Story of Light - first listening impressions

[ironfistx]

Impressions from my first listen:

The Story of Light - pretty decent. 4 stars. It took me a second to figure out that woman was speaking Russian cuz I had the volume down low and I thought I kept hearing "sushi."

Velorum - a great song. Tied for best song on the album. The bassline from 2:45 to 2:58 reminds me of "The Audience is Listening." This song is everything that makes Vai awesome. 4.5 stars.

John the Revalator - wat. 2 stars only because I was able to finish it. Will probably never listen to this song again unless I want to remind myself of how weird Steve Vai can be sometimes.

Book of the Seven Seals - jazzy blues meets gospel? I guess it's an ok song, just not anything I would ever listen to. 2 stars.

Creamsicle Sunset - Did it just get Hawaiian in here? A nice relaxing song. 3.5 stars.

Gravity Storm - Great example of Vai's weird but not too weird side. Is this the song his new pickups are named after? I'm not sure his guitar sound on this album would work for anyone other than Vai. Is that because of the pickups or because of the amp/effects/etc? This song is weird but I like it. It reminds me of when Vai's music started getting weird but without overdoing it. It would fit in on Alien Love Secrets. I don't even know how many stars to give this song.

Mullach a' tSi - It's the 7th song so it's not surprising that it's a ballad. A lot of volume swells. I think I would actually prefer the song without them. I was so busy trying to keep up with the volume that I couldn't enjoy the melody. Maybe this will change with repeated listens.

The Moon and I - The beginning before he starts singing reminds me of something from Fire Garden. I respect Vai as a musician but I've never been too crazy about his singing, although I liked Devin's vocals on Sex and Religion. Half of the time I'm thinking this song isn't going anywhere, and the other half of the time I'm like oh, that's a pretty groovy little solo he's playing. And this is another song where it's like ok, that's a cool guitar sound, but it would only work for Vai. There are bits and pieces of the solo that remind me of stuff from Passion and Warfare, which is always a good thing. This would probably be a good song to see live.

Weeping China Doll - I wasn't sure what to expect from the beginning... is this gonna be more Vai weirdness or is it going to turn into something awesome? It turned into something awesome. (Tied for) best song on the album. 4.5 stars.

Racing the World - Groovy right from the start. A chord progression to keep things interesting combined with a melody that fits. Seems like a song that would fit in well in Port Town of F-Zero (video game reference... a compliment, btw). Solid 4 stars. 4.5, even. Can we have a 3 way tie for best song on the album? Yeah, alright cool. The last solo bit reminds me of Satriani.

No More Amsterdam - An ok song. It's not great, but it's not Vai weird.

Sunshine Electric Raindrops - Starts off Van Halen style. Let's rock. A good Vai jam.

Overall, a few gems (no pun intended). I liked it better than I thought I would.

[doriangrey]

Velorum is my fave song on the album too...the 7th song will grow on you - at least it did for me...I liked Racing the world a lot too...

Creamsicle Sunset is growing on me too - a case study of how tasty he can be using the trem with chords.

Not sure why Book of seven seals is on the album - I know he's the artist and all that but I think he forgot who his audience is when he decided to put that song on the CD.

Overall I like it better than I thought I would too..

[ironfistx]

So I'm listening to this album today while I work and "John the Revelator" just played through and I listened to the whole thing and didn't mind it.

Same thing with Book of the Seven Seals.

[ironfistx]

I've been listening to this album on repeat since I made that last post.

Velorum, Weeping China Doll, and Racing the World are fantastic songs.

[mike570]

Now that the newness of it has worn off I think my favorite track is "Sunshine Electric Raindrops". "Book of Seven Seals" is right up there too. Very original, powerful, and spiritual.

[ironfistx]

Every time I listen to this album I like it more.

I even like John the Revelator and Book of the Seven Seals. I never thought I'd like those songs.

[silverctr]

Amazon was nice enough to let me download a few for free, so I picked Gravity Storm, Creamsicle Sunset, and Velorum. I heard them on one of my Pandora stations and liked them. So far Gravity Storm is my favorite with kind of a raw tone like a stacked single coil or a hot P90. Plus it's in drop D, which I don't ever recall him doing. It almost seems like a track that could've been on Flexable. Creamsicle Sunset has a SRV/Hendrix type vibe to me which I dig and really like the tone he has on this one. For Velorum, I can't put my finger on what it is, but that song has me entranced for some reason. So far this album has been on par with PAW in my book with regard to Vai's twisted mind.

[vy100]

I like The Story of Light (original), Velorum (heavy), Creamsicle (the MASTER is here again!), Mullach (tasty) and Sweeping China Dolls (the MASTER strikes here again pt.2).

I often listen to Gravity Storm (original but long and boring at the end) but sometimes I skip that song.

I always skip John The Revelator, The Book of Seven Seals and The Moon and I (hate the sound of that first trebly scooped chord, I do prefer the VaiTunes version).

I listen occasionally to Sunshine Electric Raindrops (enjoyable but predictable) and Racing the World (very predictable).

My opinion is that a perfect shorter album with 6-7 songs (think of Alien Love secrets) is way better than a longer one with weird songs on it than doesn't fit the whole concept. I miss a lot an original 7th song.

[ironfistx]

I didn't like Alien Love Secrets that much. I mean it's good and all, but nothing really stood out as spectacular. I remember not really liking Bad Horsie and that kind of set the tone for the album.

I need to listen to his albums between Fire Garden and the Story of Light. I'm not really familiar with those.

I don't know what is going on with me but I actually like John the Revelator and Book of the Seven Seals now. I don't get it. I don't like music like that. Those songs are boring and predictable and I don't like that style of music, but I enjoy them when they come on now. I didn't like them at all when I first heard them. Just look at my first post in this thread lol.

[Ryan P.]

Originally Posted by ironfistx

I don't know what is going on with me but I actually like John the Revelator and Book of the Seven Seals now. I don't get it. I don't like music like that. Those songs are boring and predictable and I don't like that style of music, but I enjoy them when they come on now.

Approximately 99.8% of Western music is "boring" and "predictable." Those songs are no more so than anything else people listen to, unless you're into stuff like free jazz or the Second Viennese School. This does not in any way diminish their enjoyability, at least to me. I love those tracks.

[doriangrey]

Originally Posted by ironfistx

I didn't like Alien Love Secrets that much. I mean it's good and all, but nothing really stood out as spectacular.

Seriously?! wow, I can listen to that album over and over from start to finish and enjoy every second of it...some of his finest moments are on there, imho... maybe you need to give it another chance and listen to it a few more times...and yes, you definitely need to listen to Fire Garden, also one of my fave Vai albums (hand on heart is one of my fave Vai songs ever)...I think Vai was peaking in the 90's with PAW in '90, S & R in '93, Fire Garden in '96 and then UZ in '99...he's only made 2 albums in the last 12 years...