Slip Of The Tongue was how I first came across Steve Vai. Prior to getting this album, I don't think I'd ever even heard his name! I didn't know he existed, basically. I bought this album in early January 1990. One day I walked into my usual record store and there it was on the rack. Fresh Whitesnake! I didn't know they had a new album out. I bought it immediately. It was love at first play and I loved it so much that I played it almost daily during that winter-spring season. I listened to it on headphones late at night before sleeping and early in the morning at the weekend, I listened to it out loud on speakers while I did my high school homework... I played it to death. I knew very little English then but at some point I knew all the lyrics by heart, that should tell you how much I played it - I just didn't know what some of the words meant, hehe. Steve Vai's playing really made an impression. As a heavy rock/metal fan I was already used to hearing dexterous guitarists, but this was something else. His guitar didn't just rock the songs and rock the solos, but seemed to be commenting during the songs at every opportunity too, and the seemingly endless variation of phrases and tones in those "comments" registered with me as a different identity, a different personality (something that would only be confirmed in the following years as I got to hear more by Steve). I liked Vaiisms so much that I'd often start the album on side 2 before going on to side 1 just so I could end the listen with Kittens Got Claws. Other favourites of mine back then were Slip Of The Tongue, Wings Of The Storm and especially Judgement Day. I still love the album for the songs, the performances (Tommy Aldridge and David Coverdale were amazing throughout), and all that extra nostalgic value that it has gained for me over the years, of course. But the one thing that has changed in the last 30 years is how my appreciation has grown for Sailing Ships. Back then I liked it well enough, but with the passage of time I've come to really love it. Now find it extremely moving, and it's so well done, so well constructed and executed, with a wonderful lyric that speaks to me more now than it ever could back in 1990 (if only Coverdale had written more lyrics like this for that album with Jimmy Page! Sigh). It's my favourite song on the album bar none, and the one track that alone would make this album worth having even if I didn't like the rest.
Slip Of The Tongue We get a really nice slow swell, and the keys lead us in. Steve is straight into the action after that with some solid rhythm and some nice, really quick harmonics. Listening to this at the moment, I am not really sure why I didn't love this at the time, it sounds right up my alley. Coverdale was always a vocalist I loved listening to. From my perspective it seemed to me he had great tone and range. This is actually a really good song. We get some nice adjustments in pace, and solid performances from all the players. Steve throws in a great, very Steve Vai lead break, and it is the icing on the cake. We get a lot of great Vai inserts all through this, and then a bonus outro lead, while the song comes to a big crescendo.
First time hearing the opening track I remember being stunned by 1) Vai's guitarisms, and 2) Coverdale's vocal. He didn't use to sing so high for so long before.
Cheap N Nasty Again Vai shows his ample capabilities as a riff oriented rhythm guitarist. It is always bizarre to me that anyone who actually listened could write him off as just a shredder. This is another good late eighties hard rock song. I really wonder now what put me off about this album, it sounds pretty solid. We get a well measured lead break with that wonderful overworking of the vibrato bar from Vai ... probably my favourite whammy bar abuser.... he actually led me to play around with the bar more, and there were some cool results, but that was years ago. This is a solid hard rock song, and has plenty to like about it.
That, or probably just kept pushing it the old fashioned way and developing his technique for reaching higher over the years. Youth and constant practice were on his side through the 80s, either way. By the time of Coverdale-Page he was singing crazy high. But then the next I heard from him, Restless Heart, showed something had to give and did.
Fool For Your Lovin' 89 We open with some nice guitar and synth atmospherics and then break into the chordal riff. This is a good version, but I think to some degree I was very familiar with the earlier version and I felt more drawn to the bluesy feel of the original. I am wondering if when this came out I had just been overloaded with the late eighties hard rock/metal thing .... because this is good ... even though I still prefer the original. The band of course is exemplary
Just for comparison here is the Ready and Willin' version. It's funny, but listening know I am not really sure which version I prefer. I certainly used to prefer the original version ....
Yup. But it's just prejudice. Vai gets no credit for his musicianship and composing skills, which are light-years from the average guitar hero. As for the song, it always sounded to me like an updated version of early 80s Whitesnake. It bridged both eras and made sense as "Whitesnake" in 1989/1990.
I've always liked it well enough, and good to see Vai doing his own thing for the solo (he wouldn't have it any other way, I'll bet), but even at the time I didn't prefer it over the original. Good, but there's better stuff on this album.
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 Flex-able Leftovers You Didn't Break it Bledsoe Blvd The Beast Of Love Burnin' Down The Mountain So Happy Details At 10 Little Pieces Of Seaweed Chronic Insomnia 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 Sons And Lovers Skyfire Breaking The Heart Of The City - live Vai Live at the Spirit Club 1985 Nov 1985 Frank Zappa - Meets The Mothers Of Prevention We're Turning Again Alien Orifice Yo Cats What's New In Baltimore Little Beige Samb Porn Wars Aerobics In Bondage I Don't Even Care One Man One Vote HR2911 Jan 1986 Public Image Limited (PIL) - Album FFF Rise Fishing Round Bags Home Ease Western Vacation July 86 Eat Em And Smile Yankee Rose Shy Boy I'm Easy Ladies Night In Buffalo - correction Goin Crazy Tobacco road (Spanish) Big Trouble Elephant Gun Big Trouble Bump And Grind That's Life Live In Detroit 86 Live In Montreal 86 1986 The Crossroads dual 1988 Skyscraper Knucklebones Just Like Paradise Bottom Line Skyscraper Damn Good Hot Dog And A Shake Stand Up Hina Perfect Timing Two Fools Born A Minute Nov 1989 Whitesnake Slip Of The Tongue Slip Of The Tongue Cheap N Nasty Fool For Your Lovin' For The Love Of God -live with the Metropole Orchestra
I'm playing Slip Of The Tongue after I don't know how many years. Gawdd, this is fantastic. I'm focusing more on Vai this time around and noticing how, though he may not have been involved in the actual writing, he's all over the arrangements. All over. And he has so many details going everywhere you care to listen. I love the beginning of the solo on Cheap An' Nasty. How about that moment when Coverdale shouts "... babe, before you do it agaaaaainn!" and Vai matches his last note with the guitar? Glorious. This album has energy in spades, and Vai has such an endless flow of ideas it's ridiculous. I'm on Fool For Your Loving as I type. Could that be Glenn Hughes on the super-high, female-type backing vocals? Guess we'll never know.
