SOUND THEORIES: REVIEW THREAD

[jemgirl]

hi john,
now i`m not sure if it is stolen sisterinlaw got the pachage today also with no cd in it,only the t-shirt.
maybe its coincedence.
lets hope ey?

[another virtuoso]

very disappointing, im sure, jemgirl. sorry about that. i guess go get one from the local cd store?
that's what i'll be doing if mine doesnt arrive on my door step very very soon. i'm growing impatient with anticipation!


anyone know where they are being shipped from? i figured the people in the states would get theirs before they reached the people in europe.

[Moderator7VWH]

Please use this thread for reviews only.
Discussion on the digipack presale can be done here:

http://www.vai.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=22480


Thanks

*************
Moderator7VWH

[EyE]

Today, Co de Kloet will play a track from Steve Vai's latest cd SOUND THEORIES every hour !!!

www.nps.nl/studio6

[bkornaker1977]

i have mixed feelings about this new double CD album.............

one thing that i really didnt care for was the fact that the first CD, was nothing more than what we all heard before, and a couple years ago on the Vai.com site, he posted a link to a internet station for us to hear it (BB england radio?)........so this CD was nothing new to me, ive heard it years ago......and im sure many of you who visit this site regularly have heard it already too..............

the 2nd CD however, i felt i was still disapointed because it features no "steve vai on guitar"! dont get me wrong......the compositions were mind blowing! but without steve on guitar...........it just lacked what i had intended on hearing when i purchased this album....which is some new steve vai guitar wanking.......

but i will tell you this......on the 2nd CD, track #4 "Frangelica II".........is the best composition ive ever heard! i would love to hear steve play it on his guitar!!!!!!!!!!

[Big Bad Bill]

I'm going to be bold, now too! I think 'Sound Theories' may be a victim of Steve's fantastic music! CD 1 is basically an orchestral rearrangement of some of Steve's back catalogue. But the problem is that the original pieces- conceived, written, played, mixed and engineered by Steve, to within an inch of their lives- are so perfect, so astounding, that any attempt to redo them just cannot live up to what came before! Take 'Gentle Ways' for example: the original version on AIAUW is the sweetest, most touching piece of music, played with such haunting emotion-it's bloody perfect! In comparison, the 'Sound Theories' version just doesn't 'sparkle' in a similar fashion. It's nice but I really don't think it's as 'good'. 'Salamanders in the Sun' on the other hand, is a nice version, but then the original was done early in Steve's career and thus perhaps not as finely honed as his later work has become. Over all I feel 'Sound Theories' is a case of 'gilding the lily'- trying to improve upon perfection-that's a tough goal, even for Steve!

CD 2....well, it's compositionally brilliant, I'm sure, but am I being old fashioned in yearning for a melody I can hang onto and perhaps even whistle and hum? It's a bit like abstract art, you either get it or you don't, and I suspect I don't have the soul or the intellect to appreciate CD 2.

This series of concerts, I suspect, is actually an audio-visual extravaganza. It was conceived with the live audience in mind and the CD only provides one dimension of the experience. I think the DVD of the shows will be a completely and more satisfying kettle of fish for me, at least, providing that all important third and fourth dimension. I feel certian that the DVD will blow my mind in a way the CDs haven't.

I hope this doesn't come across as being harsh-that's the last thing I'd want to do. I love Steve and his work, but he can't please all of the people all of the time and I'm glad he doesn't try since it'd lead to 'average music'!

[bkornaker1977]

+1 BILL.................

i was kinda disapointed in the first CD cause we all have heard that "orchestrated versions of his guitar works" before from internet radio which was launch a couple years ago.....so to hear it again, well......was like....OK, this is not new to me. But at least i have a hard copy of it...........

the 2nd CD was really mind blowing. The compositions although for some are probably hard to understand from the typical verse/pre-chorus/chorus/guitar-solo/....etc etc etc way of composing a typical song............well these are just not that. Its hard for some to follow and piece together what he is doing here in this CD............

....but there is so much energy, so much passion......in these new compositions. I can actually follow along and see what he is doing....if you listen with an open mind, you can actually piece together and see what it is he is doing and the kind of flow of the composition hes moving. They have the same crazy flow of such songs as "kill the guy with the ball, " and fire garden suite"...where its very all over the place, yet retaining some sort of workflow and theme.....

i just really hope one day he decides to take these new orchestra compositions, and play them on his guitar.......

[EyE]

Some of the points that you guys are making I've heard before. That was after the first Aching Hunger show in 2004. Some of those who went to the AH shows came only for one thing and that was "to see Steve play guitar"! Those same folks only focus on Steve as a "guitarist" and not at the whole package and that is Steve as a "composser". So they were disapointed in that field. The music on this album has been a treasure for me eversince I heard it at the first AH show. Sure some songs sound different then the original but that's because a "live orchestra" breathes different then a "rockband"! But still everybody experience music differently.

[Big Bad Bill]

The music on this album has been a treasure for me eversince I heard it at the first AH show.

I'm increasingly thinking this is the key-you attended the shows and thus saw the performance and the music was thus more 'alive' for you and more attainable. It's like watching ballet on TV, which is dull, dul, dull but live it can be breath-taking!

I await the DVD with baited breath...........

[aBuLhAgaG]

An interesting project exposing yet another hitherto unexplored facet of Steve's genius, Frangelica Pt II leaves me speechless! Flawless production as always, can't wait for the Dublin show...

[another virtuoso]

It was conceived with the live audience in mind and the CD only provides one dimension of the experience.

perhaps you should try listening to it again in the proper conditions steve had in mind while mixing it?

