Steve Vai - Sound Theories Volume I & II

Recorded live with the Netherlands Metropole Orchestra in 2006, Steve Vai never does things by halves, or even three-quarters. The two-disc set sees him, in the course of 17 tracks, produce a full-blown guitar symphony, without his six strings ever becoming overbearing or out of kilter with his band and orchestral backing. The huge drum roll intro of opener Kill The Guy With The Ball heralds what is to come, with the Vangelis Cosmos-like splendour of The God Eaters followed by the fractious guitar tones of the ominous The Murder, the sweet flautism of Gentle Ways and the perky brass-rock of Answers. I’m Becoming is Vai in space mode, while The Attitude Song is a typical dervish of swirling hooks and riffage. Disc Two is the meat of the feast with six pieces, ranging from the oblique Shadows And, with its sombre strings and Gryphon-style woodwind, to the flighty, Zappa-esque Frangelica 1. Its counterpart mixes in clarinets and synths akin to The Tubes at their most grandiose, while the fractured, tempestuous closer, Bledsoe Boulevard, is a fitting climax.