European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Steve Vail a passion for White Snake guitarist Steve Vail a Solo album a passion and warfare Quot soared unexpectedly in to the top 20. A by . Considine Baltimore Sun a some Rock musicians see inevitable. Others. Take it As their due but for Whitesnake guitarist Steve Vai whose Solo a bum passion and warfare sailed suddenly and unexpectedly into the top 20, Success seems mostly a matter of perseverance. Unlike the Tough and tuneful hard Rock he plays with Whitesnake the music on passion and warfare is diffuse even difficult at times. In addition to the sort of Fleet fingered rockers you would expect of a guitar god there Are Funky fusion tunes the animal quietly Beautiful ballads for the love of god even a few flings with sonic experimentation alien water kiss. It is a guitar maniacs dream album no doubt about it. But Are there really that Many guitar maniacs out there even Vai found himself wondering Why so Many people were buying his album Quot i sign albums for 15-year-old girls 1 he says Over the phone from his parents Home in new Yorkus Long Island. Quot and i quiz them too. I say a did you really like this album a and they say a yes i listen to it a so i Start quizzing them on the album just to see if they re not pulling my leg and they know the record.11 Vai does have a few theories though to explain How his album took off he Way it did. Quot i have a built in following Quot he says and though it sounds Ike boasting it is not. Ever since his Days with Frank Zappa Vai has had a cult following among the fret Board fanatics who subscribe to guitar player arid other instrument oriented magazines. But there Are also those whose first exposure to his turbocharged guitar technique came with Whitesnake or before that David Lee Roth a and those fans add up. Quot if you stay on alongside David Lee Roth and if you end up with 2 percent of his following that s a lot of people. It s the same thing with All the other people i be worked with you add that up and you be got enough people to go out and buy a record. And if the records Good they say a hey this is great and the word of Mouth spreads. Quot to think that explains the initial sales. But once people heard it they realized that its not just a regular guitar Solo album. It s got depth to it. F really took chances but it s accessible. It s a very different album. Quot i m not saying its better or worse than anything else that a out there a he adds Quot in a just saying its extremely different. People Arentt As dumb As i think they re made out to be Wilh their musical that is a particular Point of Pride for Vai because passion and warfare was originally deemed too non commercial by the Label which had commissioned it Quot i was originally signed to do a Soto record for Capitol records a he explains that was years ago and it kept getting pushed off because of my engagement with David Lee Roth. When it finally came time for me to do it i told the Label what j wanted to do they approved it and signed a . Part of the deaf was that Vai would get no Money up front but neither would he be saddled with a company chosen producer or production schedule. A i needed my Freedom to make this Type of a record Quot he says Quot because records like this Arentt made with record company execs breathing Down your Back. Quot so i made the record myself and paid for it myself. But when it came time for what s not record a Revi Wallman Brothers band a seven turns the Allman Brothers bands new album seven turns is a delightful trip through the South s musical past. It is the band s first studio release in nine years. The Brothers at their Best have always been a Southern blues band improvising within the 12-bar blues progressions of Elmore James and a h at Robert Johnson. This v v i i i o album shows the Brothers reaching Back not Only to their past after All they be been around since 1969but also into the musical history of this albums Best example is Low Down dirty moan which opens with Dieky Betts and now guitarist Warren Haynes trading slide guitar licks using a Standard Delta blues phrase with Gregg Allman s growling vocals Laid lightly on top. The whole band then swings in As the song changes time and becomes a Rocker showing just How closely related Rock a Quot Roll and the blues really Are before winding Down again with Betts and Haynes trading Guilar licks it s Groat stuff a Standard country blues made fresh and sounding As powerful As the originals. Good clean fun getting some radio airplay on album oriented Rock stations is a paean to bluesman James. The song has the same feel As James 1930s Rocker did somebody wrong which the band recorded in 1971 at Fillmore East. Allman s vocals Are the Strong Point Here and he has never sounded Grittier. Seven turns the album s title Sang sounds As if it was written by Betts though All the compositions on the album Are credited to the band As a whole. This is a country influenced Ballad a As Are most of betts1 tunes a and his vocals give the song a Mournful country twang. Again the song is rooted in the South s musical past this time harking Back to Bob wills and his Texas playboys who recorded country swing and ballads in the l40s and 50s. The Brothers version is As compelling As the original. The three new band members Haynes keyboardist Johnny Neel and bassist Allen Woody Are All accomplished soloists and bring additional Energy to the band s live show. Only Haynes is Given a Chance to step out on the album however and his loaded Dice a a blues Rocker in the tradition of Blind Willie Mctell and Granville a Slick Quot Mcgee a is a High Point. Haynes vocals Are less soulful perhaps than Allman a but his guitar work a especially the bottleneck slide a make comparisons to Duane Allman and his playing on the Fillmore East album at. Least not a Complete blasphemy. Neither Haynes nor Neel is afraid to step out in his solos and take Basic blues progressions to uncharted areas. Seven turns should do much to re establish the Allman Brothers band As a commercial commodity it is pleasantly iroc that this new Success should be achieved by a band whose music is so firmly rooted in the past. A David Bedingfield Cox news service cheap trick busted old bands Nover die they just fade away a until they eventually Start making stick Boring comeback albums. Not cheap tuck however. Instead of the usual prefab pop what this band offers with busted Are songs that recapture the sound and spirit of its earlier output. That is not to say they sound like throwbacks exactly can t Stop Failin into love for instance May have its roots in 70s Power pop but its sound is utterly up to Date while had to make you mine for All its beat esque harmonies still seems strikingly modern. But almost everything Here carries the same kick As the group s classic material from the dreamy walk away with its Chrissie Hynde Cameo to the Back to basics crunch of Rock n rot tonight. A . Considine Baltimore Sun Pat Metheny question and answer it is easy to get the wrong idea about Pat Metheny. Looking at Hiblong hair and rack of guitar synthesizers and digital effects he would seem to be just another Rock so hoofed fusion Star. But As question and answer a shows there is More to Metheny than meets the Eye. Working with drummer Roy Haynes and bassist Dave Holland Metheny takes a doggedly traditional approach in his playing listen past the electronics and his playing actually recalls the work of mainstream players like Grant Green. Yet As brilliantly As Metheny plays developing Long gracefully logical solos in chestnuts like solar and Oid folks the real Power Here lies with the rhythm Section whose prodding by supportive playing pushes Metheny to new Heights. A Collie Hardin county Lina. In theory country music is fairly simple stuff a just a Good Strong Melody a few Clever lyrics and a voice Clear enough to put the two across. In practice though keeping things that simple can be a fairly complicated proposition one few Young singers manage with the obvious ease of Mark Collie on Hardin county line. Obviously his song Ritmo ability is a considerable advantage particularly because colness lyrics Are witty enough to make the bikes of looks Aren t everything and something with a ring to it As much fun to read As to hear. But what ultimately makes this album Worth noting is the Way he delivers those lines for his dry to Angy voice and Taid Hack laconic phrasing provide the perfect vehicle for his material c ind the a Ole ave Leigh the Page 16 the stars and stripes monday August 6, 1990 of it in by this the Ime be Gan to
