Saw Steve last week with the Beat tour. Mad respect for him stepping into that band and that music. Transcribes and plays for Frank Zappa as a teenager. Replaces Yngwie in Alcatrazz. Steps into Whitesnake. Steps into Eddie’s shoes with Dave. Plays with a string of luminaries from a variety of genres. Releases several solo albums. Discovers Devin Townsend. Steps into Fripp’s shoes in King Crimson. Pioneers several guitars and guitar amplification. Through it all remains humble and human. Legend.
@@daviddevilliers2828 I mistakenly assumed he was just a shredder until I read about the Beat tour and saw Fripps's comments, then saw an interview with Steve where he discussed learning the parts by giving them his own spin. I saw King Crimson in 1973, 1983, 1995, 2001, 2017, and 2021. Then.... I saw the Beat tour in Charlotte last month. Wow. Just wow. Steve is a genius and plays with so much styel and panache. It is amazing how he can stay true to the spirit of hat Fripp wrote yet make it his own. Also big props to Danny Carey. He has gone straight onto my list of five favorite drummers (along with Billy Cobham, Mitch Mitchell, Bill Bruford, and Elvin Jones.)
@ he is Music, simply, a great master, humble man and last but not least so so funny on stage I don’t know if he is funny with beat tour, but with his own tour, he is
@@DannyHood-j Well its Belew and Tony Levin, with Vai and Toney Carey the drummer of Tool. Playing "The Primary Color Albums". I believe Adrian Belew who came up with the idea with Fripp's approval. Wasn't able to go but LOTS of video here at Yt of tracks and the whole show! Its ASTOUNDING.
One of the best things I remember about buying vinyl albums was the smell. For whatever reason, vinyl records had this intoxicating air to them. Every time I see a Jimi Hendrix, or, Led Zeppelin vinyl album. I think of that smell, and it just brings me back, like a time machine, to that day I first peeled off the plastic seal, opened that artistically printed record jacket, and caught a whiff of that vinyl before I put it on the turn table and dropped that arm. With that analogue sound through stereo speakers... You just felt like you were right there in the middle of the room with the band, as they performed each song at their best. A beautiful thing people today, and forever, will never experience. That vibrant analogue sound, and that smell of new vinyl.
Still have my original Freak Out album given as a Christmas present by my parents in 1966. It is in excellent condition and still listen to it. Miss Frank!
Great concept for a video series but there's no need to finish somebody like Steve Vai's sentences and god, the music playing underneath is unbearable.
Agree about the music but all editors now seem to think you need a ‘bed’ to avoid dead space. I disagree about finishing sentences - I think this is typical of a more conversational style of interview and maintains the flow.
@@zandel_zandel OP was not complaining about the quality of the audio. Rather, it's the selection of music and the interaction of the interviewer. And I agree.
as a songwriter, this makes me respect and admire Steve even more. sooooo many musicians don't give a rat's taint about lyrics and will sometimes tell you that. here comes Steve Vail, ,like a hurricane. pointing straight to the lyrics on those records and explaining why they are important. massive respect to you, fella. and btw, i saw the Beat tour last week in Chicago at Copernicus Center and it was ace. so glad i flew there from omaha to witness it
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust Frank Zappa - Freak Out Various - Soundtrack to West Side Story Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
Make the background music louder! It's so COOL!!! Mix it much louder!!! WAY more! In fact play two or three different background music tracks simultaneously!!!
Steve has always been so so much more than just a wild guitarist. Been inspiring me since 1990 or thereabouts. Infinite respect and thank you so much for enriching my life!
Cool interview, thanks for posting. Steve Vai is the man! One little gripe though - the background music could be a little quieter or at least has instrumentation that isn't in the same range as the human voice. @ Patrick Shevelin - Let's hear what Steve has to say - not so much the background music! 😉🙏
Got to see Vai perform live for the first time with the King Crimson tour this year. Such a cool and talented guy. It was cool to see him put his own personal spin on other's music.
(Trying not to sound like an old fart but…) Today kids don’t get just what an amazing experience record albums were. The outer artwork. Inside, the liner notes. The pics of the band. The printed lyrics so we could sing along. Notes about the album. The names of the people who played on it (which we memorized). And then… the music itself. It was a complete experience! I miss those days.
They (today's kids) would get it, if it were not for the internet. Thanks to the internet on their phones "everything" is within their grasp and they can only spend a few seconds of attention to one thing before skipping over to the next thing. Hence why TikTok is so popular, ultra short movies/clips of something and then bam there's the next clip already.
And also... records were BIG! You could hold them in two hands! And hold it out and look at it, unlike phones today that we (old farts lol) hold close to our eyes so we can see them. I even had a few brave friends who would nail them to the walls of their rooms. (I didn't dare desecrate the albums like that, but to each their own, right?)
This is WAY Better than the typical show you see on AXS TV... I MUCH prefer this interview style to the original show, where they shop for the LP's - and get no opportunity to actually talk about their choices... Much Better!!!
Seriously the best choices. Billion Dollar Babies is one of the best, most original rock albums of all time. Alice Cooper was a great band that loved to experiment, and they built songs with great hooks and theatrics in mind. Every album the band wrote had a track that would become the new showpiece for live performance on the new tour (Halo of Flies, Ballad of Dwight Fry, I Love the Dead, Black Juju, Hard Hearted Alice, Lay Down and Die Goodbye). They are one of the most underrated bands for their contributions to rock music because the theatrics become more of what they were remembered for.
