| Alien Love Secrets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1995 [1] | |||
| Recorded | The Mothership Studio in Hollywood Hills | |||
| Genre | Instrumental rock | |||
| Length | 33:26 [2] | |||
| Label | Relativity | |||
| Producer | Steve Vai | |||
| Steve Vai chronology | ||||
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Alien Love Secrets is an EP by guitarist Steve Vai, released on March 21, 1995, through Relativity Records. The EP reached No. 125 on the U.S. Billboard 200 [3] and remained on that chart for two weeks, [4] as well as reaching No. 72 on the Dutch albums chart. [5]
Alien Love Secrets was written and recorded in less than six weeks as a stripped-down guitar, bass and drums record with minimal keyboards. According to Vai, he had wished to maintain a steady output of material following his 1993 album Sex & Religion , but the recording process for the 70+ minutes of his subsequent 1996 album Fire Garden was taking too long. The EP was therefore purposely released in anticipation of Fire Garden. [6] Stylistically Alien Love Secrets marks a return to the more familiar instrumental rock of Vai's 1990 album Passion and Warfare , following the highly mixed reception to Sex & Religion. [1]
Notable tracks include "Bad Horsie", which was derived from a riff played by Vai during the final scenes of the 1986 film Crossroads ; "Juice" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 PlayStation video game Formula 1 ; "Ya-Yo Gakk" is a call and response interplay with vocal recordings of Vai's young son Julian; "Tender Surrender", one of Vai's most popular songs, bases itself around a familiar sound, structure and tempo as Jimi Hendrix's "Villanova Junction" from his 1969 performance at Woodstock , although written in a different key; and "The Boy from Seattle", which is a tribute to Hendrix written by Vai.
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic gave Alien Love Secrets three stars out of five, calling it a "moodier, more atmospheric collection" than Passion and Warfare. He also praised his "fluid technique, which manages to never become completely mechanical." [1]
All music is composed by Steve Vai
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Horsie" | 5:51 |
| 2. | "Juice" | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Die to Live" | 3:53 |
| 4. | "The Boy from Seattle" | 5:03 |
| 5. | "Ya-Yo Gakk" | 2:52 |
| 6. | "Kill the Guy with the Ball"
| 7:02 |
| 7. | "Tender Surrender" | 5:01 |
| Total length: | 33:26 | |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Dutch albums chart | 72 [5] |
| Billboard 200 | 125 [3] |
Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes instrumental performance and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental music in rock can be found in practically every subgenre of the style. Instrumental rock was most popular from the mid-1950s to mid-1960s, with artists such as Bill Doggett Combo, The Fireballs, The Shadows, The Ventures, Johnny and the Hurricanes and The Spotnicks. Surf music had many instrumental songs. Many instrumental hits had roots from the R&B genre. The Allman Brothers Band feature several instrumentals. Jeff Beck also recorded two instrumental albums in the 1970s. Progressive rock and art rock performers of the late 1960s and early 1970s did many virtuosic instrumental performances.
Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for Frank Zappa, and played in Zappa's band from 1980 to 1983. He embarked on a solo career in 1983 and has released eight solo albums to date. He has recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, David Lee Roth, and Whitesnake, as well as recording with artists such as Public Image Ltd, Mary J. Blige, Spinal Tap, Alice Cooper, Motörhead, and Polyphia. Additionally, Vai has toured with live-only acts G3, Zappa Plays Zappa, and the Experience Hendrix Tour, as well as headlining international tours.
Fly Like an Eagle is the ninth studio album by American rock band Steve Miller Band, released in May 1976 by Capitol Records in the United States, Canada and Japan and Mercury Records in Europe.
Passion and Warfare is the second studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on May 22, 1990, through Relativity and Epic Records. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA.
Real Illusions: Reflections is the seventh studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on February 22, 2005, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 147 on the U.S. Billboard 200, as well as No. 88 on the Dutch albums chart and No. 110 on the French albums chart.
