http://www.youtube.com/wa...4rxZjGzo1c

If you want shred, he can bring it, but if you want soul...he can show you sumpthin too...

Pretty smooth.

Amen!

Very cool that he is doing the Zappa Plays Zappa.

His montana and zoomby woof solos from London, Berlin, and Ny where smoking.

Nice techniquewise...but check out Santana's Europa...the song that obviously influenced this song...twice as much depth and soul with one fourth the notes...

neat video. but it isn't live. still a smooth tune.

damn I knew this was going to be zappa before I even opened the thread



well deserved topic

Steve Vai is the best guitar player in the world bar none imho.
You only have to check out his work with David Lee Roth or his solo work to undestand this, particularly Yankee Rose or the Passion and Warfare album.
Will always be my number one guitar player in terms of technical mastery.

dolphin1974 said:

dunno about that...
Vai is one of the best TAPPERS in the world,
but his rhythm is lack luster, and solos arent nothing more than tap fests

EmbattledWarrior said:

Who's your favorite?

coolcat said:

guitarist?
Django Reinhardt & Muddy Waters,

Contemporary would be Joe Satriani
Keith Richards is also a masterful Rhythm Guitarist
you cant just pick one, they're all good in their different ways
Buddy guy , Albert Collins, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Muddy Waters John Lee Hooker

but i will say this Blues musicians have the upperhand compared to rock musicians
has nothing to do with speed
but technique cats like muddy waters and buddy guy could do songs in weird time signatures like 12/8, while rock musicians are sometimes limited to the dreaded 4/4 time signature, the standard of pop music

Vai's a bad, bad man.

panther514 said:

I'd say the intro theme reminds me of the Hendrix Jazz Improv from Woodstock.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

theAudience said:

fuck i forgot Hendrix!
damn theirs just too many to name!

EmbattledWarrior said:

cool! satch is my favorite. I haven't really gotten into blues guitarists... I have SRV live at the El Mocambo. That's a great show.

EmbattledWarrior said:

Yeah, I used to believe that, too until I actually started to study his techniques. Steve is a bad dude. I think you are drastically underestimating him.
Its not smart to mention Steve around here. A lot of orgers seem to really hate Steve Vai. I think its because so many others talk about how much better he is on guitar than Prince.
[Edited 11/10/06 16:53pm]

BlaqueKnight said:

Prince is my guitar hero, and I don't use that term lightly, but...no one can mess with Steve Vai.

He's on another planet.

I don't even think Satriani can hang with him nowadays...

Alasseon said:

it takes alot to impress me
and speed aint one of them,
Vai uses all the shit that shredders love to use
Economy Picking, Tapping,
i just don't respect shred guitarist,
i dug Satriani cause he was a legato man, he can do, extremely melodic too
and those monster bends, wow....
i think i made my fingers bleed tring to do a satriani solo

EmbattledWarrior said:

You must have major love for Greg Howe, then. He'sa legato master.

BlaqueKnight said:

You also should say Domo Arigato...



..."Mr. Legato"



tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...dID=182431

Howe is my hero!

lol but back on Vai
i will give credit where its due
Whispering a prayer could possibly be his best work
probably on the same par as Satriani's Flying in a blue dream

As long as McLaughlin is still breathing, he'll remain the best guitarist in the world, imo.

EmbattledWarrior said:

Alasseon said:

AHHHHH!!!!! You have no idea how much I love this. Sexy as hell! I read an interview with Steve where he said he heard Prince play this before. Now, if I saw that, I would explode!

EmbattledWarrior said:

[quote:bd8a228574]

Alasseon said:

[quote:bd8a228574]

Prince is my guitar hero, and I don't use that term lightly, but...no one can mess with Steve Vai.

He's on another planet.

I don't even think Satriani can hang with him nowadays...[/quote:bd8a228574]
it takes alot to impress me
and speed aint one of them,
Vai uses all the shit that shredders love to use
Economy Picking, Tapping,
i just don't respect shred guitarist,
i dug Satriani cause he was a legato man, he can do, extremely melodic too
and those monster bends, wow....
i think i made my fingers bleed tring to do a satriani solo[/quote:bd8a228574]

Steve Vai may be known nowadays by cats like yourself as just some "shredder". I advise you to check out "Flexable" and "Flexable Leftovers". There are some interesting things on those two discs. Steve Vai is actually very experimental/quirky and that's what I noticed when he came to my attention in David Lee Roth's band. He has a WEALTH of musical knowledge in addition to experience as a transcriber and "stunt guitarist" in Frank Zappa's band. In addition, back in the '90's he wrote some pretty cool articles, "Martian Love Chronicles"(or was it Alien Love Secrets...), which opened my eyes to the advantages of learning music theory and music, in general. He released a cd awhile back which featured songs using melodies he came upon whilst touring different countries. In short, Steve Vai is much more than a "mere shredder". When I was just starting out on guitar, I always thought being able to shred was cool, not something to be ashamed of


I just encourage a lot of these younger posters (and guitar players who haven't been playing that long) to not be so quick to generalize and to actually find out things about an artist's history...Everyone's entitled to his/her own opinion - it just makes for a more interesting/enlightening read if the opinion is an informed one.
[Edited 11/11/06 1:38am]

I agree he's not from this planet. For the Love of God is hands down the best song I've ever heard in my life.

Vai is awesome IMO. My favorite album has to be Alien Love Secrets. 'Boy from Seattle' (a dedication to jimi-hendrix I believe) , 'Die to Live', 'Bad Horsie', 'Tender Surrender' are really great... not much shredding on that album.

Also, what separates Steve from his fellow 80's and 90's guitarists is his mastery of composition. There are all kinds of kewl twists and turns in there.

More kewl Vai moments.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=YmX8Gn-iwmY

http://youtube.com/watch?v=8ntikZLqseI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5QYU7SIDoR0
[Edited 11/11/06 9:09am]

That's why I started this thread. Steve Vai is one of the most complete musicians ever. He not only thoroughly understands his instrument, but he also knows his music theory, down pat.

He can shred, he can read, he can write, he can pretty much play anything he hears.

Versatile, dedicated, and oh, yeah, humble.

I wish I knew better in 1985, but Steve Vai is definitely a musician's musician.

Also, he thinks Prince is pretty amazing himself.