Steve is so chill, so knowledgeable. I love watching interviews with him. His learning philosophies and his statements on the value of music are always welcome.
I've never been a Steve Vai fan, and that's not likely to change... that said, we share our taste in music, and I love how impassioned and articulate he is here. Thanks for posting this.
FREAK OUT IN 1966 at the age of 12, BLEW ME AWAY !!! I KNEW RIGHT THEN, FRANK WAS SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO WHENEVER HE RELEASED A NEW ALBUM !!! I HAVE THEM ALL !!! ALMOST 129 minus the Vinyl Masters Box Sets
I really enjoyed this presentation...It's great to hear what inspired Steve and at such a young age. I've been a fan of his since Crossroads. I could go on and on....Peace, Love and Good Happiness Stuff
I love Steve! I had the pleasure of meeting him at Bodhi Tree in the '90's. What a charming man. Of course I became aware of his work via Zappa. I'm a lifelong Frank fan. Before watching this I had no idea he was a Mick Ronson fan. Mind blowing! I've loved Ronson forever! Original Alice Cooper Group?!? Hell yes. I still listen them all the time. Great episode!
@Naniamania3 Good for you - a rare opportunity. At one point I was mesmerized by Danny Carey, and thought, I haven't looked at Tony Levin for a while. He was playing the keyboard and the Chapman Stick and singing. And they're just the rhythm section.
@@danmayberry1185 we got tickets in the balcony at both shows intentionally to see everything. All 4 were just incredible. I hope they do a live release.
My top 5 vinyl: Blonde On Blonde - Dylan - I ended up listening to this album all night on a heavy acid trip after seeing Dylan in concert, I still cant listen to Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands without feeling deep emotion, when I got the vinyl i never played that side Electric Ladyland - Hendrix - I used to put this on before sex, Hendrix sounds wild and free, and the gods made love Ziggy Stardust - Bowie - Every song on this album is amazing, very well produced, the first album Bowie produced himself, it tells a story Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd - This album is a religous experience, it could have started a cult, maybe it did, the album represents life, death, and beyond American Beauty - Grateful Dead - Another fantastic collection of songs that has amazing quality from beginning to end
@colinburroughs9871 I am not exaggerating when I say it changed my life. I started writing songs because of that show. Amazing album, Dylan is great on a trip
I remember that Zappa rumour when I first heard it as a kid - I’m from Ireland! It’s amazing how far BS travels. Great selection of records - I’d expect nothing less from Mr V 👏👏😬
All fabulous choices. LZ III and Santana Abraxas were the first rock cassette tapes I ever bought. Ziggy if groundbreaking. Lenny, Stephen, and WSS are part of the very fabric of America! Alice...what can you say!?! "Overnight Sensation" was when I discovered FZ, and all I can say is I really feel sorry for folks who don't get Frank.
I find it interesting that he decided to go mostly with the records that influenced him at a very young age. I would have gone with the music I started discovering around age 18 (born 1961) and later. But I have to say, the Led Zep II was HUGE for me when I was 12 years old, and it did make me want to play music, and I did. My older sister had the Zep II sitting on her shitty stereo, and there was an ash tray of smoked cigarettes. So, I sat there smoking the cigs that had a little left to smoke and listening to that album... and when Heartbreaker came on ... and that distorted bass of JPJ playing the root/fifth chord... it was just amazing. I am a bass player, so JPJ was my first bass hero. Music was so good back then. It still is now, but those times were magical.
A good way to gauge the respect Vai has for the people who inspired him is another video here on YT, where Glenn Buxton from the original Alice Cooper Group, is doing a local cable show interview backstage of Steve at one of his shows, and Steve is so overwhelmed that he turns it around and interviews Glen...
Steve speaks with a lot of passion, and equally a true musician who is master of his craft. Steve selecting a Zappa album goes without saying, but going for the wonderful musical of West Side Story just shows how eclectic he is in his appriciation of music. Nice one Steve.
I'm 4 years younger than Vai, but we have so many parallel early musical experiences. My older sister's copy of Billion Dollar Babies changed my life and supplanted Elton John's Yellow Brick Road in my little kid world. Steve is spot-on regarding the quality of melodic content on that album... and plus I loved the Boa Constrictor in the photos. My folks also brought home West Side Story when I was very young, and I remember hearing and being intrigued by it ("Officer Krupke!" resonated often in our 1970s living room) but was unable to truly grasp the genius of Bernstein untli later in life. The Overture to Candide has long been my single favorite orchestral composition. Zeppelin III is another LP that had a huge impact on me, and I actually prefer its weirdness over Zep II's raw energy.
Nice to hear Steve Vai describing with so much emotion about those records. I am surprise though about his choice of West Side Sory. I will definetly listen to this record with more detail - and maybe to watch the movie :) Thanks for the invterview, great job mate.
I have mad respect for Steve, have seen him a few times and of course I know he's a genius! With all his talent I just wonder why he hasn't yet gotten some young talented fellas to create a rock bombastic group to rule the world, like Zeppelin did.
First time I heard of Steve Vai was at Tinseltown Rebellion (Frank Zappa). Bamboozled by Love 👍 The first three records Steve pulles out I do own myself, great choices. Ziggy I often play in tandem with Lou Reed Transformer (also with Bowie on vocals). West Side Story I got the Blue Ray (Spielberg). LZ III I do not own but a double album Mothership with my fav LZ song When the Levee Breaks (Bonham pounding the drums...and the harmonica kicking in 😮...).
