Steve Vai at the Mothership behind his API and more

[jsteiger]

I put together a few great video links of the the best guitar player ever...hands down.

It's quit plain to see that his techique and execution are flawless. I don't believe there is a bad note in any of these videos.

Maybe Eddie could roadie for him???

At the Mothership. What a beautiful console. (Note the FZ lower lip/chin hair!)
YouTube - Steve Vai demonstrating Freak Show Excess

With Billy Sheehan. Boy, David Lee Roth put together a monster band that musically killed VH in my opinion.
YouTube - Steve Vai - Jibboom (with sheehan)

G3 with Joe and Yngwie. Steve is the best. Sorry Joe. Yngwie who?
YouTube - Little Wing - G3 Live in Denver Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Yng

A true masterpiece. What tone. Sweet, sexy and friggin' nasty-evil.
YouTube - Steve Vai - For the love of God

Apparently a great orchestral composer as well? I guess he learned a lot from his mentor Frank Zappa huh? Great version of this song.
YouTube - Steve Vai - For the love of god

A complete master of his instrument and those hands. Freakishly huge or is that just me? Hope you enjoyed the videos as much as I did.

Jeff

[octatonic]

He's ok- I prefer Jeff Beck.

[goldenlotus]

I think it's hilarious that he has fans blowing his hair back when he performs!

My top 3 would be:

1. John McLaughlin
2. John Scofeild
3. Pat Metheny

[RCM - Ronan]

Originally Posted by goldenlotus

I think it's hilarious that he has fans blowing his hair back when he performs!

His show is a little vaudeville, but its awesome. I worked on the G3 tour for a while and would make a point to watch Steve's show almost every night. It never got boring to me (having Mike Keneally in the band sure helped with that)

[PDC]

He's out of that room now isn't he? Thought he sold that place.

[doorknocker]

So many notes, so little time.

[AMIEL]

I like Vai...but Jeff Beck or Gray Moore say more to me and with few notes..

[Animus]

Vai is alright. I like that infomercial guy Esteban much better though.

[ssaudio]

Originally Posted by vin-gear

It's quit plain to see that his techique and execution are flawless

unless you want to compare him to a mid-range classical player, that is...

[amost]

I'm not a Vai freak buy any stratch of the imagination. His thing doesn't quite grab me but I can appreciate that he's apparently put alot of time into it...the venue he chooses is kinda weird maybe. Good sense of musical humor inherited from FZ I suppose.

[not_so_new]

Originally Posted by octatonic

He's ok- I prefer Jeff Beck.

LOL

Same here... or Hendrix, or Page, or Knoffler, or Iommi, or SRV, or EVH or....

"Best guitar player ever...hands down?" there are hundreds of guitar players that rock, there is no "best" player. There is your favorite player "hands down"... that that is fine but don't be surprised when you catch allot of flack for this opening line vin-gear.

[liquidorange]

esteban

[doorknocker]

Originally Posted by not_so_new

"Best guitar player ever...hands down?" there are hundreds of guitar players that rock, there is no "best" player. There is your favorite player "hands down"... that that is fine but don't be surprised when you catch allot of flack for this opening line vin-gear.

Exactly. Vai is a great player but I mostly care about the music and the songs. Reading a similar thread a while ago got me thinking: What SONGS do we associate with player X or Y. I came up empty in quite a lot of cases. With 'song' I mean anything memorable; a theme maybe, a great intro, a great solo.

The problem I have with people like Vai or Malmsteen is that it's always 'technique' that comes to mind first and not a specific song or part. The same with a lot of modern jazz players, on the other hand people like Pat Metheny or John Mc Laughlin were always able to do both i.e write memorable songs and display great musical sense on the guitar, no matter how advanced some of the concepts and techniques might be.

Now Jeff Beck is a player that these days might also draw a 'musician's crowd' first and foremost but he also appeals to non-musicians and I know quite a few of these that responded especially strongly to things he did over the years like say the 'People get Ready' or 'Private Dancer' solos with Rod Stewart/Tina Turner or the more recent version of 'Rolling and Tumbling' he did with Imogen Heap.

If you listen to Beck's versions of 'Cause we've ended as lovers' 'She's a woman' or 'Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat' you get amazing guitar technique but even more so great phrasing while playing great melodies/songs. Even though he didn't write these tunes, he made them his own and thus found a musical end to his guitaristic means.

[psycho_monkey]

it might just be the youtube encoding/crappy multimedia speakers I'm listening on, but is his guitar quite obviously out of tune with the orchestra on "For the love of God"?

I used to love this sort of stuff....then I got past the 18yr old shred-head thing. His shows are great though - lots of humour and he doesn't take himself too seriously ("Lets have the lights on.....how many women come to my shows anyway? hmm, just you huh? You really wanted to go see Ricky Martin didn't you?!").

