Steve Vai - Flexable

Artist: Steve Vai
Album: Flexable
Year: 1984
Genre:  Avant-Garde, Guitar Virtuoso, Guitar Instrumental
Format: 192 kbps mp3
Tracklist:
1. Little Green Men (5:36)
2. Viv Woman (3:07)
3. Lovers Are Crazy (5:37)
4. Salamanders In The Sun (2:25)
5. The Boy/Girl Song (4:00)
6. The Attitude Song (3:21)
7. call It Sleep (5:06)
8. Junkie (7:19)
9. Bill's Private Parts (0:16)
10. Next Step Earth (0:34)
11. There's Something Dead In Here (3:52)

I love it! Flexable contains Vai in his most Raw form. It's fantastic. It's also a very good example of his song writing abilities and orchestration. Some of Vai's best material is on this CD. Virtually all of Flexable was record on a Fender Strat!

"Viv Woman" is one of my favourite Vai songs. This album also contains "The Attitude Song", which is a fabulous guitar song. The first song "Little Green Men", contains vocals recorded at half time, and then sped up to fit in time with the music. The result are these chipmunks vocals, very funny.

The third song, "Lovers are Crazy" is a very Zappa inspired song, with Steve on vocals. The next one "Salamanders in the Sun", starts with a simple melody played on a Flute. Elevator music, big time. However, after the chorus and verse, the guitar takes over on the melody. Pure magic. The drums are done entirely on a Linn drum machine. Also, if you listen carefully to the 'chorus' section, there is a hi-hat going at 16th notes in the background. I've got a live version of this song, and the drums are psycho, really heavy. It changes the whole song.

"The Boy/Girl Song". Recently Aphex Twin did a song named exactly this. I haven't heard it, did they steal any melodies off it? It's a very simple vocal-orientated love song. "Corny but cute"

"The Attitude song". Wow... you just have to hear this song. Actually, most of you probably already have, its on the G3 video. This is the song that introduced me to Vai. After hearing it on the G3 video, I bought Flexable and couldn't believe the original version of the song. It's so tight and fresh. An excellent guitar song. I've also got a version of this that Vai recorded first, when he used a drum machine and did a one-take improvisation on the bass. Then he decorated it with guitars. It's very cool.

Vai on "Call it Sleep": "This piece was written when I was in school. It was on the original demo audition tape I sent to Frank Zappa. It was re-recorded at Stucco Blue and now appears on Flexable. The sentiment of this song was inspired by a few friends who, in adolescence, met an unfortunate demise. There's something sad, powerful, mournful and beautiful that touches our hearts in such circumstances. I sought to capture those emotions with 'Call it Sleep.'"

"The basic Carvin (guitar) and the '77 "Sticker" Strat were used. There was an extra feed taken from the guitar that went into the console direct. A small amount of the direct signal is blended in with the distorted signal in the raging section (approximately 12 percent). A larger amount of clean signal is used on the cleaner melody section (about 50 percent). During the mix for this piece, the D.I. guitar was sent back out to a Carvin amp that was cranked up and mic'd for the raging solo section. This was then blended into the distorted sound (about 15 percent). Very little echo was used; no delays. A stereo chorusing FX was used in the mix to slightly widen the melody tone." Flexible vinyl middle circle thingo

You can hear Satriani's famous 'lizard down the neck' technique in this song.

"Junkie". Have you heard "Rescue Me Or Bury Me" from Sex and Religion? Well this is kind of the original version of it. The song it totally different, but it follows the same format. Guitar and vocals at start for about 2 minutes, and then a long solo section that doesn't have any time signature. Chad Wackerman played the drums on it (from Zappa). The solo section contains a good introduction to Vai's very fast technique. Next stop Earth: Part of a huge space opera he was writing called "Alien Love Story". Funny, considering his later album named alien love secrets. This song is a bizarre random melody in a cacophany of harmonization and technique. It's great!
Rewieved by:Lach

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