I spread some Frank Zappa to people at work and friends, and since then they just can't stop listening to Zappa records lol. Not quite a hidden gem, but once you actually start listening to Zappa you can't stop diving deeper. His guitar tone is also one of the best
Vai's great; even though he's one of the most jaw-droppingly virtuosic players on Earth he's always been about the music as a whole, not just a background for his solos. He had a column in one of the guitar magazines in the '80s and when everyone else was writing about speed and chops he was about finding your strengths and playing to them and really getting inside the music with little emphasis on technical stuff. I'm not crazy about blazing guitar solos all the time, but Vai really stands out among the shredders and seems like a pretty swell guy to boot
Back in the day when I saw him in The movie Crossroads, I had no knowledge of him but instantly knew that he is a serious bad ass. Been a fan ever since. I need to listen to every record he is taking about.
Freak out was the Zappa Album I first heard as a early teen..Help I'm a Rock fast became my favorite song for a long time..especially with my friends at school..we would goof around and sing it during PE
Steve's a difficult interview. Clearly, Eric wasn't comfortable here or at least appeared to not understand or to be able to effectively expand on Steve's statements. Surprising memories from Vai. Nothing about great guitar playing or pure musician stuff until the Zep album. His inspiration was drawn from other areas. Thanks for sharing, Eric.
One of the times I went to a Vai concert, Hendrix was being played beforehand. I remember thinking: there's only few guitarists who dare to have this music played before coming up onto the stage.
Back in 1988 Steve vai’s # 1 album (out of 5 favorite albums) poll in Magazine guitar for practicing musician”) I forget which album but it was Jimi Hendrix. There were 20 other guitarist if I’m NOT mistaken 18 out of 20 guitarist all picked Jimi Hendrix albums as favorites #1 out of five records. Only one guitarist chose Axis bold as love’ of all figures Joe satrian. Three Jimi Hendrix albums out of five favorites records were on satriani favorites Top 3 picks were Jimi Hendrix. This is back when I was watching star licks micheal Angelo first vid. NOT speed kills that’s 1991 his first star licks released 87,or 88? Nothing Micheal plays on his first video is in one key. The licks played by themselves without rhythm tracks sound out of key. Not entirely
Frank agreed to take less royalties to get the double album released. It's stellar, go and burn it into your brain. Some of the stuff that Steve did with Frank was so sublime, never to be equaled. I'm a Zappafile, know it all, and one of my favorite discs of Zappa's is the bootleg As An Am, a lo-fi Halloween concert broadcast on MTV. The Black Page #2, Black Napkins, The Torture never stops, just amazing. Steve loves to talk about Frank, go search it out on UA-cam, great stuff. I just love his 5 picks. All Zeppelin is burned into my brain as well, and ZIggy Stardust is such a good record. It's interesting the Zappa connection to two of these artists - Frank kind of discovered Alice Cooper, and was going to produce him, but they didn't like the off-beat direction he was taking. David Bowie, whose music I love, poached Frank's guitar player at the time, Adrian Belew, who Frank had taken under his wing and nurtured all of his talent and made him into who he was to become. Kind of a betrayal if you ask me. BTW, Steve Vai's Flexible is one of the great works of art of the 20th century, it's worth knowing.
Liked it. Very nice and interesting explanations by Steve. Great picks. The music in the background is terrible and distracting. People with hearing issues have difficulties with it. I used subtitle.
Ive Have Done Work For Dave Bowie For 25 Year Davie was a Good friend of Mine With Dave Passed away It Did A Number On Me I Miss My Frind RIP David You Dont Have No Pain No More Your In A Better Place
Can't believe he just whips out 3 of my favorite albums as a kid. And he nails it when saying about how the innocence of being a kid would absorbing the things around you. That's exactly what I felt like growing up. And it's still there. I don't listen to anything new new. But when I hear good music. I know what it is. I will always pick the underdog over the top sellers. Just because the underdogs always have the better sounds and stories. And if he pulled out Sheik Yerbouti instead, omfg. I would have been wondering how the hell did he do that. And do I really want to go find that West Side Story album now? Can't believe that's a yes. Just based on what Steve says. Actually, it is kinda funny how he didn't mention the Alice Cooper connection with it.
This was almost spooky. When the video started, I asked myself what would I show if they asked me my Top 5 vinyl albums. There was only a handful of records that my father would play, he wasn't a big collector but he loved music, and one of them was West Side Story, the motion picture soundtrack. So, here I am, thinking... "well, I couldn't pick any rock album, 'cause we didn't have any, but I loved Cabaret and West Side Story"... and Steve Vai, of all people, takes West Side Story out of that bag. The SAME record (with Marnie Nixon "secretly" dubbing Natalie Wood for the songs). Quite incredible.