[DeathMonkey]

Originally Posted by vin-gear

the best guitar player ever...hands down.

Jeff

My favorite thing about Steve is that he would be the first person to disagree with this statement. I actually really like the vocal stuff from the Fire Garden/Ultra Zone era. I'll bet he's a hoot to hang out with.





Oh, and Shawn Lane, ftw. The stuff with Jonas Hellborg is just unholy. Some of the most beautiful improvisation in the history of music.

/w Jonas: YouTube - Shawn Lane - Time Is The Enemy

YouTube - Shawn Lane - Temporal analogues of paradise - Movement 2

My fav Shawn vid: YouTube - Shawn Lane "Death Theme"

[AMIEL]

Yeah ! Steban rules!!!

[Oroz]

Originally Posted by doorknocker

Exactly. Vai is a great player but I mostly care about the music and the songs. Reading a similar thread a while ago got me thinking: What SONGS do we associate with player X or Y. I came up empty in quite a lot of cases. With 'song' I mean anything memorable; a theme maybe, a great intro, a great solo.

The problem I have with people like Vai or Malmsteen is that it's always 'technique' that comes to mind first and not a specific song or part. The same with a lot of modern jazz players, on the other hand people like Pat Metheny or John Mc Laughlin were always able to do both i.e write memorable songs and display great musical sense on the guitar, no matter how advanced some of the concepts and techniques might be.

Now Jeff Beck is a player that these days might also draw a 'musician's crowd' first and foremost but he also appeals to non-musicians and I know quite a few of these that responded especially strongly to things he did over the years like say the 'People get Ready' or 'Private Dancer' solos with Rod Stewart/Tina Turner or the more recent version of 'Rolling and Tumbling' he did with Imogen Heap.

If you listen to Beck's versions of 'Cause we've ended as lovers' 'She's a woman' or 'Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat' you get amazing guitar technique but even more so great phrasing while playing great melodies/songs. Even though he didn't write these tunes, he made them his own and thus found a musical end to his guitaristic means.

I kinda agree but I don't thing that Vai fits into this "technique only" category. I think he has many memorable songs, with beautiful melodies and tone.

[AMIEL]

Originally Posted by liquidorange

esteban

Yeah!! Esteban is the ultimate Guitar Hero!!!!!

[SoundEng1]

Originally Posted by AMIEL

Yeah!! Esteban is the ultimate Guitar Hero!!!!!

ZORRO!

[Sqye]

.

no doubt vai is a monster - thanks for posting that stuff.
i did feel like i was back in the 80s for a 2nd on that sheehan live clip - holy moly.


i like the duet he did with nelly fertado on,
"I'm like a bIrd" - her performance is really nice.

YouTube - Nelly Furtado & Steve Vai Perform I'm Like A Bird

but i'm more into songs and vocals these days.


vai is amazing, though - he has a lot of musicality that gets lost sometimes
in his choice of guitar tone (laptop/ web don't help), and his very linear jammy music.
if you can get past that, some of his melodic creativity and execution
are no doubt at a very high level - and take a LOT of practicing to get to.

serious accuracy on his jumping all over the fretboard - really impressive,
and not easy to do at all.

the difference with the classical guys is a) usually they mostly don't compose,
and/ or b) they don't touch all the whammy, electo-harmonic and effects, etc..

it's just hard for me to listen to that guitar tone and lack of song,
for more than 5 minutes without getting a headache these days.

that said, i'd rather hear amazing guitar playing, than a bad song

also, blanket statements are USUALLY subjective (even though i'm guilty of plenty of them).
there are lots of great players around - i'm currently prefering metheny, knopfler, segovia or
hendrix - probably an age thing - although i've always loved those players.
(OTOH, if i have to listen to live hendrix for more than 10 minutes, i also get a headache).


anyhow, thanks for posting - definitely some enjoyable stuff there.


toodles.

.

[drmmrboy]

Originally Posted by vin-gear

It's quit plain to see that his techique and execution are flawless. I don't believe there is a bad note in any of these videos.

Found one. In the first video. 6:10 - "That little trill" Frets out the last note..
Gotta love his thumb hanging over the neck. How's that for "flawless"..??

[Sqye]

.

if that stuff impresses you that much,
you really CAN learn how to do a LOT of it.

you may never have vai's ears, brain, luck or hand size,
but all you REALLY have to do is shed your ass off for a few decades
starting at like age 4.

(even then you may never get there, but who knows,
maybe you'll get somewhere better or different).

there are lots of instructional videos, if that's what you're going for.

(many of the great players do have enormous hands - vai, EVH, hendrix,
holdsworth, albert king, etc. - but not all of them)

i'm really more interested in what vai does compositionally -
after all, he is a very talented musician, despite the masturbation.

