You reaction the first time you heard Steve Vai's "Passion and Warfare" album...

[Edika]

Honestly my impression of Vai before I listened anything he played, just by sheer appearance and weirdness gave me the impression that he is kind of a dick (I know don't judge a book by it's cover). He just seemed too much and too fake. When I listened to P&W, which was one of the first albums I listened from him I thought that the guy was an awesome player but most of the songs seemed like trem wankery with too many effects with some exceptional songs. I was like "he plays so well, why is he playing this?".
Now being wiser and having seen him in a workshop I can really appreciate his personality, his background and his weirdness. It helps that I have a better understanding of music and had been introduced to some of his influences. You really have to listen to him speak about his music and he really has a way to convey some of the feelings he has put into his music that may escape some of us (I know it's usually the other way around). Not a fanboy since I still don't like with some of his compositions but have gained a whole new level of respect for him (I know who cares) and I like even more the elements I liked about his playing and start to like more some of the other aspects of his playing I wasn't into.

 

[riffer_madness]

Honestly my impression of Vai before I listened anything he played, just by sheer appearance and weirdness gave me the impression that he is kind of a dick (I know don't judge a book by it's cover). He just seemed too much and too fake. When I listened to P&W, which was one of the first albums I listened from him I thought that the guy was an awesome player but most of the songs seemed like trem wankery with too many effects with some exceptional songs. I was like "he plays so well, why is he playing this?".
Now being wiser and having seen him in a workshop I can really appreciate his personality, his background and his weirdness. It helps that I have a better understanding of music and had been introduced to some of his influences. You really have to listen to him speak about his music and he really has a way to convey some of the feelings he has put into his music that may escape some of us (I know it's usually the other way around). Not a fanboy since I still don't like with some of his compositions but have gained a whole new level of respect for him (I know who cares) and I like even more the elements I liked about his playing and start to like more some of the other aspects of his playing I wasn't into.

I watched that Berklee school of music Steve Vai guitar lesson that was streamed over the Internet, and at the end of the presentation Steve was answering questions from viewers around the world. One of the questions he got was if you could travel back in time and talk to a young Steve Vai what would you say to him? His answer was pretty cool. He said 1. he would tell young Steve to keep practicing because it's all going to pay off and 2. don't be such a dick! Pretty funny

 

[Harry]

The Scanners head explosion gif was pretty much my reaction as well
I do vastly prefer to watch the Satch live DVDs over Vai nowadays admittedly.
I generally don't listen to much instrumental guitar 'shred' type albums these days, but Passion and Warfare is one of the few I enjoy listening too semi regularly

 

[tacotiklah]

Upon hearing songs like Liberty and For the Love of God, my mind just melted. It made me seek out more about Vai because I could not believe that the person that made that album was actually human.

The best two things I've ever found from Vai was his 36 hour workout (which is jam-packed with all kinds of great exercises to build your chops) and his article on phrasing. The man is a maestro when it comes to learning to properly phrase and make your solos sound epic.

 

[Lorcan Ward]

I first heard it when I was playing guitar about 2 years. It was the first time I'd ever heard a guitarist like that and I couldn't believe it was possible to play a guitar like that. It changed guitar so much for me and opened me up to a lot of new music. I bought a few of his and Satch's live DVDs after which I watched religiously.

Nowadays I don't listen to much instrumental guitar but every now and then I have to hear "For the love of God" and "The Audience is Listening".

 

[canuck brian]

I saw the video for The Audience is Listening and after that I decided I had to learn how to shred. It's still one of my favorite songs - so unbelievably good.

 

[wilch]

One of the questions he got was if you could travel back in time and talk to a young Steve Vai what would you say to him? His answer was pretty cool. He said 1. he would tell young Steve to keep practicing because it's all going to pay off and 2. don't be such a dick! Pretty funny

lol, he mentioned this during the EVO experience here in Sydney this year. But his answer was different.

His answer this time around was much more zen (and more to do with life in general than guitar). He said he'd tell himself, "You're doing fine."

Because, well...at any point in your life you make decisions that you have to live with, and the decisions you make at that time were the only decisions you could've made to stay true to your 'then' self.

I guess it's a better way to think of things. A better way to be at peace with yourself.