6:30 am here in UK. Billion Dollar Babies had some brilliant singing and music on it. The band of musicians he was working with were perfect for that music being written. ‘Hello Hooray’ with ‘God I feel so Strong’ is one of the most exhilarating vocals in Rock History,,,’Elected’ one of the most thunderous power rock deliveries ever…but for me the themes in that album were just so horrible and twisted that they really traumatised me,even though they were ‘tongue in cheek’ delivered they were just too psychologically disturbing. Which kind of spoilt it for me as a sensitive teen…It’s hard to appreciate great music when the horror of the themes and lyrics turns your blood to liquid helium….You can clearly see how Mr. Vincent’s lyrics influenced Mr. Vai’s more sadistic lyrics just as a Frank Z influenced his humour in his orchestrations. Bowie was a genius as a writer and conceptual visualist who just kept re-inventing himself from one album to the next….again, the musicians he worked with then were perfect for what he was expressing. Frank was just comic bonkers though this story means I now won’t be eating breakfast ..😳🤢He could send up other musicians and genres with such hilarity that you would be falling off your chair. Working with Frank must have been a startling but never a dull moment experience. He made other players play stuff they never believed they could play. He was a catalyst for their evolution. I remember the West Side story soundtrack. Still have the vinyl….Remember all the lyrics . Heard it before I saw the movie…I remember hurting my fingers doing the thumbclicks clicks….My parents bought the record too. And I loved pronouncing the word ‘distoubed’ …lol… Led Zep ? …omg…..the thunder of Physical Graffiti and The Song Remains the Same ….Remember the artwork on Physical Graffiti ?? ……..very interesting analysis…. Thanks for this….(Paul)
I heard that Zappa shit eating rumor when I was young. Edit: I had the same experience as Steve. When I was 4 or 5, I was listening to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack over, and over, and over. I did the same with old Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Beatles, etc. 45's on my Mickey Mouse record player. Inspiring times!
Strange how Steve, being a guitarist, didn't mention the outstanding performance by the brilliant guitarist team Hunter and Wagner when talking about the Billion Dollar Babies album, otherwise an enjoyable interview.
You forgot to mention Steve also played with Alcatrazz and Graham Bonnet replacing Yngwie Malmsteen , the GTA Vice city song God Blessed Video was their biggest hit and was on MTV in 1985 i believe ?
Saw Steve last week with the Beat tour. Mad respect for him stepping into that band and that music. Transcribes and plays for Frank Zappa as a teenager. Replaces Yngwie in Alcatrazz. Steps into Whitesnake. Steps into Eddie’s shoes with Dave. Plays with a string of luminaries from a variety of genres. Releases several solo albums. Discovers Devin Townsend. Steps into Fripp’s shoes in King Crimson. Pioneers several guitars and guitar amplification. Through it all remains humble and human. Legend.
Well said
@@daviddevilliers2828 I mistakenly assumed he was just a shredder until I read about the Beat tour and saw Fripps's comments, then saw an interview with Steve where he discussed learning the parts by giving them his own spin. I saw King Crimson in 1973, 1983, 1995, 2001, 2017, and 2021. Then.... I saw the Beat tour in Charlotte last month. Wow. Just wow. Steve is a genius and plays with so much styel and panache. It is amazing how he can stay true to the spirit of hat Fripp wrote yet make it his own. Also big props to Danny Carey. He has gone straight onto my list of five favorite drummers (along with Billy Cobham, Mitch Mitchell, Bill Bruford, and Elvin Jones.)
The Beat tour? Is that members from king crimson?
@ he is Music, simply, a great master, humble man and last but not least so so funny on stage
I don’t know if he is funny with beat tour, but with his own tour, he is
@@DannyHood-j Well its Belew and Tony Levin, with Vai and Toney Carey the drummer of Tool. Playing "The Primary Color Albums". I believe Adrian Belew who came up with the idea with Fripp's approval.
Wasn't able to go but LOTS of video here at Yt of tracks and the whole show! Its ASTOUNDING.
I was so interested to see this video but I couldn't enjoy a second of it because there's music and sound effects blasting constantly.
It’s brutal!
Agree that it´s too much and distracting.
Quick snips of music from album to avoid having to pay copyright 😉
Its an endurance, And music that's a lot worse, than the people plugging it are aware
didnt even notice, great insight from the MAN
One of the best things I remember about buying vinyl albums was the smell. For whatever reason, vinyl records had this intoxicating air to them. Every time I see a Jimi Hendrix, or, Led Zeppelin vinyl album. I think of that smell, and it just brings me back, like a time machine, to that day I first peeled off the plastic seal, opened that artistically printed record jacket, and caught a whiff of that vinyl before I put it on the turn table and dropped that arm. With that analogue sound through stereo speakers... You just felt like you were right there in the middle of the room with the band, as they performed each song at their best. A beautiful thing people today, and forever, will never experience. That vibrant analogue sound, and that smell of new vinyl.
Still have my original Freak Out album given as a Christmas present by my parents in 1966. It is in excellent condition and still listen to it. Miss Frank!
Your Parents got you Freak Out as a Xmas gift???? Must have had the Coolest Parents Ever!! ...lol...
Great concept for a video series but there's no need to finish somebody like Steve Vai's sentences and god, the music playing underneath is unbearable.
I agree. Putting music, any music at all, behind people talking is nothing but the editor showing off.
Agree about the music but all editors now seem to think you need a ‘bed’ to avoid dead space. I disagree about finishing sentences - I think this is typical of a more conversational style of interview and maintains the flow.
I don’t get why the cigar toad voice had to keep croaking out “yep”
@@michaelb9537 It's a dude bro thing.
@@zandel_zandel OP was not complaining about the quality of the audio. Rather, it's the selection of music and the interaction of the interviewer. And I agree.
