just got the CD in preparation for the saturday concert in NYC.

Ugh.... Beavis & Butthead would be proud of the riffage/rhythms.

Sorry... maybe it's me, but i'm not digging it whatsoever. I think my musical listening will remain mostly in stuff recorded over a decade ago... glen

I picked it up a few days ago, and haven't even listened all the way through yet. Just doesn't do much for me. I'll give it another whirl or two, but it just seems over-produced and too psychedelic (sp?), eccentric, wierd, etc. It seems to me that if I were to smoke a little weed while listening this CD, I just might like it a lot.

UPDATE:

I've listened to it two or three more times. I'm liking it much better. Some of the EQ settings grate on me a bit, "Yai Yai" is pretty irritating, but I'm getting into the whole CD.

I picked this up the day it came out, gave it a listen and then tossed it aside. I couldn't stand it. Last week I caught myself singing the lead to 'Glorious' and had to listen to it. I'm not sure what happened, but that song along with 'Building the Church' are more digestable to me now. I really dig them both now. I really can't get enough of the outro to BTC, especially that cat sound Vai does at 4:17 and 4:37.

huh? I thought the cat sound was on the 3rd track. Which I think was glorious...not sure. But BTC is my favorite song off of the album, K'm Pee Du We is really pretty sounding and Lotus Feet took me a while, but I think the main riff of it is amazing (and really great to watch Steve perform live). BTC is still my favorite though. I think it was the 3rd or 4th song Steve performed when he was in Hartford, but right before he did it he goes, "so are you ready to build a church?" And after all the cheering he started with the tapping stuff. It seems easy enough, I think I may actually be able to play that song if I tried hard enough. It took some time, but the CD definately grew on me.

I can't remember if winamp can do it. But once you play the song backwards you will hear something from Sex & Religion .

Regards

André

Got the album now, SWEET is the word!!!!

Regards

André

This new CD hints at some profound inspiration. Vai's site had a nice build-up for the disc, with some discussion regarding each track. The band sounds tight, and more like a BAND than on other albums. This may be my favorite Vai disc since PAW.

The new CD is a lot to digest. The more you listen to it, the more you will like it. Lotta different influences... takes a while to digest. I've listened to it a lot and I really dig it... and I don't even get high (for those who've said, "I might like this album more if I was high when I listen to it.").

I was pretty ambivalent about this album when I bought it last week but maybe it'll grow on me - good albums always take a while to digest. I usually find instant wow! factor albums fizzle out on me after a few months. Don't think it'll be remembered as his best though, still get put off by the vocals.

At least I didn't immediately take it back to the shop in outrage, which is what I did with Satch's latest effort (Is There Love In Space). I was so disappointed with that, I found it hard to believe it was written by the same Satch. I ended up exchanging it for Megadeth's 'The System Has Failed' - Now there's an album that's worth buying. It makes you realize just how much high quality music you can cram onto a plastic, and just how good metal can be in the right hands.

Cheers,

Dave

I like the latest album from Joe, true it is very different from his earlier work but in essence it is Joe .

Regards

André

Picked this one up a little while ago. Not sure what to think, just yet. A LOT of impressive stuff, but I'm still not sold on Steve as a singer. As always, it's a lot of music to digest, and the playing is superb. The only thing that I don't like all that much is that as I'm listening, all of a sudden I hear passages that I swear are identical to "Ultra Zone" stuff. After seeing the G3 Live in Denver dvd, I'd rather see (or hear) him just jam with "The Breed" for an hour.....

Mikey,

wow ,how you guys been over there at vai...I still to this day get ragged on for getting banned..I was a member there for a year...


Well hope all is well...

JoeyDahlia

It has grown on me with 2 exceptions...

Firewall and yai yai..

Firewall is just a little alligator with gum disease

and for yai...

well...

It's not funny or short enough to be joke...
And it sounds like something one could do in about 10 minutes..

Vai is still God though

Looks like someone hasn't read the album liner notes.Every song is a little piece of some INSANE storyline Steve has come up with.It kinda gives you some insight to what the songs are about.Remember,it's not always gonna be how difficult a song is to play.

Hmmm,... I actually did..

BUT... It's music and it should be enjoyable as music. In my opinion, the storyline is not the primary factor. Therefore, if the music is not good, it might have been better to write a book and maybe include a CD with background music. ( groundbreaking idea )

I'm not commenting on how easy to play something is. I referred to the artistic factor of yai yai.

This album is at times not as "musical" as Vai has been in the past. I like the album, but in the way someone may like a linkin park album. It's heavy and it makes you tap your foot. While the ballads are what I call " fat and sugar ", everyone will like it, but it's "easy". Not to play (especially with that out of this world phrasing etc.), but to please.

Exceptions like "freak show excess" are great songs, but seem a bit forcefully weird. As if HAD to make a freak show excess and therefore created something less musical but freakish.

Still 100% better than most things on CD today.