 

[piggins411]

First I heard For the Love of God, and was like "HOLY SHIT." Then I heard The Audience is Listening and loved it too. I really can't get into the rest. It's weird how I absolutely love about 4 of his songs and hate the rest

 

[TheShreddinHand]

I remember instantly liking standouts like Liberty, Answers, For the Love of God, and The Audience was Listening but then thinking a lot of the rest was pretty weird. Of course this was the mid 90s and I was young, stupid, and mostly into Yngwie at the time. Hahaha! Now, easily one of my favorite instrumental albums!

 

[Krullnar]

I liked it, but I liked a lot of questionable shit then, too. I think I borrowed it from the library when they started getting CDs.

 

[Esp Griffyn]

The first time I heard it, I think it was a bit too much for me to take in. I was getting more and more into technical music, enjoying the solos of Bill Steer etc and learning to evaluate what made that a more "proficient" solo in my eyes than say, a Kerry King solo. When I heard P&W, it was a level above anything I'd heard from the likes of Megadeth, Metallica, even Joe Satriani, Malmsteen etc. The crazy compositions and note choices were such that I don't think I could process any of it the first time I heard it. The more I listened, the more I started to recognise bits and pieces, and eventually bits and pieces became songs. Then it clicked, and Vai has been my favourite musician ever since.

I just wish he'd become more interested in just playing his damn guitar again, instead of wanting to create a legacy as a composer instead. His last two studio albums, and various other projects he's done have been good, but there has been too much frippery, too much ziz zaz and flim flam. I just want to hear him get back into the mode of picking his guitar up and ....ing rocking out ala P&W again!

 

[tedtan]

Like many, I got into a few songs first (The Animal, For The Love Of God, Sisters, The Audience Is Listening) and the rest had to grow on me. That album has a lot of stuff going on - it's very dense - and, as a result, can be difficult to listen to all the way through, especially at first.

I just want to hear him get back into the mode of picking his guitar up and ....ing rocking out ala P&W again!

The funny thing is that P&W was a composition album that happened to have a lot of guitar, not a straight guitar album like most shredders put out. He's got upwards or 30 guitar tracks on some of those pieces in addition to the synths, bass, etc.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

The funny thing is that P&W was a composition album that happened to have a lot of guitar, not a straight guitar album like most shredders put out. He's got upwards or 30 guitar tracks on some of those pieces in addition to the synths, bass, etc.

The closest most rock-out-on-guitar album Vai's ever done is Alien Love Secrets. I can understand the opinion of Vai should go back to bare bones and rock out, as it's quite a popular one considering the nature of his last few albums.

I love Vai's Zappa influenced weirdness, that's what sets him apart from the rest of the shredders. His last album (The Story Of Light) is actually a very fine balance between the typical weirdness and ALS rock out. It's actually a pretty stripped down album (by Vai's standards) while not as simple as Alien. A lot of the songs are more riff based than anything else. It just has more spice in them, thus making a sort of bridge between Alien and say Fire Garden.

 

[mr_rainmaker]

I remember standing in a long line at a record store in the morning waiting for the store to open so I could buy a cassette...

 

[riffer_madness]

I remember standing in a long line at a record store in the morning waiting for the store to open so I could buy a cassette...

That's awesome! Good times...

 

[mr_rainmaker]

then going home and trying to figure out the licks and hearing Vai was going to release a Official Tab Book,off the the store I went,had to mailorder it.

 

[Bloody_Inferno]

My teacher lent me the sheet music to the whole album and the whole thing just blew my mind.

Plus the notation to Alien Water Kiss still makes me laugh:

 

[shadowlife]

It was everything i had hoped it would be and more. I was a big fan of Flex-Able, as well as his work with Alcatrazz and PIL, and was hoping he wouldn't lose all the quirkiness that made him unique.
It took me a number of listens to digest everything.
I will say however, that i found the vocal snippets annoying right from the very first listen, and they got more and more annoying with each successive listen lol

 

[mr_rainmaker]

Now calm down class, calm down. mr. vai, you've got to turn it down...
{what did you say, you want me to turn it down? you mean down like this...}

 

[efx1138]

I got it when it came out in 1990 and back then there was simply nothing that sounded like that. Incredible album and the fact that it even was pretty commercially successful says a lot.