  backstory time.

Vai has quite the history, weaving through many different highly respected players and artists, and has become highly critically acclaimed as well as an inspiration to many an amateur guitarist.

Steve's first experience in the world of music came when he was only ten years old, when his parents persuaded him to take up the (don't laugh) accordion (I did not make that up.) However, after hearing one of his sister's Led Zeppelin records, he devoted himself entirely to the electric guitar. In the early 70s, Steve even managed to receive lessons from another highly critically acclaimed guitarist, Joe Satriani, who would later become a lifelong friend and partner in many endeavors. He then went on to attend Berklee College of Music, graduating in 1979.

Highly interested in the music of the legendary Frank Zappa, Vai made it his goal to attract Frank's attention. He decided the best way to do this was by transcribing, by hand, all of Frank's incredibly complex piece The Black Page, and mailing that to the Zappa residence. This transcription was eerily accurate, and impressed Frank enough to take on a young Vai to transcribe more guitar parts (excerpts of which are floating to the left as part of this blog layout) for what eventually became the official Frank Zappa Guitar Book.

//For anyone absolutely far too interested, I actually lifted both pieces for this blog's layout from Vai's work, the first being a chunk of the original Black Page transcription and the second being the second Violin solo from Mo 'n Herb's Vacation off of Zappa's first London Symphony Orchestra album (ref).

While working to transcribe all the absolutely ridiculous parts that Frank threw at him, Zappa began to recognize Vai's his potential as a guitarist, and eventually granted him status as a full-fledged band member. He appeared on several Zappa albums, before leaving the band to be recruited by David Lee Roth (after his recent estrangement from Van Halen) as the guitarist for his first solo album. Vai was compared very favorably in the press to Eddie Van Halen, making not only a name for himself, but also launching a career for his teacher Joe Satriani in the process.

After a short ordeal with Whitesnake (which he has never seemed too happy about), Steve began recording mostly instrumental solo albums which have garnered him incredible respect and esteem amongst amateur guitarists and musicians of all variates for generations. His second release, Passion and Warfare, immortalized him the eyes of many guitarists as one of the next greats. His sometimes comical approach to songwriting stood in direct contrast with serious musical ambitions, and highly technically proficient guitar parts, creating something truly unique.

"For example, for 'Down Deep into the Pain' from his new album Sex & Religion, Vai worked with a scale he created which divides the octave into 16 equal divisions instead of the 12 divisions of the equal temperament, to evoke a "divine dissonance" in the tune's final section. With unbridled creative license in his own studio, Vai has consistently produced thoughtful and technically astonishing music on his solo albums."

                    -Berklee Today, 1993 Fall Edition

I know that so far this review has been entirely about Steve instead of Where the Wild Things Are, but I felt it was important to fully explain where he's come from to understand where Wild Things falls. Anyway, I promised myself this would a short one, but so far its not looking that way, so lets cut to the good stuff.

Where the Wild Things Are was recorded at a show in Minneapolis during Vai's tour supporting his 2007 orchestral album, Sound Theories (which has one of the best album covers of all time.) It contains a few new songs, but mostly consists of somewhat reworked versions of older material. For this tour, Vai assembled a new band which featured critically acclaimed violinist Ann Marie Calhoun (previously of Jethro Tull and Dave Mathews Band). This band is absolutely fantastic, and when I heard them in action I was almost able to forgive Steve for releasing a live album recorded on the tour for his last live album. Ann Marie, who I was previously unacquainted with, performs wonderfully on almost every track, and plays some of the most inspiring solos on the album.

The album opener, Now We Run, stylistically feels a lot like modern progressive metal acts like Dream Theater. It also showcases his violinists' ability almost immediately, with a stunning solo by Ann Marie. Oooo has a deep groove, fantastic bassline and shrieking violins. The arrangement of the violins doubling Vai's outro solo is incredible.

Building the Church is the first serious high point on the album. The incredibly fast paced, nearly alarming intro is somewhat stripped down from its original studio version, and is much easier on the ears. The near-lyrical feel of the chorus (and verse) strongly evoke the style of his teacher, Satriani. Once again, the use of the violins adds a lot to this song versus its original version. Bryan Beller shines here as well, incorporating strong, devastating basswork in with some slap-style soloing under Steve's outro.

Tender Surrender is one of Vai's most popular, powerful and delicate pieces. Its performance here is about the best version I've ever heard, absolutely awe-inspiring from beginning to end. This is one of the most sensitive, emotional performances you'll ever hear from the man, and does not disappoint.

Freak Show Excess, famous for its terrifying (don't laugh) excess, is extended here into a framework to facilitate a fantastic sitar solo, as well as a top-notch bass solo. Like quite a few other performances on this album, I was never very fond of the studio version of this song, but it feels much more textured and fun live.

