Steve Vai - Alive in an Ultra World
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Music CD Cover
Artist: Steve VaiEdition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 2001-06-19
Music Label: Sony
Soundtracks:
Music CD 1
- Giant Balls Of Gold
- Burning Rain
- The Black Forest
- Alive In An Ultra World
- Devil's Food
- Blood And Glory
- Whispering A Prayer
- Iberian Jewel
- The Power Of Bombos
- Incantation
- Light Of The Moon
- Babushka
- Being With You (In Paris)
- Principessa
- Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways)
Free Music Notes for Alive in an Ultra World
Free Music Review: One of the essential guitar albums
Hit: 5 Stars
Most people will probably disagree with me about this. However, when a person writes reviews, they're giving their opinions, even if they're admitting that it's just their opinions (hey, that's honesty in reviews if you don't like it when people admit that these are just their opinions).
Steve Vai had played guitar with Frank Zappa, John Lydon's Public Image Ltd., David Lee Roth, Whitesnake, Vai, and a lot of other stuff, including solo albums that he had produced. This album, however, was his first official live release as a solo artist, not counting anything from G3. Most people consider Passion and Warfare his best, but I have to disagree and say that Alive in an Ultra World is my personal favorite, but a lot of it is probably due to the fact that he had a much better group of musicians.
One of the things that I love about Steve Vai is that he brings an organic feel to the guitar that, even with a ton of sound processors and effects pedals (almost like genetic engineering), it's something that makes his playing so incredible. Jimi Hendrix also was good at that.
One of Steve Vai's favorite things to do is to play music with a lot of other excellent musicians, and at his shows, he loves to show off how good his musicians are, which shows that he's not as egotistical as some people would think. When I saw him live, he actually gave his musicians the spotlight, while he stayed backstage, changing his clothes. On this album, his musicians get the spotlight a few times, specifically "Devil's Food," which I'll talk about in this review later on.
It's really impossible to say which tracks are the highlighting points because just about all of the tracks really are. However, "Whispering A Prayer" is probably his most well-known tune on the album. This album has the most variety of all of his albums, and it really shows his love for world music, which is something that he's had a strong love for. This album still has a lot of that Steve Vai style.
The opening track, "Giant Balls of Gold" was written for Poland. I can say that it definitely expresses Steve Vai, but Polish music is not the first type of world music that I know much about, so I can't say that it's true to the country.
The track following it is "Burning Rain," which was done for Japan. He explains what it has to do with Japanese music. It used scales commonly used in Japanese music, but for me it didn't have much of a Japanese feel. However, that doesn't matter at all. Making that comment is something that I feel I should do, but it's Steve Vai's tribute to Japan, not mine. It does have a Japanese feel in some ways, but it's actually very subtle.
"The Black Forest," written for Germany, is another incredible tune, and I love the changes that Steve Vai does with his guitar sounds. This is more with the control. He probably used some sort of effects pedal, or several pedals at the beginning. It has a great melody.
The title track, which is credited as being written for Slovenia, which was where it was performed, and I'm guessing also written, was probably more about the tour itself. It actually is one of two of the vocal tracks, but the lyrics aren't about the tour, but it's about rising above the past. The song includes political lyrics about how there have been wars fought over religion, which is something that seems to come close to happening again pretty soon.
The one thing about this album that I don't like is that there are overdubs, perfecting things, but to make up for it, the track where Steve Vai broke his guitar string wasn't edited at all up to the point where it includes the time he spent waiting for his guitar to be restrung and retuned. Who else would put something like that on. That tune was "Devil's Food," where he had his musicians do different things while waiting. I guess that's why there wasn't any editing and tweaking on that track, but from my understanding, it wasn't even intended to be put on the album. It was originally recorded to be played on the radio.
"Devil's Food" definitely got the audience going wild, which helps for "Blood and Glory," which has an influence from Brian May of Queen, and it has a British feel. I can't exactly say what it is, other than Brian May's guitar playing, but I didn't notice that influence for a little while. It really is more influenced by England than Brian May's playing, which might have had some influence on it.
"Whispering a Prayer," written for Ireland, I feel uses some of the scales and modes of Irish music, but I feel it's more a Steve Vai tune than anything, but it really is a great tribute to Ireland.