April 9, 2007:

I changed the name of the record to "Sound Theories."

I just finished the stereo and 5.1 mixes of the record.
It’s stunning to hear this stuff in 5.1. I opted to place the rock band (bass drums, and myself) in the stereo portion of the mix for the most part, and delegate the orchestra to all of the 5.1 areas. Hearing this kind of a robust spread is a bird of a different color. It’s rich dense and magnificent to be embraced by the surround audio experience.

I mixed the surround sound with the specification that the listener should have in their set up 5 of the same exact speakers. These speakers would take the place of the two front stereo pair, the two rear surround pair and the middle center speaker.
All speakers should be set to the same output level. The sweet spot for the listener would be right in the middle of the configuration.

Most 5.1 mixes of live shows have the entire mix in the front stereo pair and the audience ambient tracks in the rear. This creates the awareness of being in the venue and hearing things from the perspective of being in the audience, but with my mix I decided to create a listening environment as if the listener was standing where the conductor is and is surrounded by the orchestra.

The only down side to this is that if you’re at home watching this DVD and listening to the 5.1 mix, your system would need to be set up as described above or it could end up sounding kind of odd. I’ll have to put a notice on the DVD that explains the set up and that I would recommend listening to the stereo DVD mix instead of the 5.1 mix if your set up is not balanced the way the mix intended it to be.

You see, I even want to control the way you set up your home listening environment. Good thing I’m to too much of a control freak or I would have to visit your house and set it up properly myself.

Thanks for hanging in there.
More to come.

STEVE, the post cards you made for us depicting the daily miseries, quirks, and triumphs of the album as the concept was made reality were such an enjoyment to read. It was great to get these behind the scenes snapshots of all the work that went into the album. That's a perspective the fans rarely get to experience. I'm really hoping you'll continue with the post cards in the future! Thanks again

[prman]

Oops, sorry...

[prman]

It was conceived with the live audience in mind and the CD only provides one dimension of the experience.

perhaps you should try listening to it again in the proper conditions steve had in mind while mixing it?

April 9, 2007:

I changed the name of the record to "Sound Theories."

I just finished the stereo and 5.1 mixes of the record.
It’s stunning to hear this stuff in 5.1. I opted to place the rock band (bass drums, and myself) in the stereo portion of the mix for the most part, and delegate the orchestra to all of the 5.1 areas. Hearing this kind of a robust spread is a bird of a different color. It’s rich dense and magnificent to be embraced by the surround audio experience.

I mixed the surround sound with the specification that the listener should have in their set up 5 of the same exact speakers. These speakers would take the place of the two front stereo pair, the two rear surround pair and the middle center speaker.
All speakers should be set to the same output level. The sweet spot for the listener would be right in the middle of the configuration.

Most 5.1 mixes of live shows have the entire mix in the front stereo pair and the audience ambient tracks in the rear. This creates the awareness of being in the venue and hearing things from the perspective of being in the audience, but with my mix I decided to create a listening environment as if the listener was standing where the conductor is and is surrounded by the orchestra.

The only down side to this is that if you’re at home watching this DVD and listening to the 5.1 mix, your system would need to be set up as described above or it could end up sounding kind of odd. I’ll have to put a notice on the DVD that explains the set up and that I would recommend listening to the stereo DVD mix instead of the 5.1 mix if your set up is not balanced the way the mix intended it to be.

You see, I even want to control the way you set up your home listening environment. Good thing I’m to too much of a control freak or I would have to visit your house and set it up properly myself.

Thanks for hanging in there.
More to come.

STEVE, the post cards you made for us depicting the daily miseries, quirks, and triumphs of the album as the concept was made reality were such an enjoyment to read. It was great to get these behind the scenes snapshots of all the work that went into the album. That's a perspective the fans rarely get to experience. I'm really hoping you'll continue with the post cards in the future! Thanks again

The CD has a stereo mix. The DVD has a 5.1 (and the stereo mix of course). Steve`s suggestions are for 5.1 mix so they are of no use at the moment.

[EyE]

The music on this album has been a treasure for me eversince I heard it at the first AH show.

I'm increasingly thinking this is the key-you attended the shows and thus saw the performance and the music was thus more 'alive' for you and more attainable. It's like watching ballet on TV, which is dull, dul, dull but live it can be breath-taking!

I await the DVD with baited breath...........

True! When I listen to the music on Sound Theories it brings me back to those AH shows and I realy enjoy listening to every song on the album.

[Zongadude]

I finally couldn't wait anymore so I bought a copy of the standard version at a local store. I'm listening to it right now (Disc 1): magical !

I would have loved to hear a longer rendition of "Kill the guy with the ball" (lol), this one is really short but hey....
These new versions of old favorites are really great. Kinda like bringing a new dimension to those old songs (or, to put it better, a new set of lightning to them). And "The murder" is really a killer. I had a hint of that, yesterday evening at the Luxembourg show (where the band performed a dramatic and menacing version of it, complete with stroboscopic light effects). The orchestral version confirms the impression. I'm also starting to love the way the melody of 'The God eaters' is interpolated in this thing.

I find Vol. I to be more than just an orchestral rearrangement of some of Steve's back catalogue. A lot of new bits and pieces have been thrown into the process, and some titles are quite improved (although their were already brilliant in the first place). (Isn't that version of 'Salamanders in the sun' a pure joy to listen to ?).

And I haven't checked out CD 2 yet. (I'm waiting for the night to come and I'll be listening to it in the dark, with headphones on, while everybody else in the house is asleep.)