Fire Wall, as well as All About Eve, suffer from the same serious flaw, one that has hurt Mr. Vai's shows for years: Steve can't sing. His voice, no matter how hard he tries, simply doesn't sound very good. Steve is a fair songwriter, and if he only got someone who could really sing by his side again he could go really far, but this hasn't happened. I've always hoped he would get back together with the estranged thrash legend Devin Townsend (of Strapping Young Lad) who sang on his third album. This has never seemed very likely, but there have been some positive signs recently. Either way, Vai's voice is stale and uninspiring, and really takes away from everything it touches, especially live.

That being said, Fire Wall sounds absolutely fantastic, if you ignore the vocals. The violins have been arranged to mimic the horns on the exorbitant studio recording, and do so wonderfully. Vai's solo here is probably the best on the album, soaring for what seems like half the song.

Die to Live is a slow, powerful piece, and has always been a gem in the Vai catalog. Its performance here definitely does the music justice, although it doesn't feel adequately different from its studio version to justify its existence, its place here paces the album nicely.

For what I believe is the first time on a live release, Steve breaks out the acoustic guitar on a large chunk of the second half of the album, including All About Eve, Treasure Island, and Angel food. All About Eve is one of Vai's favorite songs, as he seems to perform it everywhere. The the addition of the violins compliment it nicely, and I find this version even more enjoable than the studio take.

Angel Food is a fantastic piece which originally came from the Fire Garden Suite. Its performance here is stunning and perfect, and features some of the best acoustic work I've seen from Mr. Vai. In fact, instead of writing more about it, why don't you see a little for yourself?

(Clip courtesy Vai's official YouTube Channel, from the DVD version of Wild Things)

Overview:
Vai seems to have fallen into a creative slump as of late. Almost all of his recent albums have been live, with limited new material. The only notable exception to this is 2005's Real Illusions: Reflections, which (in my opinion) is no Alien Love Secrets or Passion and Warfare. Wild Things is no exception. However, although the material isn't all new or incredibly reinvented, the performances are absolutely fantastic, and this is overall one of the most enjoyable albums he's put out in at least 15 years.

Degrees to Zappa:
Vai played in Frank's band, appeared on several albums, and transcribed almost everything Zappa has ever needed transcriptions for.

Tracklist:

1. Paint Me Your Face - 1:59
   
2. Now We Run - 6:38
   
3. Oooo - 5:07
   
4. Building The Church - 8:36
   
5. Tender Surrender - 6:19
   
6. Band Intros - 2:27
   
7. Fire Wall - 6:02
   
8. Freak Show Excess - 11:01
   
9. Die To Live - 6:30
   
10. All About Eve - 5:09
    
11. Gary 7 - 0:48
    
12. Treasure Island - 1:54
    
13. Angel Food - 6:23
    
14. Taurus Bulba - 6:48
15. Par Brahm - 2:15

Highlights: Tender Surrender, Die To Live, Angel Food, Now We Run
Overall: ★★★★

The Mars Volta - Octahedron (June 23, 2009)

What's this? The prestigious Mars Volta, releasing a low key, partially acoustic, synthesizer-ridden album with no saxophone? This is madness!
Well, it certainly isn't Sparta.

Its backstory time.

The Mars Volta was formed in 2001 by Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodríguez-López, both previously of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In (the other half of which went on to form Sparta, which is why that last joke is funny. Get it? Hilarious, right? Awesome.) Needless to say, the group was founded with more ambitious goals in mind than anything the two had previously created.

The Mars Volta actually is actually two bands, centered around the partnership of Cedric and Omar. The group who record their albums (referred to as 'The Mars Volta Group') consists of a wide array of musicians, including the esteemed and ever-musically ambitious John Frusciante. All music is written by Omar, and all lyrics by Cedric. Omar records Volta albums using a technique pioneered by jazz legend Miles Davis, in which each musician is given only their parts of a song without knowing the musical context or how important their part is. This way, they put as much of their talent into recording that standalone piece as possible, so it is even more effective when plugged into the whole again. The touring band is a more minimalist, five-piece set without members (such as Johnny Fru) who obviously can't attend a tour.

Previous to its release, Cedric claimed that he considered Octahedron to be their "acoustic" album, which perplexed nearly their entire fanbase. The band is less of a stranger to softer music than most people would think (see The Widow off of Frances the Mute) and to my delight, just because Cedric considered this to be an acoustic album doesn't mean that its actually entirely acoustic. Instead of focusing on the heavily layered loud-and-resounding sound of previous Volta songs, Octahedron aims for a more atmospheric, resonating feel that is definitely a very fresh style for them.
John Frusciante's influence is very evident on this release. At 6:50 into the first track, you can even hear his signature guitar sign-off he used on nearly every song on Stadium Arcadium (Red Hot Chili Peppers, 2006). More importantly, the ambient, textured feel closely mimics the style he adopted for his most recent solo album, The Empyrean.

