{"id":21964,"date":"2012-09-10T11:07:03","date_gmt":"2012-09-10T16:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=21964"},"modified":"2013-02-05T16:27:10","modified_gmt":"2013-02-05T21:27:10","slug":"steve-vai-the-story-of-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2012\/steve-vai-the-story-of-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Steve Vai | The Story of Light<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai<\/span>
\n– Senior Columnist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"\"The gnawing question of what songwriting direction the ultimate guitar hero has been busy devising for himself for 7 years – while not releasing any new studio material – has finally been answered. Steve Vai\u2019s spanking new, lavishly liner-noted and illustrated CD has now hit the stores, and we suddenly learn that there is no new direction. The Story of Light<\/em> is all about same old-same old, telling us nothing new about Vai as a composer or a guitarist.<\/p>\n

All key traits and mannerisms of his musical character are reinstated on this release with all the familiar quirks and accents intact, only this time projecting a calmer and a more restrained mood. There is Vai\u2019s trademark penchant for pseudo-mystical theology as on the title track with its pronouncements about creation, its manifestations, and its essence recited in Russian over a Vangelis-meets-Yes pomp-rock arrangement. There is also his propensity for kooky traveling circus fun instilled in him by Zappa all those years ago, as well as his devotion to languid, confidential guitar intimations such as on \u201cCreamsicle Sunset\u201d and \u201cMullach a\u2019tS\u00ed\u201d. And then there is \u2013 of course \u2013 his love for swaggering rockers such as \u201cGravity Storm\u201d executed with that familiar decoy trick where he teeters on the verge of all-out rock n\u2019 roll abandon only to catch himself each time just before letting go, to turn the whole thing into a Mardi Gras masquerade. <\/p>\n

\u201cGravity Storm\u201d is to \u201cThe Audience is Listening\u201d what \u201cCreamsicle Sunset\u201d is to \u201cFeathers\u201d \u2013 minified, humbler stabs at conveying the same reality Vai used to be able to reveal so spectacularly in his prime. The cover of \u201cJohn the Revelator\u201d imitates Zappa\u2019s broad roots music brushstrokes, but \u2013 unlike his mentor \u2013 here Vai can\u2019t decide between self-irony and genuine warmth. <\/p>\n

But as if to prove that not everything on this record rehashes previous discoveries, prog-meets-pop Eighties-style schmaltz suddenly rears its head in the form of \u201cThe Moon and I\u201d \u2013 an extensive, hauntingly eerie guitar expedition blemished by a saccharine vocal melody courtesy of Vai himself. There are also gratuitous displays of dizzying guitars chops such as on the demo-like \u201cWeeping China Doll\u201d \u2013 the kind of showing-off Vai hasn\u2019t been known to indulge in before, simply because proofs of technical ability up until now have never been necessary. \u201cNo More Amsterdam\u201d is a slightly out-of-focus Bowie-esque melancholy ballad summarizing the listlessness of the second half of the record on par with \u201cSunshine Electric Drops\u201d that follows \u2013 another demo-like sketch conveying an inert, lukewarm atmosphere of an artist doing little apart from reiterating his own personal clich\u00e9s.
\nIt is unclear what kind of final proof Vai was seeking or presenting with this release. If it\u2019s the proof that he is still very much loved in the rock world, then no new album \u2013 no matter how bland or predictable \u2013 will ever diminish his status. If it\u2019s the proof of the fact that he can still write, then the new record shows that he still can, although he isn\u2019t telling us anything new. <\/p>\n

They say that opening new doors and moving on to new things requires curiosity, and curiosity \u2013 it now seems \u2013 is the ultimate (and forever elusive) holy grail for those who want to stay creative. Here it proves to be even more sacrosanct than theology, esotericism, and mysticism put together, whose alleviating answers are at times so tempting in comparison with the brutal truths contained in all true art. <\/p>\n

Genre: Hard Rock, Instrumental Rock, Progressive Rock<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1. The Story of Light
\n2. Velroum
\n3. John the Revelator
\n4. Book of the Seven Seals
\n5. Creamsicle Sunset
\n6. Gravity Storm
\n7. Mullach a\u2019tS\u00ed
\n8. The Moon and I
\n9. Weeping China Doll
\n10. Racing the World
\n11. No More Amsterdam
\n12. Sunshine Electric Raindrops<\/p>\n

Label: Favored Nations<\/p>\n

Web: www.vai.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 6\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Alissa Ordabai – Senior Columnist — The gnawing question of what songwriting direction the ultimate guitar hero has been busy devising for himself for 7 years – while not releasing any new studio material […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6772],"tags":[336,1057,1103,627,3456,334,340,5727],"class_list":{"0":"post-21964","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2012","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-favored-nations","9":"tag-hard-rock","10":"tag-instrumental-rock","11":"tag-progressive-rock","12":"tag-review","13":"tag-steve-vai","14":"tag-the-story-of-light"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21964"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21964\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}