I don’t know too much about Steve Vai but what an intelligent and sensitive insight into a life appreciating and making music.
Steve Vai nailed it with that description of Frank’s approach to musicians
And food at the holiday inn
@@donbacon191I am from Finland what's about Holiday inn food 🤔?
@kipponi zappas response "closest I have come to eating s**t is at a holiday in"
Saw Mothers of Invention in 1967 at the Town Hall in NYC. Awesome, awesome show. Thank you Susie Creamcheese.
Steve Vai is a wonderful guitar player. Even better human being.
as a songwriter, this makes me respect and admire Steve even more. sooooo many musicians don't give a rat's taint about lyrics and will sometimes tell you that. here comes Steve Vail, ,like a hurricane. pointing straight to the lyrics on those records and explaining why they are important. massive respect to you, fella. and btw, i saw the Beat tour last week in Chicago at Copernicus Center and it was ace. so glad i flew there from omaha to witness it
Alice Cooper - Billion Dollar Babies
David Bowie - Ziggy Stardust
Frank Zappa - Freak Out
Various - Soundtrack to West Side Story
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III
LZ 3 is his favorite LZ album?
That's surprising
He said LZ2 but shows LZ3. So LZ2 is the one3 he chose.
@@Winterstick549 Because it's not true. Did you watch the video?
My cousin is a funk-rock drummer, and it's his fave too! 🤷🏼♂️@@Winterstick549
Yes LII was his favourite album.
Right off the bat pulls out Billion dollar babies...Steve just constantly reminds me why i love him \m/
Three out of the five started my record collection and made me get a guitar for life.
Make the background music louder! It's so COOL!!! Mix it much louder!!! WAY more! In fact play two or three different background music tracks simultaneously!!!
YES!
Generic rock/rock is my favourite/favourite genre.
And make it even more disconnected to the music the guest is talking about if possible!
LOL
Sarcasm at its best😂
Thank you for this wonderful interview with Steve Vai!!!😎🎸😎🎶🎶 I really enjoyed it and look forward to more interviews!😍🤗🎶🎶👍👍👍
Steve has always been so so much more than just a wild guitarist. Been inspiring me since 1990 or thereabouts. Infinite respect and thank you so much for enriching my life!
Steve really inspired me. And all of those albums #1. Steve you are the greatest teacher and one of the best guitarists 😊
more background music please!! I was able to focus on a couple of sentences, so it was not loud enough
Fascinating. I also love all those albums. What a great guy.
Cool interview, thanks for posting. Steve Vai is the man! One little gripe though - the background music could be a little quieter or at least has instrumentation that isn't in the same range as the human voice. @ Patrick Shevelin - Let's hear what Steve has to say - not so much the background music! 😉🙏
As someone who was never touched by Steve Vai's music I thought this was an awesome and insightful interview. Thank you!
Steve is the coolest!!
Amazing versatility. He recorded with John Lydon and PIL - listen to the track "Ease". Staggering.
He's the guitarist on the entire album and is ripping leads throughout!
Got to see Vai perform live for the first time with the King Crimson tour this year. Such a cool and talented guy. It was cool to see him put his own personal spin on other's music.
This was great, thanks🎼🤘🏻
(Trying not to sound like an old fart but…) Today kids don’t get just what an amazing experience record albums were. The outer artwork. Inside, the liner notes. The pics of the band. The printed lyrics so we could sing along. Notes about the album. The names of the people who played on it (which we memorized). And then… the music itself. It was a complete experience! I miss those days.
Watch the interview of Rick Beato and Rick Wakeman (Yes), Wakeman talks about that and some cool "ideas", toward the end.
They (today's kids) would get it, if it were not for the internet. Thanks to the internet on their phones "everything" is within their grasp and they can only spend a few seconds of attention to one thing before skipping over to the next thing. Hence why TikTok is so popular, ultra short movies/clips of something and then bam there's the next clip already.
@@Frankonero12 "I love this song!"- proceeds to play 7 seconds of it and skip to the next thing
And also... records were BIG! You could hold them in two hands! And hold it out and look at it, unlike phones today that we (old farts lol) hold close to our eyes so we can see them. I even had a few brave friends who would nail them to the walls of their rooms. (I didn't dare desecrate the albums like that, but to each their own, right?)
This is WAY Better than the typical show you see on AXS TV... I MUCH prefer this interview style to the original show, where they shop for the LP's - and get no opportunity to actually talk about their choices... Much Better!!!
Seriously the best choices. Billion Dollar Babies is one of the best, most original rock albums of all time. Alice Cooper was a great band that loved to experiment, and they built songs with great hooks and theatrics in mind. Every album the band wrote had a track that would become the new showpiece for live performance on the new tour (Halo of Flies, Ballad of Dwight Fry, I Love the Dead, Black Juju, Hard Hearted Alice, Lay Down and Die Goodbye). They are one of the most underrated bands for their contributions to rock music because the theatrics become more of what they were remembered for.
Muscle of Love is my #1 Alice
I’m with your brother and I like that song on schools out even Looney Tunes
Steve is so chill, so knowledgeable. I love watching interviews with him. His learning philosophies and his statements on the value of music are always welcome.
Great interview, I'm older than him but all those albums are great and they showed the way to a ton of Artists....