The first disc of the album ends with "Iberian Jewel," written for Spain, which has a flamenco influence, and Steve Vai uses two guitars on it. I think it definitely is not the optimistic Steve Vai that everyone loves, but it's great, and a lot of the tracks on the second disc, where each countries influence is more noticeable, have similarities to it.
The second disc opens with "The Power of Bombos" which was written for Greece. It does have a Greek feel, and a lot of excitement. Steve Vai also has some narration over it, but I haven't listened to what it is. I think it's in English, but it might not be.
For "Incantation," in the liner notes, Steve Vai talked about the enthusiasm of the audience, which definitely came out on the recording. He also explains why they were so enthusiastic, and it had nothing to do with him. Buy the album and read the liner notes to find out why they were enthusiastic, it's also a great album, as my review is making very clear.
"Light of the Moon," is definitely Australian influenced, but there was a lot of studio overdubs. I think most of it was recorded in the studio, or it could have been half and half. It's the other one with vocals, and the lyrics are the story two people in love that lived in two separate cities. It's a great song and very influenced by a song popular in Australia, but that doesn't really matter because although the melody is almost the same, it doesn't matter if you've heard it. Steve Vai mentions that popular Australian song in his liner notes, so buy the album and read the liner notes to find out what song (seriously).
"Babushka" was written for Romania, and it definitely has a Romanian feel, as well as a false start and a mention of having to play it again after having played it earlier at the show, which Steve Vai left in, that most people wouldn't put in.
In the liner notes, Steve Vai mentioned how Paris was always the one place where he would get excited when looking at the dates there on his schedule. The tune he did for France is called "Being With You (In Paris)" which has a very romantic feel, an accordion, and narration in French, it's probably very romantic, but not knowing French, it still sounds beautiful.
Paris was a very special place, but then there's Italy, which is his primary heritage, genetically speaking. Italy is obviously a place that Steve Vai is emotionally connected to, so it makes sense for Italy to follow the one place that is most exciting for Steve Vai. "Principessa" also brings out his love for the country.
The final country on the album is Portugal, known for their "Brandos Costumes (Gentle Ways)," which is the title of that track, what the song truly expresses, and also what the audience expresses because he recorded that one at a soundcheck, which for me was probably intentional.
You're still reading this review? By now, I would have thought that you would have just clicked add to cart. Actually, if you read on, there's some more stuff that you should know.
If you're disappointed by this album, you can still sell it back, and although you probably won't get all of your money back, you'll get more money back then you deserve. If you're really as nervous as I was about if the album is worthwhile or not, you can do what I did and buy it used for half the price of what it usually costs, but trust me, if you like Steve Vai, you'll love this album. However, I can't recommend it as the first Steve Vai album to buy, that's Alien Love Secrets. However again, this is a much better album.
Alive in an Ultra World Poster
Steve Vai introduces this ambitious live double-album thusly: "This is an indulgent compilation of music with many little guitar notes!" It's a typically self-deprecating, if telling comment. While big-guitar rock virtuosity has largely been consigned to cult status in his home country, Vai's worldwide audience thrives. That ongoing international love affair seems the inspiration behind this industrious collection. The 15 tracks were each inspired by a different country (spanning from the U.K. to central and eastern Europe, the Mediterranean to the Pacific Rim), then recorded live in '00 tour performances or, in some of the most gratifying cases, improvised in as little as 10 minutes at soundcheck jams. Instead of a slavish devotion to ethnic modalities, Vai wisely lets them wash over and seep into his own eclectic music. Indeed, many of the tracks weren't necessarily recorded in the country they pay tribute to, adding yet another savory dimension to the musician's challenging stew. The results of such an undertaking can't help but be mixed, but the high points here range from bold drama (the metallic swagger of the improvised "Giant Balls of Gold [Song for Poland])" to the anthemic majesty of "Blood and Glory (Song for the U.K.)" to the pyrotechnics of "Iberian Jewel (Song for Spain") to understated grace ("Burning Rain [Song for Japan])." Only rarely do Vai's compositions fall victim to nationalist musical clichés. Vai's playing is as free and playful as ever, his often prodigious and tortured constructions undercut by stage banter that refreshingly mocks the very trappings of stardom his musical dedication has earned him. --Jerry McCulleyHard Rock & Metal Music CDs
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