''The Story of Light "Real Illusions: ...of a..."'' is the eighth studio album by guitarist

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

, released on August 14, 2012 through

Favored Nations Entertainment Favored Nations Entertainment is a record label founded in 1999 by guitarist Steve Vai and Ray Scherr, former owner of Guitar Center. The first album released by the label was ''Coming to Your Senses'' by guitarist Frank Gambale in 2000. Soon af ...

. It is Vai's first full-length studio album since 2005's '' Real Illusions: Reflections''. On May 23, 2012 ''The Story of Light'' was made available for pre-order through Vai's official website with an instant download of "Gravity Storm". The track "John the Revelator" contains a sample of

Blind Willie Johnson Blind Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945) was an American gospel blues singer, guitarist and evangelist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930—thirty songs in total—display a combination of powerful "ch ...

's song of the same name. "The Moon and I" was initially released as a VaiTunes digital only single in 2010. However, due to the personal nature of the song, Vai decided to remix it and include it on the album. The album debuted on ''Billboard'' 200 at No. 78.

Concept

''The Story of Light'' is the second installment of the '' Real Illusions'' trilogy, a "multi-layered melange based on the amplified mental exaggerations of a truth-seeking madman who sees the world through his own distorted perceptions", according to the booklet introduction. In an interview with ClassicRock Revisisted, Vai explained: According to Vai, "Captain Drake Mason... at one point writes a book. He presents his book, which is titled ''Under It All'', to the town. The first chapter is called "The Story of Light". On the record, the lyrics are printed in English, but I didn't want to present them that way because it is too obvious. I wanted to do them in another language to add mystique. I went through all of these languages in my head trying to find the right one. Every language has a dynamic to it. Italian sounds like music, and French is effeminate, so it sounds beautiful, in a way. German has a lot of rough edges and comes off very masculine. All of those had too much of a tilt. Russian is such a beautiful language because it has just the right amount of rough edges and just the right amount of romance. Still, there is an authority to it. That is why I decided to do it in Russian."

Track listing

Personnel

– guitar (all tracks) and vocals (tracks 8, 11),

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

Philip Bynoe Philip Earl Bynoe is an American musician best known for his work with Steve Vai. He has been the bass player of Vai's touring band since 2012, a role he previously held from 1996 to 2000. He has also played on four of Vai's studio albums. Other ...

– bass *

Jeremy Colson Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist for ...

– drums *

Mike Mangini Michael Anthony Mangini (born April 18, 1963) is an American musician and current drummer of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. He has also played for bands and artists such as Annihilator, Extreme, James LaBrie, and Steve Vai. Be ...

- drums on "The Moon And I" *

Deborah Henson-Conant Deborah Henson-Conant (born November 11, 1953 in Stockton, California) is an American harpist and composer. Nicknamed "the Hip Harpist", she is known for her flamboyant stage presence and her innovation with electric harps. Career Deborah Henson ...

– harp (track 7) *

Beverly McClellan Beverly McClellan (July 6, 1969 – October 30, 2018) was an American singer and a contestant in the first season of the American TV series ''The Voice'', reaching the final four. At age four, McClellan started playing the piano and later lea ...

– vocals (track 3 and 4) *

Aimee Mann Aimee Elizabeth Mann (born September 8, 1960) is an American singer-songwriter. Over the course of four decades, she has released more than a dozen albums as a solo artist and with other musicians. She is noted for her sardonic and literate lyr ...

– vocals (track 11) *

Bernie Grundman Bernie Grundman is an American audio engineer. He is most known for his mastering work and his studio, Bernie Grundman Mastering, which he opened in 1984 in Hollywood. The studio, which includes engineers Chris Bellman, Patricia Sullivan, and Mi ...

– mastering *Dave Rosenthal – piano (track 1) *Julia Rainy May Vai – Russian narration (track 1) *Bob Carpenter – Hammond B3 (tracks 3, 4, 12) *

Mike Keneally Michael Joseph Keneally (born December 20, 1961) is an American session guitarist, keyboardist, vocalist and composer. Early years and musical influences Keneally started playing music at the age of 7 when he received an electric organ for h ...

– keyboards (track 8) *

Dave Weiner David Jason Weiner (born September 24, 1976) is an American musician, best known for being one of Steve Vai's touring guitarists. He also posts instructional videos, called the "Riff of the Week", every Wednesday on YouTube, iTunes and his own w ...

– rhythm guitar (track 8)CD booklet, p.10

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Story of Light, The Steve Vai albums 2012 albums Hard rock albums by American artists Instrumental rock albums Progressive rock albums by American artists Favored Nations albums