Steve Vai - Flex-Able

[Project C]

I first discovered Steve Vai when I heard Zappa's "You are what you is", and so got "Flex-Able" when it came out in 1984 after hearing "The Attitude Song" on a flexi disc with Guitarist magazine.

I've probably not listened to "Flex-Able" for years if not decades and in my quest to obtain digital copies of vinyl stuff I've now had a chance to listen to this again - and blown away again! I didn't like his later shred stuff so lost touch of him. "call it sleep" is my stand out track mixing shred stuff with controlled almost minimalistic playing.

[Mastodon2]

Steve Vai did shred?

[Baryonyx]

Flex-Able had a couple of good tunes on it (and Stuart Hamm playing some bass too IIRC). Things like the Girl/Boy Song and Viv Woman were great but there were plenty of naff tunes on there too. Not a patch on his later stuff like Passion and Warfare.

[Nom de ploom]

I'm inclined to agree.

Flex-able suffers from the lame production it sounds empty.

I think its over twiddly and lacks the melodic depth of the later stuff, although after Fire Garden I confess to have gone off Vai. He's become more of a composer now as opposed to outright guitar hero stuff...

Live at the Astoria is a must though

[Malam]

I love Flex-Able. It's one of my all time favourite guitar albums and probably my favourite Vai album next to Sex & Religion.

[AdeTuono]

Malam said:

I love Flex-Able. It's one of my all time favourite guitar albums and probably my favourite Vai album next to Sex & Religion.

Ditto; there's also Flex-able Leftovers, which you'd expect to be the dross left over (sic) from the original, but it has 'F*ck Yourself' on it, one of his better moments (IMO), and very much in the style of Zappa.