ALIEN LOVE SECRETS

I was a raving Steve Vai fan after his first two albums but I was so disappointed with "Sex and Religion" that it was many years before I picked up any more of his releases. As it turns out, I had been missing out on some fine work. This album picks up where "Passion and Warfare" left off.

1. Bad Horsie - The album kicks off with a heavy groove and it's obvious that Steve Vai is back to his old form. Once again, Vai demonstrates that he can squeeze some unbelievable sounds out of a guitar.

2. Juice - If you told me this was a Joe Satriani track, I wouldn't doubt it for a second. Vai's Satch impression is uncanny here, mimicking both his chunky rhythm guitar style as well as his leads.

3. Die To Live - This is more of a heavy ballad with good dynamics and some beautiful phrasing. Not quite at the level of his riveting ballads on "Passion and Warfare", but definitely pleasing.

4. The Boy from Seattle - This track is reminiscent of Satriani as well but it has some dizzying, multi-tracked leads as well as some excellent clean-toned rhythm playing.

5. Ya-Yo Gakk - This is probably the silliest track on the album but enjoyable nonetheless.

6. Kill the Guy with the Ball/The God Eaters - One of the things that always amazed me about Steve Vai was that he could sound so spontaneous. Only the multi-tracked guitars and tightly coordinated drumming reveal that it is carefully composed. The first half of this track is trademark, frenetic Steve Vai and the second half is strangely beautiful.

7. Tender Surrender - This is my favorite track on the album. It’s a slow ballad that builds from a clean melody to a scorching climax and winds back down again.

All in all, this is a very decent Vai effort. Although not quite up to par with "Flex-Able" and "Passion and Warfare" it is a solid album that would be enjoyable to both guitar nuts as well as people who enjoy interesting instrumental rock. Nobody questions Vai's technical ability and he could probably blow away any regular "shredder". What is most appealing about Vai is that he uses his skills to express his strange, yet compelling musical concepts rather than playing a million notes per second.