Flex-Able | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1984 | |||
Recorded | April–November, 1983 | |||
Genre | Progressive rock, instrumental rock, experimental rock | |||
Length | 41:18(without the bonus tracks) 55:04 (with the bonus tracks) | |||
Label | Urantia Records (original) Akashic Records (1988 reissue) Epic Records (1997 reissue) | |||
Producer | Steve Vai | |||
Steve Vai chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Classic Rock | [2] |
Flex-Able is the debut studio album by American virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. This was his first as a solo artist, and was created in Stucco Blue, a shed converted into a studio in Vai's old back garden. It is very different from many of his other albums, and is largely influenced by Frank Zappa. Flex-Able does not rely as much on massive guitar arrangements and shred moments as the rest of his output from the 1990s onwards, with the exception of Leftovers which is a compilation of bonus tracks and remasters from his sessions at 'Stucco Blue'.
The cover of the May 2009 issue of Guitar World features a photograph of Vai in a pose similar to the album's cover, including the bending guitar neck. [3]
The album was originally released on vinyl in 1984.
All songs written by Steve Vai.
The album was re-released on CD in 1988 by Akashic Records, with four bonus tracks from the Flex-Able Leftovers EP; and again remastered and reissued by Epic Records in 1997, with the same track listing as the Akashic reissue. There is also one European reissue on Curcio Records (released in 1992 in Italy) that features the same cover on the vinyl and just the first eleven tracks. [4]
All songs written by Steve Vai unless otherwise indicated.
The first song on the album, 'Little Green Men', is dedicated to Nina Hagen.
Steven Siro Vai is an American guitarist, composer, 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.
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.
Rare Bird were an English progressive rock band formed in 1969. They had more success in other European countries. They released five studio albums between 1969 and 1974. In the UK, they never charted with an album but charted with one single, the organ-based track "Sympathy", which peaked at number 27. It sold one million copies globally.
Gone from Danger is the twenty-third studio album by Joan Baez, released in September 1997. Rather than relying on her own songwriting, Baez instead selected work by younger folk and rock artists to perform. She included Dar Williams' "If I Wrote You", Richard Shindell's "Reunion Hill", and Betty Elders' "Crack in the Mirror", as well as two Sinéad Lohan compositions. Around the time of the album's release, Baez confessed that she no longer found herself able to write songs, and felt more comfortable reverting to her original role, as an interpreter. The one track for which she receives credit, "Lily", was a poem written by Baez, to which Greenberg and Wilson added music.
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 .
X-Static is the eighth studio album by American pop music duo Daryl Hall & John Oates. The album was released in September 1979, by RCA Records. Buddah Records re-released the album with two bonus tracks in 2000. "Wait for Me" reached number 18 on the Billboard charts and won a BMI airplay award.
The Politics of Dancing is the debut studio album by English new wave band Re-Flex, recorded in late 1982 and released in November 1983 by EMI Records, and was, until September 2010, their only officially released studio album. John Punter of Roxy Music fame produced the album at Utopia Studios in London, England.
Think Pink is the 1970 debut album by English psychedelic musician Twink. It was produced by Mick Farren and featured members of The Pretty Things, The Deviants, plus Steve Peregrin Took of Tyrannosaurus Rex. It was released on Sire Records in the US in 1970 and Polydor Records in the UK in early 1971 The final two tracks were the only commercial release of any songs written by Took until 1990, ten years after his death.
Puzzle is the debut album of the alternative rock group dada, released in 1992, on I.R.S. Records. The album featured the hit single "Dizz Knee Land" and sold more than half a million copies. It spent 10 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart, peaking at #111. On July 13, 2004, the album was reissued with bonus tracks by Blue Cave Records.
Collection is an album by Jason Becker released by Shrapnel Records on November 4, 2008. The album includes three new songs in addition to some older recordings. It includes many musicians and features guitarists such as Marty Friedman, Greg Howe, Joe Satriani, Michael Lee Firkins, Steve Vai, and Steve Hunter.
Short Cut Draw Blood is the third studio album by the British musician Jim Capaldi, released by Island Records in 1975. It marked a major turning point in Capaldi's career: it was his first album recorded after the breakup of Traffic, and more importantly it was his commercial breakthrough. While Capaldi's first two solo albums had been moderately successful in the United States, Short Cut Draw Blood entered the charts in several other countries for the first time. This was particularly evident in his native United Kingdom; the single "It's All Up to You" at number 27, released a year before the album, became his first top 40 hit there, only to be overshadowed the following year by his cover of "Love Hurts", which went all the way to number 4.
Migration is the third studio album by The Amboy Dukes. It was released in 1969 on Mainstream Records . On this album, Rusty Day replaced John Drake on vocals and guitarist Ted Nugent, for the first time, took lead vocals on select tracks. The song "I'm Not a Juvenile Delinquent" is a cover of the 1956 song by Frankie Lymon and The Teenagers.
Mystery Tracks – Archives Vol. 3 is the 12th studio album released by guitarist Steve Vai. It is the third in a series of discs collecting unreleased tracks, demo recordings and other bits. The track Speeding is a playable song in Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock, although it is a re-recording.
This Is Volume 4 in "The Secret Jewel Box".
The Flex-Able Leftovers album, released on 10 November 1998, on Sony Records, contains five bonus tracks and is quite different from the original Flex-Able Leftovers EP. Unlike Steve Vai's other albums, which are mostly instrumental, almost all copies of Flex-Able Leftovers feature a Parental Advisory label, as a result of the song "Fuck Yourself" containing multiple profanities and sexual references. Other differences from the original version include the recording of live drums on "You Didn't Break It!" and the complete re-editing and mixing of the songs.
Thanks in Advance is the second album by bassist Bryan Beller, known for his work with Mike Keneally, Steve Vai and Dethklok. The album was released in 2008 under Onion Boy Records.
Through a Crooked Sun is the second solo album from Black Crowes guitarist Rich Robinson. This album contains twelve studio tracks and features guest appearances by Warren Haynes, John Medeski, Karl Berger and Larry Campbell. The UK edition was released on March 26, 2012. The title of the album was taken from Look Through My Window, a song from the EP Llama Blues.
An Appointment with Mr. Yeats is the tenth studio album by The Waterboys, released on 19 September 2011 through W14/Proper Records. The album contains 14 tracks, all of which are based upon the poetry of W.B. Yeats, a long term influence on lead-songwriter Mike Scott.
A Postcard from California is the debut solo studio album by American musician and co-founder of the Beach Boys, Al Jardine. For the album, Jardine recruited several music icons including his former Beach Boys bandmates. The album also contains several unreleased Beach Boys songs, including "Don't Fight the Sea" and "Lookin' Down the Coast".
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.