Steve Vai Anthology CD

Personnel includes: Steve Vai (acoustic & electric guitars, guitar, keyboards, bass, programming); T. M. Stevens (vocals, bass); Devin Townsend, David Coverdale (vocals); Mike Keneally (guitar, keyboards); David Weiner (guitar); Stuart Hamm, Philip Bynoe, Bryan Beller, John Sergio (bass); Terry Bozio (drums, percussion); Chris Frazier, Mike Mangini (drums).
Producers: Steve Vai.
Compilation producer: Jeff Magid.
Includes liner notes by Jon Wiederhorn.
Personnel: Steve Vai (guitar, acoustic guitar, sitar, keyboards, synthesizer, drum machine, drum programming); David Coverdale, Devin Townsend, Glenn Hughes, T.M. Stevens, Tommy Funderburk (vocals); Dave Weiner (guitar, sitar); Mike Keneally (guitar, keyboards); Larry Crane (lyre); Greg Degler (flute, clarinet); Tommy Mars (organ); Claude Gaudette, Eric Goldberg, David Rosenthal, Don Airey, Bob Harris (keyboards); Peggy Foster (fretless bass); Terry Bozzio (drums, percussion); Deen Castronovo, Gregg Bissonette, Mike Mangini , Tommy Aldridge, Tris Imboden, Chris Frazier (drums); Pete Zeldman (percussion); Kimberly Evans, Miroslava Mendoza Escriba, Tracey Lewis, C.C. White (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Eddie Kramer; Steve Vai.
Liner Note Author: Jon Wiederhorn.
Recording information: Cherokee Studios, Hollywood, CA (1984-2002); Fix Club, Thessaloniki, Greece (1984-2002); Grand Rex, Buenos Aires, Argentina (1984-2002); La Riviera, Madrid, Spain (1984-2002); Los Angeles, CA (1984-2002); Skyline Studios, Topanga, CA (1984-2002); Stucco Blue Studios (1984-2002); The Mothership, Los Angeles, CA (1984-2002); The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA (1984-2002); Westwind Media, Burbank, CA (1984-2002).
Photographers: Rocky Schenck; Neil Zlozower.
This 2003 two-disc set offers up a generous sampling of Steve Vai tracks, focusing most sharply on the revered hard-rock guitarist's mid-to-late-1990s material. Highlights of the collection include "The Animal," a stomping metal number, and the emotive "For the Love of God," as well as the dynamic "Fire Garden Suite." While diehard Vai fans will likely own most songs on this compilation, ANTHOLOGY serves as a commendable, if slightly daunting, introduction to the amiable and inventive six-string hero.
Steve Vai played with a wide variety of acts during the '80s -- Frank Zappa, David Lee Roth, John Lydon's PIL, and Whitesnake, among others -- as he became one of rock's most sought-after hired guns. In addition, Vai launched his own solo career, which come the '90s would be his sole career focus. The 2003 double-disc set Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology is comprised almost entirely of Vai's solo work (save for a Whitesnake song, "Kitten's Got Claws," and one by the obscure outfit Alcatrazz, "Lighter Shade of Green"). While most "guitar shredders" got a bad rap come the '90s, Vai was always an exception to the rule -- there's no secret that Vai was one of the most technically accomplished guitarists in all of rock, but he always knew to put songwriting before soloing (something that most of the other guitarists of the era failed to do), and inject his wacky sense of humor into his playing. If you're unfamiliar with Vai's work, go straight to the tracks from his first two solo releases, 1984's Flex-Able and 1990's Passion and Warfare, especially such ditties as "The Attitude Song," "For the Love of God," "The Animal," and the very Zappa-ish "Salamanders in the Sun." One complaint about Infinite Steve Vai is that the latter-day tracks far outweigh his superior earlier material -- tracks such as "Bad Horsie" and "Frank" are worthy, but there are several tracks that unquestionably should have been included ("Call It Sleep," "Erotic Nightmares," "Sisters," and Vai's sole solo MTV hit, "The Audience Is Listening"), while another criticism is that no Roth, Zappa, or PIL tracks are featured. Still, Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology by and large serves as both a solid career overview and introduction to this one-of-a-kind guitarist