I'm not wild on this song, but agree with your comments above on the Vai lead. I'm getting predictable with this album - mostly just liking the Vai solos
It’s probably just the way my brain processes music but I very much hear Mercy as the musical predecessor of Hina on Skyscraper. Love the groove of this track and the very ‘Steveness’ of the songs conclusion with keyboards and guitar ascending/descending with each other like the THX Deep Note chord. Despite the other musicians in Alcatrazz not being of Steve’s virtuosity, I love the way they all sound as a BAND. The whole being greater than the sum of the parts. The keyboard leads and arpeggios (?) behind the chorus are all lovely. In a lesser bands hands and with a lesser vocalist, Will You Be Home could easily be forgettable album filler. With Vai, Bonnet and the rest, it’s a killer track. A terrific, pedal to the metal 80s rock number. Not my favourite on the album but its up there. With hearing DTP later on in the 80s, I often associate this with Blue Murder’s Valley Of The Kings (which listening to that latter track now sounds like a poor rewrite of Kashmir). Maybe this track is the only Egyptian/North African/Arabian flavoured rock track that isn’t just a rewrite of Kashmir? Either way, great track, great groove and Steve’s leads enhance the song no end. Musically a great track. Lyrically it has the good sense to take a distanced, more considered view of its subject rather than the typical view taken by so many Sunset Strip bands.
Painted Lover This starts off being not possibly anyone but Vai. It actually starts like it could be the start of an instrumental off Flex-able. Instead we move into a really good track, from my perspective. It has that straight rock kind of feel, and has a bit of punch, but they manage to do enough with it, for it to not be a boring predictable track. The verses have that forceful Bonnet vocal, but then move into what I think is a really cool pre-chorus, melodic falsetto vocal that works really well. I think in this style of music, the chorus itself works really well. We also get an unmistakable Vai lead break, and a series of nice fills, in the form of lead, and nice sliding chords. This is another strong track, and the album is sounding a lot better to my ears than I remember it. I had kind of thought prior to doing this, that the album had a couple of good songs, some great Vai guitar work, but for the most part a little forgettable .... but I reckon this is actually a really good album that could have done a lot better in the market that was about in 84/85
Lighter Shade Of Green We start off with an almost Celtic sounding melody, and it crescendos into a somewhat classical type of flourish and then descends into a nice bar bend and return. It is only really short, but I think this is sort of technical and beautiful.
Totally agree. This is still up there with my favourite Vai songs. I assume the title is a nod to Irish Green, hence the Celtic sound to it. The only problem with it is it is far too short
I'm going to spread a bit more love for Desert Diamond. I love everything about it. Bonnet's vocal covers the range and I love his note choices, especially at 1:25. Vai's solo is of course, stellar. I love the run at 3:35-the tremolo picked notes that are just against the beat. In one of my tab books, Steve's commentary describes how the 'backwards guitar ' bridge into the main solo had to be rerecorded because 'chipmunk' Bob Dylan recorded over the tape by accident.
Steve Vai - a rough history The JEM guitar Interview Talking about Zappa Some guitar techniques Stevie's Spanking with Zappa 1981 May 1981 Zappa Tinseltown Rebellion Fine Girl Easy Meat For The Young Sophisticate Love Of My Life Ain't Got No Heart Panty rap, Tell me you love me, Now You See it now You don't, Dance Contest, Blue Light, Tinseltown Rebellion, Pick Me I'm clean Bamboozeld By Love, Brown Shoes Don't Make It, Peaches 3 1981 - Shut Up And Play Yer guitar - Frank Zappa Guitar Book sept 1981 Zappa You Are What You Is Teenage Wind Harder Than Your Husband Doreen, Goblin Girl, Theme From the 3rd movement of sinister footwear Society Pages, I'm A beautiful Guy, Beauty Knows No Pain Charlies enormous mouth, Any Downers, Conehead, You Are What You Is You Are What You Is - video Mudd Club, The Meek Shall Inherit Nothing, Dumb All Over Heavenly Bank Account, Suicide Chump, Jumbo Go Away, If Only She Woulda, Drafted Again NYC Palladium 1981 - with Zappa May 1982 Zappa Ship Arriving Too Late to Save A Drowning Witch No Not Now Valley Girl I Come From Nowhere Drowning Witch Envelopes Teenage Prostitute Mar 1983 Zappa Man From Utopia Cocaine Decisions The Dangerous Kitchen Tink Walks Amok The Radio Is Broken Moggio The Man From Utopia Meets Mary Lou Stick Together Sex Jazz Discharge Party Hats We Are Not Alone Jan 1984 Zappa Flex-able + leftovers Little Green Men Viv Woman Lovers Are Crazy Salamanders In The Sun Boy/Girl Song The Attitude Song Call It Sleep Junkie Bill's Private Parts Next Stop Earth There's Something Dead In Here Oct 1984 Alcatrazz - Power Live dvd Oct 1984 Zappa - Them Or Us The Closer You Are In France Ya Hozna Sharleena Sinister Footwear II Truck Driver Divorce Stevie's Spanking - live Vai and Zappa jam Baby Take Your Teeth Out Marque-son's Chicken Planet Of My Dreams Be In My Video Them Or Us Frogs With Dirty Little Lips Whipping Post March 1985 Alcatrazz Disturbing The Peace God Blessed Video Mercy - actual song Will You Be Home Tonight Wire And Wood Desert Diamond Stripper Painted Lover A Lighter Shade Of Green with David Lee Roth - Big Trouble The Crossroads dual For The Love Of God -live with the Metropole Orchestra
Sons And Lovers We get one of those nice Vai guitar squeals to start this track, and we move into a very eighties hard rock type guitar driven song. In the first change we get a really nice little Vai fill, that leads into a chorus .... I'm not sure about the chorus to this one. It is like they are going for the English stadium sing along type chorus, with the music dropping out. We get a really good Vai lead break. This is a pretty good song, but this is another one, where I am more interested in the guitar playing than the song itself.
