"Passion & Warfare": The Greatest Guitar Album Ever Made?

Granted, it's pretty much all 4/4 time, but 25 or so years after hearing it, revisiting this album reminds me that there's nothing new 'under the sun' as it goes...but Vai here is just meaty and unapologetic. Balls out, as it were. Everything crazy musicians hear in their dreams. It's all there, you just have to sound it out... literally! Sound out your dreams. Then... BLAMMO!! - you're Pat Benatar, man!

Well, I only posted this here because either the music forum doesn't work, or doesn't work with my browser, or I'm banned from it - Trying to get banned has become a lot of damned work here recently! >

a reply to: DeReK DaRkLy

i like Vai
seen him a couple time live
cant agree with you on this one

i can think of several for me that i would put above this

but if you think it is the best then it is...simple as that

how are we defining a guitar album?

if you care to listen at some point i recommend any of the 'guitar' or 'shut up and play yer guitar' albums by frank zappa. not really a cohesive album but a collection of solo's. since youre into guitar you may like it.

more of a cohesive recommendation would be 'powers of ten' by shawn lane and just because it is amazing i would check out 'temporal analogues of paradise' by shawn lane and jonas helborg.
2 movements about 30 minutes each recorded live

steve vai is the man though

Very intense album. It has stood up well to the test of time.

Anything that Buckethead does leaves me slack jawed!! Just insane, maybe literally

saw Rodrigo y Gabriella in concert a couple nights ago. That was some of the best guitar playing i've ever seen.

originally posted by: booyakasha
saw Rodrigo y Gabriella in concert a couple nights ago. That was some of the best guitar playing i've ever seen.

I’m super jealous. I bet that was amazing.

originally posted by: TinySickTears
if you care to listen at some point i recommend any of the 'guitar' or 'shut up and play yer guitar' albums by frank zappa. not really a cohesive album but a collection of solo's. since youre into guitar you may like it.

more of a cohesive recommendation would be 'powers of ten' by shawn lane and just because it is amazing i would check out 'temporal analogues of paradise' by shawn lane and jonas helborg.
2 movements about 30 minutes each recorded live

steve vai is the man though

Steve vai is actually on a lot of those tracks.

a reply to: Woodcarver

im aware of this


completely different style of playing though

a reply to: booyakasha

Massive envy here, been a fan since they left their metal band and struck out on their own.

Agree with OP, Passion and Warfare is timelessly awesome.

a reply to: DeReK DaRkLy



Agreed. This album was very passionate. Especially Erotic Nightmares. Ahh.... Earhole sex is how I would describe it.

I mean, this album, when I heard it as a teen, was my first trip sans the blotter. At that point, I had never touched drugs but this album was pretty damn close to a real high. I remember closing my eyes and just getting so lost in the sound.

Liberty is pretty inspiring. Makes me feel like standing on top of a desk and saluting


Another good album that showed a lot of deep riffs for me was Eric Johnson's Ah Via Musicom.

I've heard a lot of guitar pros put down some tracks from Satriani to Malmsteen and they were all very good but I just didn't feel the emotion in them like I did with Via and Johnson.

I do love Buckethead. It's a good 3rd place for me but I don't feel the emotion in it, just the aggression and that's good too.

Vai can cut heads with ANYONE.
There seems to be a level of mastery that is far as it can be taken.
Little Stevie has reached that plateau.