I love Alien Love Secrets, Tender Surrender of course, and especially Bad Horsie. Here in a wonderfully outrageous live version...
I was introduced to Steve Vai through the movie Crossroads. Besides of his fantastic way of playing his instrument I thought, even though his appearance in the movie was fairly small, his acting was remarkable as well. I wouldn't mind seeing him play in some sort of guitar hero movie. If I'm not mistaken hasn't he invented the 7 string guitar as well? (Not sure about this). And the album Passion and Warfare is something else. Yes you have to like guitar music, I admit but even for people who may find it difficult to listen to an album like this, I consider this an album that if you like music, you have to have heard this album at least once in your life. The most surprising thing for me was that he wasn't in the list of the hundred best guitar players published a few years ago in Rolling Stone magazine. Absolutely unbelievable. Steve Vai was described by Frank Zappa as the person who played the impossible guitar partitions. Is there any better compliment,you can get? In my opinion that beats all music awards you can win.
I had a listen today while I was doing my count, and it is beyond me why I didn't click with this when it came out.
We'll get to the solo stuff. His solo career hasn't even technically started yet. The next album after the Whitesnake album will be Passion and Warfare. It seems Steve gave himself a fairly lengthy apprenticeship before heading into any serious solo album work. I know he released the Flex-able stuff earlier, but that wasn't recorded to be released originally, it was just Steve having fun at home.
The shunning of Vai by a lot of the establishment is bewildering. As a guitarist I like a lot of different guitarists for a lot of different reasons, but if I was put on the spot and made to choose one all round "wow" guitarist, it would most likely be Steve. It is interesting what you say about Passion and Warfare, which we will probably be starting mid to late next week, it is a remarkable album of music, that just happens to have guitar as its main instrument. It even contains some humour. It is hard to believe that someone that loves music, particularly instrumental music wouldn't like it. There are some funny ideas about Vai out there, and I don't know where they come from, but they are why I started the thread. I'm hoping that some folks will check some stuff out and realise that he was not some one dimensional shredder with no soul.
It is Steve's masterpiece, and easily one of the very best guitar instrumental albums ever recorded. Vai produced some tantalizing recordings on subsequent projects, but he never came close to Passion And Warfare.
I couldn't agree more Mark. I've seen him described as soulless and mechanical, two comments which are both simply wrong.
Slip of the Tongue was my first Steve Vai record and I’ve always liked it. So many strong songs on there, title track, Judgement Day, The Deeper the Love, Sailing Ships, Wings of The Storm. It’s underrated cause every single Snake fan was expecting the 2.0 version of the 1987 album. But instead Vai dominated the record with his own unique style as he always does.
Glenn Hughes Fan Forum Can’t say it’s gospel as the link to the actual interview with Glenn is gone but I don’t see any reason to doubt what’s been said. Quote: Q: Which track(s) did you do guest vocals on Whitesnake's Slip Of The Tongue album? A: 'Slow Poke Music', 'Fool For Your Lovin' and 'Kittens Got Claws'. My vocals were mixed very low, for reasons I don't know why.
SOTT is a great Whitesnake album. It’s my fave of theirs simply because Vai brings so much to the table. The story at the time was that Vandenberg had hurt his hands doing some sort of callisthenics do Steve had to be drafted in to help. I always suspected that that was a fib. I suspected that Cov wanted Steve on the album/tour and that Steve didn’t want to compromise his musical vision for what he could bring to the tunes- he made it a condition of his involvement that he would record ALL of the guitars for the album. I’ve never heard anything convincing from either party to explain things. I love Cheap n Nasty. That wild whammy bar abuse is outrageous. FFYL is ok. An improvement, I think. There’s an alternate mix on the ‘big box’ called the Vai Voltage mix. Strangely, some of the rockier guitar tones are dialled back a bit, and I think there’s a different solo. It’s pretty cool. SOTT itself is a good opener. I used to listen to the album in the gym, and the slow build was like ‘Ok, warm up time. Things will get busy in about 30 seconds!’
Now You're Gone We open with some majestic sounding guitar and move into eighties Coverdale ballad territory. Coverdale had a perfect voice for this type of track. We bounce into a rock beat, and the song goes through a series of melodic changes, giving it a decent amount of interest, because by this time the power ballad had really been given a flogging. Typically we get a lot of nice little bits and pieces added by Vai, that also help pull this song out of the mire of power ballad format. The lead break has some really nice phrasing and either a doubled harmony, ot the eventide getting some use. This actually stands up pretty well ... though at the time I would have probably just ignored this, because I was very tired of power ballads.
Kittens Got Claws We get some cool Vai cat noises via the vibrato bar, and bounce into a very Whitesnake track. We learned early on what David's favourite type of subject matter is. Here the kitten has claws. Again we get some nice Vai additions with some more great rhythm work and again the little additons that add flavour to the stew. We get a high end lead break again with some nice harmony effects. Not a favourite, but a good time party type song.