Seen Vai at the Palace in stkilda Australia. Best show ever!❤❤❤
Love Vai. So modest and talented. Melody says it all !!!! ❤❤❤
I've never been a Steve Vai fan, and that's not likely to change... that said, we share our taste in music, and I love how impassioned and articulate he is here. Thanks for posting this.
FREAK OUT IN 1966 at the age of 12, BLEW ME AWAY !!!
I KNEW RIGHT THEN, FRANK WAS SOMEONE TO LISTEN TO WHENEVER HE RELEASED A NEW ALBUM !!! I HAVE THEM ALL !!! ALMOST 129 minus the Vinyl Masters Box Sets
Excellent interview and a different lens on Vai's music heritage.
I really enjoyed this presentation...It's great to hear what inspired Steve and at such a young age. I've been a fan of his since Crossroads. I could go on and on....Peace, Love and Good Happiness Stuff
I love Steve! I had the pleasure of meeting him at Bodhi Tree in the '90's. What a charming man. Of course I became aware of his work via Zappa. I'm a lifelong Frank fan. Before watching this I had no idea he was a Mick Ronson fan. Mind blowing! I've loved Ronson forever! Original Alice Cooper Group?!? Hell yes. I still listen them all the time. Great episode!
Just went to see Vai "be" Robert Fripp for a night. When Levin and Belew are glancing at you and shaking their heads, you're pretty good.
Great tour. We just saw a couple of the Beat shows last weekend. So great to see him and Adrian together again.
@Naniamania3 Good for you - a rare opportunity. At one point I was mesmerized by Danny Carey, and thought, I haven't looked at Tony Levin for a while. He was playing the keyboard and the Chapman Stick and singing. And they're just the rhythm section.
@@danmayberry1185 we got tickets in the balcony at both shows intentionally to see everything. All 4 were just incredible. I hope they do a live release.
My top 5 vinyl:
Blonde On Blonde - Dylan - I ended up listening to this album all night on a heavy acid trip after seeing Dylan in concert, I still cant listen to Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands without feeling deep emotion, when I got the vinyl i never played that side
Electric Ladyland - Hendrix - I used to put this on before sex, Hendrix sounds wild and free, and the gods made love
Ziggy Stardust - Bowie - Every song on this album is amazing, very well produced, the first album Bowie produced himself, it tells a story
Dark Side Of The Moon - Pink Floyd - This album is a religous experience, it could have started a cult, maybe it did, the album represents life, death, and beyond
American Beauty - Grateful Dead - Another fantastic collection of songs that has amazing quality from beginning to end
Dylan on trip? Dylan and all of his mindblowing *checks notes*... ummm. Dylan is like the least trippy thing I can think of. LOL. I'm stuck on this
@colinburroughs9871 I am not exaggerating when I say it changed my life. I started writing songs because of that show. Amazing album, Dylan is great on a trip
I remember that Zappa rumour when I first heard it as a kid - I’m from Ireland! It’s amazing how far BS travels. Great selection of records - I’d expect nothing less from Mr V 👏👏😬
All fabulous choices. LZ III and Santana Abraxas were the first rock cassette tapes I ever bought.
Ziggy if groundbreaking.
Lenny, Stephen, and WSS are part of the very fabric of America!
Alice...what can you say!?!
"Overnight Sensation" was when I discovered FZ, and all I can say is I really feel sorry for folks who don't get Frank.
Man.... I love this dude. Always have.
I find it interesting that he decided to go mostly with the records that influenced him at a very young age. I would have gone with the music I started discovering around age 18 (born 1961) and later. But I have to say, the Led Zep II was HUGE for me when I was 12 years old, and it did make me want to play music, and I did.
My older sister had the Zep II sitting on her shitty stereo, and there was an ash tray of smoked cigarettes. So, I sat there smoking the cigs that had a little left to smoke and listening to that album... and when Heartbreaker came on ... and that distorted bass of JPJ playing the root/fifth chord... it was just amazing. I am a bass player, so JPJ was my first bass hero.
Music was so good back then. It still is now, but those times were magical.
The Holiday Inn was in Fayetteville, NC. Just want to get it right. I love that Evel Knievel Bally.
Such a fantastic interview.
Yep, yep, yeah.
I love that he bought that Zappa-record only because of the cover, I did this too a few times, and was never disappointed!
I could listen to Steve talk for hours.
Not that host tho.Pls do your show so that clown can pack up.
*_Jack Butler...,the Devil's axe slinger!_*
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You are responding "yep, yeah" every two words, makes me anxious. Like Stone Cold Austin does to Vince mcMahon at that reel!
A good way to gauge the respect Vai has for the people who inspired him is another video here on YT, where Glenn Buxton from the original Alice Cooper Group, is doing a local cable show interview backstage of Steve at one of his shows, and Steve is so overwhelmed that he turns it around and interviews Glen...
Steve speaks with a lot of passion, and equally a true musician who is master of his craft. Steve selecting a Zappa album goes without saying, but going for the wonderful musical of West Side Story just shows how eclectic he is in his appriciation of music. Nice one Steve.
Led Zep III was my first Zep album, got hooked immediately
I can't play like Steve but the second Led Zeppelin album got me playing too
I wouldn't worry. Nobody can play like Steve!
Hey me too. Still trying to play the riffs on lz2
I'm 4 years younger than Vai, but we have so many parallel early musical experiences. My older sister's copy of Billion Dollar Babies changed my life and supplanted Elton John's Yellow Brick Road in my little kid world. Steve is spot-on regarding the quality of melodic content on that album... and plus I loved the Boa Constrictor in the photos.
