''Alien Love Secrets'' is an EP 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 f ...

, released on March 21, 1995, through

Relativity Records Relativity Records was an American record label founded by Barry Kobrin at the site of his company, Important Record Distributors (IRD) in metro New York. Relativity released music that covers a wide variety of musical genres. When it entered in ...

. The EP reached No. 125 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200"Alien Love Secrets - Steve Vai , Awards"
''

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

''.

All Media Network RhythmOne , previously known as Blinkx, and also known as RhythmOne Group, is an American digital advertising technology company that owns and operates the web properties AllMusic, AllMovie, and SideReel. Blinkx was founded in 2004, went pub ...

. Retrieved 2014-12-10. and remained on that chart for two weeks, "Steve Vai - Chart history" ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large adverti ...

''. Retrieved 2014-04-01. as well as reaching No. 72 on the Dutch albums chart."Steve Vai - Alien Love Secrets (album)"
''finnishcharts.com''. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-12-10.

Overview

''Alien Love Secrets'' was written and recorded in less than six weeks as a stripped-down guitar, bass and drums record with minimal keyboards. According to Vai, he had wished to maintain a steady output of material following his 1993 album ''

Sex & Religion ''Sex & Religion'' is the third studio album by American guitarist Steve Vai, released under the band name "Vai" on July 23, 1993 through Relativity Records. It is known as the first major appearance of future Devin Townsend Project and Strapping ...

'', but the recording process for the 70+ minutes of his subsequent 1996 album '' Fire Garden'' was taking too long. The EP was therefore purposely released in anticipation of ''Fire Garden''. Vai, Steve
"Alien Love Secrets (1995)"
vai.com. Retrieved 2014-12-10. Stylistically ''Alien Love Secrets'' marks a return to the more familiar

instrumental rock Instrumental rock is rock music that emphasizes musical instruments and features very little or no singing. Examples of instrumental rock can be found in practically every subgenre of rock, often from musicians who specialize in the style. Instr ...

of Vai's 1990 album ''

Passion and Warfare ''Passion and Warfare'' is the second studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on May 22, 1990 through Relativity and Epic Records. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA. Background ''Passion and Warfare'' was written based on a series ...

'', following the highly mixed reception to ''Sex & Religion''. Notable tracks include "Bad Horsie", which was derived from a

riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or acc ...

played by Vai during the final scenes of the 1986 film ''

Crossroads Crossroads, crossroad, cross road or similar may refer to: * Crossroads (junction), where four roads meet Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a 1930 Brit ...

''; "Juice" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a di ...

video game ''

Formula 1 Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...

''; "Ya-Yo Gakk" is a

call and response Call and response is a form of interaction between a speaker and an audience in which the speaker's statements ("calls") are punctuated by responses from the listeners. This form is also used in music, where it falls under the general category of ...

interplay with vocal recordings of Vai's young son Julian; "Tender Surrender", one of Vai's most popular songs, bases itself around a familiar sound, structure and

tempo In musical terminology, tempo ( Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (ofte ...

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

's "Villanova Junction" from his 1969 performance at ''

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock. Billed as "an Aq ...

'', although written in a different key; and "The Boy from Seattle", which is a tribute to Hendrix written by Vai.

Critical reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

gave ''Alien Love Secrets'' three stars out of five, calling it a "moodier, more atmospheric collection" than ''Passion and Warfare''. He also praised his "fluid technique, which manages to never become completely mechanical."

Track listing

Personnel

–

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

keyboard 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 * Mu ...

, Eventide H3000

harmonizer Pitch shifting is a sound recording technique in which the original pitch of a sound is raised or lowered. Effects units that raise or lower pitch by a pre-designated musical interval ( transposition) are called pitch shifters. Pitch and tim ...

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

programming,

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

Tommy Mars Tommy Mars (born Thomas Mariano on October 26, 1951) is an American keyboard player known for his work with Frank Zappa. Mars began piano lessons at age eight, and later his instrument range expanded to various keyboards and synthesizers. Mars g ...

–

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

(track 7) *

Deen Castronovo Deen J. Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer, best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands ...

– drums (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7) *Julian Vai – baby vocals (track 5) *Sergio Buss – engineering assistance *

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 *Pam Daney – production assistance

Chart performance

References

External links

Guitar Nine Records - In Review: Steve Vai "Alien Love Secrets"
at Guitar Nine Records {{Authority control Steve Vai albums 1995 EPs Relativity Records EPs