Skyfire Graham Bonnet is such a goofy dude. In an eighties metal band with pastel suits and blonde kind of Elvis hair.... he really was an interesting dude. I actually respect that he just did what he wanted, without trying to fit into a preconceived notion of what a hard rock/metal dude was supposed to look like .... anyway. This is actually a great track. This is among my favourite tracks on the album. We start with a good chord progression and the synth and guitar work really well together. The verse comes in a little reserved, but with the pulsing beat, and the general direction of the track, you know it's going to kick in. I like the way the chorus kicks in, and for me it sort of makes the song. We get a really cool little Via fill leading into the next verse and these little colours also help to give this track a really good flavour. We move in a slightly mellow little section with a nice little lead break that leads into a very nice bridge, and then that has a short keyboard break and a musical change that leads us back to the pulsing section and some exemplary Vai lead guitar construction. A nice start, and then a beautiful harmonised section that is just absolute fire. I like this song a lot, but Vai again just takes it to the next level
Steve Vai live in 1985 The Spirit Club, San Diego, CA. Guitar - Steve Vai Bass - Stu Hamm Drums - Chris Frazier 1) Introduction (0:33) 2) Viv Woman (5:00) 3) Steve's intro rap (1:01) 4) Viv Woman (end) (0:18) 5) Salamanders In The Sun (3:23) 6) Answers (3:36) 7) The Riddle - Call It Sleep (7:22) 8) No Pockets (5:58) 9) Tuning (0:50) 10) Ballerina (3:39) 11) Bass solo (7:46) 12) Heavy Mental (4:07) 13) Guitar solo (3:29) 14) Guitar solo (cont.) (4:50) 15) Greensleeves (2:30) 16) Groovy Things (4:50) 17) Sisters (4:34) 18) God Bless Video (instrumental version) (5:20) 19) Black Napkins (Frank Zappa) (3:55) 20) Variations (5:19) 21) The Attitude Song (7:00)
Breaking The Heart Of The City This is probably my favourite Alcatrazz song, from either album ... I don't know that I can explain why, but such is life. The album version starts with a solid drum beat, that is augmented by some unfortunate drum machine fluff. The track has an ominous feel, and revolves around the slow steady pulse of the bass and drums, and Bonnet sings the vocal melody, with Vai accompanying the vocal beautifully on the lead guitar. I think it is the live version that made me love this song. The guitar throughout is tasteful and perfect in context with the song. I like the melodic structure of the song, as it steps out from where most hard rock/glam metal tytpe bands were at the time, and it isn't exactly prog, but it is allowed to have a more structured arrangement that works through some really excellent melodic and mood changes.... Anyhow I really like the song, in spite of some of the questionable production decisions on the album version.
Breaking the Heart Of The City live 85 We start with a gong and then move into Fanfare for The Common Man, which personally I have always loved, here it works as a dramatic and somewhat regal introduction to the band starting their set. From a video perspective it shows the crowd, the band making their way to the stage and all that kind of groovy stuff...... Then we get the drums kicking us into the song. Those out of date drum machine bits are still there, but they are less obtrusive. Bonnet, in his ever so unrock pastel blue suit comes out to sing his part, and Vai follows the vocal line perfectly. The performance is excellent, and I always find Vai fun to watch, because he just has a great time while he slays the guitar. When the vocal kicks into the octave higher section just before the lead break, it is cool seeing Bonnet push out that vocal, and Vai is right there singing and playing along ... it is a really well captured piece of the performance. Of course Vai stars in the lead break and it is excellent. The bridge that follows works better live than on the studio mix, to my ears. Bonnet does a great job of the vocal and Vai is as excellent as ever. This live video is what sold me on the band, and this start to the concert sold me on the live video.
Sons and Lovers=filler. Nice solo though. Skyfire. This is great. Dynamic and exciting. Probably the only song that doesn’t get overshadowed by the solo/guitar. Breaking the Heart... after Mark professed his love for this last week I listened with open ears. It’s terrific. I had reservations about it being the concert opener...but it works really well. Steve’s playing makes the track, obviously! I’m looking forward to playing those live links. Thanks for putting them up.
Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention Studio album by Frank Zappa Released November 21, 1985 Recorded November 1981–September 1985 at UMRK Length 36:12 47:17 (1995 reissue) Label Barking Pumpkin Producer Frank Zappa Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention is a 1985 album by Frank Zappa. The album was originally released in two slightly different versions in the US and Europe. The album's title is a reference to the lobby group, the PMRC, who were campaigning to require record companies to put warning stickers on albums they considered offensive, and to Zappa's former band, the Mothers of Invention. The original US version of the album contains the track "Porn Wars" – a sound collage featuring excerpts from PMRC hearings. This track was omitted from non-US versions, and replaced with three other pieces: "I Don't Even Care", co-written by Zappa and Johnny "Guitar" Watson, and two instrumental tracks – "One Man, One Vote" (a Synclavier composition) and "H.R. 2911", which collates some of the backing music from "Porn Wars", without the PMRC hearing excerpts and other dialogue. The initial EMI CDs only included the European Version. The original Rykodisc CDs added two of the three European tracks and shuffled around the running order. The 1995 Rykodisc remaster added the third European track after the same shuffled order. Frank Zappa – vocals, guitar, Synclavier, producer Johnny "Guitar" Watson – vocals, guitar on "I Don't Even Care" Ike Willis – vocals, guitar Ray White – vocals, guitar Bobby Martin – vocals, keyboards Steve Vai – guitar Tommy Mars – keyboards Scott Thunes – bass Chad Wackerman – drums Ed Mann – percussion Moon Zappa – vocals Dweezil Zappa – vocals John Danforth – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Ernest Hollings – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Paul S. Trible, Jr. – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Paula Hawkins – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" J. James Exon – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Al Gore – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Tipper Gore – voice excerpts on "Porn Wars" Bob Stone – engineer US version 1. "We're Turning Again" 4:55 2. "Alien Orifice" 4:03 3. "Yo Cats" (Zappa, Tommy Mars) 3:31 4. "What's New in Baltimore?" 5:21 5. "Little Beige Sambo" 3:02 6. "Porn Wars" 12:04 7. "Aerobics in Bondage" 3:16 European version A1 We're Turning Again 4:55 A2 Alien Orifice 4:03 A3 Yo CatsLyrics By – Zappa*Music By – Zappa*, Mariano* 3:31 A4 What's New In Baltimore? 5:21 B1 I Don't Even CareLyrics By – Watson*Music By – Zappa* 4:43 B2 One Man - One Vote 2:36 B3 H.R. 2911 3:35 B4 Little Beige Sambo 3:02 B5 Aerobics In Bondage 3:16 1995 CD reissue 1. "I Don't Even Care" (Zappa, Johnny "Guitar" Watson) 4:39 2. "One Man, One Vote" 2:35 3. "Little Beige Sambo" 3:02 4. "Aerobics in Bondage" 3:16 5. "We're Turning Again" 4:55 6. "Alien Orifice" 4:10 7. "Yo Cats" (Zappa, Tommy Mars) 3:33 8. "What's New in Baltimore?" 5:20 9. "Porn Wars" 12:03 10. "H.R. 2911" 3:35 -------------------------------------------------------------------------- This was a really interesting time in music with the whole PMRC thing going on. Zappa played a big part in that, and stood by the Freedom of Speech side of the equation. If you have never seen them, the Trials are quite interesting and on youtube. This is Zappa's testimony, and there are others in the youtube sidebar if it interests you. To be honest I am not altogether sure how big a part Steve Vai played in this album. Of course a lot of the backing tracks were lifted from live recordings I believe going back to 1981, but Vai had moved on. Frank being the kind of guy he was would still credit Vai, as he was on the recordings, but my memory tells me there isn't much on here that screams Vai ... perhaps a couple of the replacement tracks on the European version are older studio tracks dug out to fill the void. I don't know really we'll have to see. I like this album well enough, but it isn't a favourite Zappa album. What do you guys think of this? If you have info regarding Vai's involvement, or lack thereof, it would be appreciated. Cheers Mark
I'm positive Vai is on We're Turning Again, you can hear him very clearly. Less clear going from memory, but I'm confident he's on Alien Orifice, and also What's New In Baltimore. And I think that's it.
Cheers mate. It is a long while since I listened to the album, and it seems less Vai oriented. What's New In Baltimore was always a favourite though, particularly live
We're Turning Again This is an interesting Zappa track. We open with a lightning riff, and move into a somewhat pop, somewhat cocktail lounge track. Lyrically this is almost a modern reply to the We're Only In It For The Money album, and pokes a lot of fun at the Hippy era. Musically we get lots of great percussion, and guitar. We get a really good arrangement, and the song is actually a lot better than I recall ... I don't know why I was turned away from this album, but this is sounding good to me today.