Sex & Religion is the third studio album by American guitarist Steve Vai, released under the band name "Vai" on July 23, 1993, through Relativity Records. It is known as the first major appearance of Devin Townsend, who performed vocals for the album and went on to fame with Devin Townsend Project and Strapping Young Lad. Townsend also co-wrote the tracks "Pig" and "Just Cartilage", the latter of which was only released as a bonus track in Japan. Vai also co-wrote "In My Dreams with You" with Desmond Child and Roger Greenawalt.
Fire Garden is the fourth studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on September 17, 1996, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 106 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries.
G3: Live in Concert is a live album and DVD by the G3 project, led by Joe Satriani. It was released in 1997 by Epic Records. This lineup of G3 includes Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson and Steve Vai. In 2005, a DVD of this concert was also released.
Crystal Planet is the seventh studio album by the guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998, by Epic Records. It was his first album to be released on Epic, whereas his previous six albums were released by Relativity Records. Crystal Planet reached No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for eight weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in five other countries. "Ceremony" was released as a single, reaching No. 28 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and featuring Satriani's first recorded use of a seven-string guitar, namely the Ibanez Universe. "A Train of Angels" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards, Satriani's ninth such nomination.
Hey Stoopid is the twelfth solo studio album by American rock singer Alice Cooper, released on July 2, 1991, by Epic Records. After his smash 1989 hit album Trash, Cooper attempted to continue his success with his follow-up album, which features guest performances from Lance Bulen, Slash, Ozzy Osbourne, Vinnie Moore, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Nikki Sixx and Mick Mars. Hey Stoopid was Cooper's last album to feature bassist Hugh McDonald before he joined Bon Jovi in 1994.
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Flex-Able Leftovers was a limited edition 10" vinyl EP by American composer and guitarist, Steve Vai. It was leftover material from the recordings done during the "Flex-Able" days and originally released in 1984. In this regard, it can be perceived as a supplement to the initial release of "Flex-Able". As in the case of the main album, "Flex-Able Leftovers" boast of a Zappa-based stylistic and musical influence.
Now is the third and final studio album by American country music singer Jessica Andrews. It was released on April 15, 2003. The single "There's More to Me Than You" served as its lead-off single, reaching Top 20 on the country charts. "Good Time" was also a single, peaking at number 49 on the country charts.
Synchestra is the eighth solo album by Canadian musician Devin Townsend, and the second and final album he recorded with The Devin Townsend Band. The album was released in January 2006 on Townsend's label, HevyDevy Records.
G3: Live in Tokyo is a live album and DVD recorded at the Tokyo International Forum during the 2005 G3 tour, featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci.
Super Colossal is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006, through Epic Records. The album reached No. 86 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries. Super Colossal was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards, Satriani's thirteenth such nomination.
G3: Rockin' in the Free World is a double live album by the G3 project that was recorded at The Uptown Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, on October 21, 2003. The album featured the touring lineup of the project leader Joe Satriani, frequent member Steve Vai and guest guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. A DVD of the same tour, but with a different track list, was released as G3: Live in Denver.
Amoeba's Secret is an EP by Paul McCartney recorded during a secret performance at Amoeba Music in Hollywood, California, on 27 June 2007.
Steve Vai is an American guitar player, songwriter and producer. He started his career in 1980 playing with Frank Zappa and has since recorded and toured with Alcatrazz, Whitesnake, David Lee Roth, and Public Image Ltd. Since 1983 Vai also released his own studio albums. His discography consists of eight studio albums, two EPs, two special albums, eight live albums, twelve soundtracks, twenty compilation albums and seven videos. Vai has been awarded three Grammy Awards and forty other awards. Vai has also appeared as a guest musician on forty-four albums, as diverse as Motörhead, M83, and most recently for the second time with Joe Jackson.
Modern Primitive is the ninth studio album by American guitarist Steve Vai, released on Epic Records on June 24, 2016. According to his website, the material on the album was "based on song sketches and works-in-progress penned and recorded by Vai following the release of Flex-Able, his debut album, in January 1984." He sees this material as a link between the stylistically different Flex-Able and Passion and Warfare (1990). The name of the album refers to his "modern" finishing of some of his oldest, most "primitive" works.