.

[dementedchord]

as a jazz pianist i never really was into him other than i was into FZ.... but then in '91 as an electronic tech i got a call to work on a console they blew up the night before (some idiot sent the output of a SVT down the snake and blew the traces off of a channel) while there i retubed a couple of soldanos and stuck around for sound check.... the guy was amazing just fukin off... had technique that wouldn't stop... still not really a fan but give the devil his due... the boy can play....

[DeathMonkey]

Originally Posted by Sqye

.

no doubt vai is a monster - thanks for posting that stuff.
i did feel like i was back in the 80s for a 2nd on that sheehan live clip - holy moly.


i like the duet he did with nelly fertado on,
"I'm like a bIrd" - her performance is really nice.

YouTube - Nelly Furtado & Steve Vai Perform I'm Like A Bird

but i'm more into songs and vocals these days.


toodles.

.

Man, I have mad respect for her. She is totally unafraid to sing without a net. Steve channeling Curtis Mayfield left me a bit cold, tho.

[andremattos]

Pat Metheny #1thumbsup

[JulianBrightnes]

Originally Posted by doorknocker

Exactly. Vai is a great player but I mostly care about the music and the songs. Reading a similar thread a while ago got me thinking: What SONGS do we associate with player X or Y. I came up empty in quite a lot of cases. With 'song' I mean anything memorable; a theme maybe, a great intro, a great solo.

The problem I have with people like Vai or Malmsteen is that it's always 'technique' that comes to mind first and not a specific song or part. The same with a lot of modern jazz players, on the other hand people like Pat Metheny or John Mc Laughlin were always able to do both i.e write memorable songs and display great musical sense on the guitar, no matter how advanced some of the concepts and techniques might be.

Now Jeff Beck is a player that these days might also draw a 'musician's crowd' first and foremost but he also appeals to non-musicians and I know quite a few of these that responded especially strongly to things he did over the years like say the 'People get Ready' or 'Private Dancer' solos with Rod Stewart/Tina Turner or the more recent version of 'Rolling and Tumbling' he did with Imogen Heap.

If you listen to Beck's versions of 'Cause we've ended as lovers' 'She's a woman' or 'Goodbye Pork-Pie Hat' you get amazing guitar technique but even more so great phrasing while playing great melodies/songs. Even though he didn't write these tunes, he made them his own and thus found a musical end to his guitaristic means.

that's a cool post Andi

[jsteiger]

Boy, I knew I could stur up some shit by posting like I did!!

I love how music and musicianship is so personalized. I'm sure I offended some by "the best player ever" line. No offense all.

It takes a special individual to be a spot on "professinal" guitar slinger these days. I think with all the talk lately around here in regards to EVH's recording method and Ozzie's new record with pinch harmonics galore, I needed a little change.

Shawn Lane was a great player no doubt. Not only guitar, but at nearly all instruments. RIP Shawn.

I have always loved Beck and Metheny as well. To be quit honest, last night was a flashback down memory lane for me. I have been really into the new CW thing lately. I've become a huge fan of Brad Paisely.

I do not think that Steve is all about "shredding" and how many notes he can play. That is easy to hear by listening to his music with an open mind. He is very melodic and more about phrasing I think. This can be seen in the 1st video. IMHO anyhow.

I do have to say, that IMO (again) not many of the players mentioned above could have accomplished working with Frank Zappa in the way Steve did. Jeff Beck is an all time great. Not to take anything from him but I do not think that he could have played Frank's scores the way Steve did.

I'm surprised no on compared him to Neil Young! thumbsup

BTW, I think Joe Walsh is an all time great also. So much character.

Later, Jeff

[Sqye]

Originally Posted by vin-gear

I do have to say, that IMO (again) not many of the players mentioned above could have accomplished working with Frank Zappa in the way Steve did. Jeff Beck is an all time great. Not to take anything from him but I do not think that he could have played Frank's scores the way Steve did.

I'm surprised no on compared him to Neil Young! thumbsup

BTW, I think Joe Walsh is an all time great also. So much character.

Later, Jeff

lol - how true - he definitely is a talented musician, no doubt...

neil young playing zappa's scores - now THAT is an image to relish lol


..

[jsteiger]

Speaking of Frank, I have been a fan of his in all respects for as long as I can remember. Composer, conductor, comedian and most of all guitar player. I love the way he played. I have noticed that most think he sucked as a musican. That always pisses me off!

So what do you guys think about Frank Zappa as a guitar player???

Jeff

[eligit]

^^

shut up and play yer guitar is killer solos from zappa...with some amazing drumming as well.

zappa is very cool as a guitar player.