Visual Sound Theories

AMG Review of Visual Sound Theories

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

Visual Sound Theories is the video complement to Steve Vai's double-CD Sound Theories Vols. 1-2, which finds the guitarist working with an orchestra, the Holland Metropole Orkest, in a concert of his music. In the hourlong main part of the performance, taking up the first 12 tracks, the orchestra backs Vai up on some of his familiar tunes from earlier albums such as Passion and Warfare ("Answers," "Liberty," "For the Love of God") and Real Illusions: Reflections ("Lotus Feet"), set to full orchestral instrumentation by a team of orchestrators. The last two tracks, "Shadows and Sparks" and "Frangelica, Pts. 1-2" (plus "Bledsoe Bluvd," which is one of the bonus features), are played by the orchestra, conducted by Dick Bakker, without the guitarist's participation. (At the July 2005 concert, they were actually played first.) As Vai points out in the audio commentary, the "Shadows" part of "Shadows and Sparks" is actually a medley of other old numbers such as "Lucky Charms" from The Ultra Zone, as played by woodwinds. At one point, Vai describes a section as a tribute to his mentor, Frank Zappa, but in truth much in the orchestral works recalls Zappa's music. Whether Vai will be able to make a transition from heavy metal guitar virtuoso to composer remains to be seen, but this show demonstrates that his music benefits from being transposed to an orchestra and that, with the right staging and mixing, even aggressive electric guitar playing can work with an orchestra.