My folks also brought home West Side Story when I was very young, and I remember hearing and being intrigued by it ("Officer Krupke!" resonated often in our 1970s living room) but was unable to truly grasp the genius of Bernstein untli later in life. The Overture to Candide has long been my single favorite orchestral composition. Zeppelin III is another LP that had a huge impact on me, and I actually prefer its weirdness over Zep II's raw energy.
Me and steve vai have a lot more in common than i thought!🤘🏼
I was a kid when I first saw the movie of West Side Story. It's been my favorite musical ever since. Love it. Zappa and Sondheim. love it!
Nice to hear Steve Vai describing with so much emotion about those records. I am surprise though about his choice of West Side Sory. I will definetly listen to this record with more detail - and maybe to watch the movie :) Thanks for the invterview, great job mate.
Awesome album picks. Steve always the coolest guy in the room
Watching this video makes me miss EVH... I think of what could be. Vai is so youthful. EVH was taken too early.
Some prized pieces in my vinyl collection are the original black&purple cover of Vai's "Flexible" and the matching 10" "Leftovers" EP. ☮💜🎶
Steve looks like Hugh Hefner. Such an amazing 🎸
I have mad respect for Steve, have seen him a few times and of course I know he's a genius! With all his talent I just wonder why he hasn't yet gotten some young talented fellas to create a rock bombastic group to rule the world, like Zeppelin did.
Inviolate, Sex and Religion, Steve Vai Live Around the World, Passion and Warfare are some of my favorite albums. Thank you Steve Vai.
proud to say that I have all these same records for many of the same reasons, too!
I also bought Freak Out when it came out ! I was 14 then...I need to revisit it!
First time I heard of Steve Vai was at Tinseltown Rebellion (Frank Zappa). Bamboozled by Love 👍
The first three records Steve pulles out I do own myself, great choices. Ziggy I often play in tandem with Lou Reed Transformer (also with Bowie on vocals). West Side Story I got the Blue Ray (Spielberg). LZ III I do not own but a double album Mothership with my fav LZ song When the Levee Breaks (Bonham pounding the drums...and the harmonica kicking in 😮...).
I spread some Frank Zappa to people at work and friends, and since then they just can't stop listening to Zappa records lol. Not quite a hidden gem, but once you actually start listening to Zappa you can't stop diving deeper. His guitar tone is also one of the best
I was never a fan of Steve's playing, but I have to say this podcast made me like the guy.
You gotta learn to not interrupt.
Yep! Yeah! YEAH.
I really really don't wanna be mean or something but honestly seeing this video helped me understand why Rick Beato deserves his sucess right now
Great Interview about Records! 🤘👽👽👽🤙
"Everybody knows what they like, but sometimes they feel guilty enjoying it" :)
Somebody know where is this Located this vinyl store?
Steve Vai seems to be a very relaxed and nice guy 👌
Vai's great; even though he's one of the most jaw-droppingly virtuosic players on Earth he's always been about the music as a whole, not just a background for his solos. He had a column in one of the guitar magazines in the '80s and when everyone else was writing about speed and chops he was about finding your strengths and playing to them and really getting inside the music with little emphasis on technical stuff. I'm not crazy about blazing guitar solos all the time, but Vai really stands out among the shredders and seems like a pretty swell guy to boot
Back in the day when I saw him in The movie Crossroads, I had no knowledge of him but instantly knew that he is a serious bad ass. Been a fan ever since. I need to listen to every record he is taking about.
Thank you. Big fan.
cool to hear props to Mick Ronson from Vai. Randy Rhoads also loved Ronson.
Freak out was the Zappa Album I first heard as a early teen..Help I'm a Rock fast became my favorite song for a long time..especially with my friends at school..we would goof around and sing it during PE
Eric, just saw you a few times on a crazy fishing show ... didn't know you had such a sophisticated music knowledge ...
Love this but we don't need the stock background music whilst listening to great stories about these legends
Steve's a difficult interview. Clearly, Eric wasn't comfortable here or at least appeared to not understand or to be able to effectively expand on Steve's statements. Surprising memories from Vai. Nothing about great guitar playing or pure musician stuff until the Zep album. His inspiration was drawn from other areas. Thanks for sharing, Eric.
One of the times I went to a Vai concert, Hendrix was being played beforehand. I remember thinking: there's only few guitarists who dare to have this music played before coming up onto the stage.
This interviewer is exceptional. Lets Steve speak, prompts just enough, very subtle. Very good.