The first track (as well as the first single in the Americas,) Since We've Been Wrong, is very much indicative of the rest of the album, and was one of the sons that debuted at the band's legendary acoustic performance on December 31st, 2007 at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco. It begins slowly, drawing the listener in with a fade into a combination of static and tone for a whole minute and a half before beginning to reveal itself. A soft, acoustic guitar arpeggio ushers in the true start of the song, complimented by modulated frontmost guitarwork, and haunting, soaring background guitar. The chorus features Cedric harmonizing with himself in a surprisingly effective manner with some powerful guitarwork by John Frusciante floating over it, growing louder and louder until dipping back into silence, and the next verse. As the second chorus drifts in, it brings with it something truly special; as Cedric's vocals slowly become more and more mournful, the instrumentals deviate into something sadder and the first instance of any drums in the song accentuate the shift in tone perfectly. From here forwards, more and more instrumental parts find their way into the piece, until finally all dissipating into the static from which it all came. This is a powerful piece. I never could have imagined The Mars Volta creating something that evokes such a mournful feel and pulling it off so well until now, but they've proved themselves once again. Its actually truly hard to believe that this is the same band who brought us Wax Simulacra.

Teflon begins with an aggressive percussive bit before being layered with a soaring slide guitar part, modulated to sound almost as if the instrument is choking. Halo of Nembutals beings in the outro static to Teflon (the same that began Since We've Been Wrong) and is mainly driven by synthesizers and heavily modulated guitars. Cedric is absolutely in top form here as well, and showcasing the full breadth of his vocal ability. Some excellent and strangely poignant pianowork aids its outro, and direct flow into the next song, With Twilight As My Guide.

Twilight is a terrible movie. With Twilight As My Guide, however, is another acoustic guitar driven song, layered with deep, soaring Pink Floyd-reminiscent electric guitar work. Cedric once again shows off how well he can sing softly yet again. Its notable that any percussion at all is entirely missing from this song, and its rhythm is entirely based on the acoustic guitar arpeggios. The song's dissipates into a fantastic outro, driven by deep feedback roars and haunting slide guitar and devastating that is about the closest thing to Floyd I've heard a modern band accomplish.

Cotopaxi, the next song, is a bit more of a traditional hard rock track driven by a devastatingly strong guitar riff and an absolute knock-out performance by drummer Thomas Pridgen. Not only is it a departure from the rest of the album, but it also feels even more traditional than most Volta songs. This is okay though, because its still a fantastic piece. The transition from Twilight's slow, simmering outro directly into the this is about the most shocking moment on the album, and is very effective. Frusciante is prominent here as well, as his signature wah sound permeates the bridge. Cotopaxi is apparently actually a volcano in Ecuador, and this piece definitely lives up to its namesake with absolutely explosive riffs, smashing percussion, and grating synthesizers. 

Desperate Graves begins with shimmering electric guitarwork and what seems to be a wind chime, before diving deep into a heavily modulated guitar-based verse, and terse, heavy chorus. Copernicus is almost entirely vocally driven, and by far the softest song on the album. As if to break your last holding perception of the band, its also almost entirely un-embellished, except for a minor bout with a synthesizer mid-song and a little grand piano in the second half. Luciforms makes use of the same type of layering and dominating guitarwork normally indicative of the Volta, but is based around a much slower tempo.

This is an excellent album, and definitely one of my personal favorites from this past year. The Mars Volta have always aimed high in all their musical ambitions, so even when they push further out of their usual style than ever before, they've still succeed in creating something absolutely stunning. Although previous Volta fans may be initially turned off by the different approach this in this album, I'd advise you to remain open minded. Those unacquainted with TMV should absolutely check this one out, as it is slightly more accessible than the grandiose Bedlam in Goliath (or any of their previous releases, really) and could introduce you to a whole new world of fantastic music. However, I should probably warn you to remain even more open minded. This is The Mars Volta, after all.

Track Listing:

1. Since We've Been Wrong - 7:21
2. Teflon - 5:04
3. Halo Of Nembutals - 5:31
4. With Twilight As My Guide - 7:52
5. Cotopaxi - 3:38
6. Desperate Graves - 4:57
7. Copernicus - 7:23
8. Luciforms - 8:22

Highlights: Cotopaxi, Since We've Been Wrong, Teflon, Desperate Graves
Overall: ★★★★½