Yes, yep, yep, yep, yep , yep, yes, yes, yes, yes
I believe he used to be a professional wrestler
Back in 1988 Steve vai’s # 1 album (out of 5 favorite albums) poll in Magazine guitar for practicing musician”) I forget which album but it was Jimi Hendrix. There were 20 other guitarist if I’m NOT mistaken 18 out of 20 guitarist all picked Jimi Hendrix albums as favorites #1 out of five records. Only one guitarist chose Axis bold as love’ of all figures Joe satrian. Three Jimi Hendrix albums out of five favorites records were on satriani favorites Top 3 picks were Jimi Hendrix. This is back when I was watching star licks micheal Angelo first vid. NOT speed kills that’s 1991 his first star licks released 87,or 88? Nothing Micheal plays on his first video is in one key. The licks played by themselves without rhythm tracks sound out of key. Not entirely
Frank agreed to take less royalties to get the double album released. It's stellar, go and burn it into your brain. Some of the stuff that Steve did with Frank was so sublime, never to be equaled. I'm a Zappafile, know it all, and one of my favorite discs of Zappa's is the bootleg As An Am, a lo-fi Halloween concert broadcast on MTV. The Black Page #2, Black Napkins, The Torture never stops, just amazing. Steve loves to talk about Frank, go search it out on UA-cam, great stuff. I just love his 5 picks. All Zeppelin is burned into my brain as well, and ZIggy Stardust is such a good record. It's interesting the Zappa connection to two of these artists - Frank kind of discovered Alice Cooper, and was going to produce him, but they didn't like the off-beat direction he was taking. David Bowie, whose music I love, poached Frank's guitar player at the time, Adrian Belew, who Frank had taken under his wing and nurtured all of his talent and made him into who he was to become. Kind of a betrayal if you ask me. BTW, Steve Vai's Flexible is one of the great works of art of the 20th century, it's worth knowing.
I love Steve Vai, but the pinball music was driving me nuts. I had to bail. Do you have a version of this without the pinball noises?
Liked it. Very nice and interesting explanations by Steve. Great picks. The music in the background is terrible and distracting. People with hearing issues have difficulties with it. I used subtitle.
These choices explain a lot.
Ive Have Done Work For Dave Bowie For 25 Year Davie was a Good friend of Mine With Dave Passed away It Did A Number On Me I Miss My Frind RIP David You Dont Have No Pain No More Your In A Better Place
Can't believe he just whips out 3 of my favorite albums as a kid. And he nails it when saying about how the innocence of being a kid would absorbing the things around you. That's exactly what I felt like growing up. And it's still there. I don't listen to anything new new. But when I hear good music. I know what it is. I will always pick the underdog over the top sellers. Just because the underdogs always have the better sounds and stories. And if he pulled out Sheik Yerbouti instead, omfg. I would have been wondering how the hell did he do that. And do I really want to go find that West Side Story album now? Can't believe that's a yes. Just based on what Steve says. Actually, it is kinda funny how he didn't mention the Alice Cooper connection with it.
...by the way, whats playing here...? 10:31
This was almost spooky. When the video started, I asked myself what would I show if they asked me my Top 5 vinyl albums. There was only a handful of records that my father would play, he wasn't a big collector but he loved music, and one of them was West Side Story, the motion picture soundtrack. So, here I am, thinking... "well, I couldn't pick any rock album, 'cause we didn't have any, but I loved Cabaret and West Side Story"... and Steve Vai, of all people, takes West Side Story out of that bag. The SAME record (with Marnie Nixon "secretly" dubbing Natalie Wood for the songs). Quite incredible.
6:30 am here in UK. Billion Dollar Babies had some brilliant singing and music on it. The band of musicians he was working with were perfect for that music being written. ‘Hello Hooray’ with ‘God I feel so Strong’ is one of the most exhilarating vocals in Rock History,,,’Elected’ one of the most thunderous power rock deliveries ever…but for me the themes in that album were just so horrible and twisted that they really traumatised me,even though they were ‘tongue in cheek’ delivered they were just too psychologically disturbing. Which kind of spoilt it for me as a sensitive teen…It’s hard to appreciate great music when the horror of the themes and lyrics turns your blood to liquid helium….You can clearly see how Mr. Vincent’s lyrics influenced Mr. Vai’s more sadistic lyrics just as a Frank Z influenced his humour in his orchestrations. Bowie was a genius as a writer and conceptual visualist who just kept re-inventing himself from one album to the next….again, the musicians he worked with then were perfect for what he was expressing. Frank was just comic bonkers though this story means I now won’t be eating breakfast ..😳🤢He could send up other musicians and genres with such hilarity that you would be falling off your chair. Working with Frank must have been a startling but never a dull moment experience. He made other players play stuff they never believed they could play. He was a catalyst for their evolution. I remember the West Side story soundtrack. Still have the vinyl….Remember all the lyrics . Heard it before I saw the movie…I remember hurting my fingers doing the thumbclicks clicks….My parents bought the record too. And I loved pronouncing the word ‘distoubed’ …lol… Led Zep ? …omg…..the thunder of Physical Graffiti and The Song Remains the Same ….Remember the artwork on Physical Graffiti ?? ……..very interesting analysis…. Thanks for this….(Paul)
Not the biggest Vie fan, but that was a great top 5.
I heard that Zappa shit eating rumor when I was young.
Edit: I had the same experience as Steve. When I was 4 or 5, I was listening to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack over, and over, and over. I did the same with old Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, Beatles, etc. 45's on my Mickey Mouse record player. Inspiring times!
Great episode. Very surprising that Are You Experienced wasn't on his list.👍
Steve Vai keeps a sixth finger in his pocket, just in case.😮😎🎸
Strange how Steve, being a guitarist, didn't mention the outstanding performance by the brilliant guitarist team Hunter and Wagner when talking about the Billion Dollar Babies album, otherwise an enjoyable interview.
You forgot to mention Steve also played with Alcatrazz and Graham Bonnet replacing Yngwie Malmsteen , the GTA Vice city song God Blessed Video was their biggest hit and was on MTV in 1985 i believe ?