Fire Garden by Steve Vai (CD, Jan-2004, Phantom Import Distribution)

What an album! Half instrumental, half vocal. "There's a Fire in the House" starts off this one in fine fashion and has been used by me to wake people up, as it starts off with an explosion! Very cool! Those with sub-woofers will definitely shake the rafters with this one. "The Crying Machine" is a feel-good song that is one of Steve's most mature-sounding ballads. "Whookam" and "The Mysterious Murder of Christian Tiera's Lover" are two strange, short numbers that help the album progress nicely. "Whookam" features Devin Townsend on vocals, who was the singer on Steve's full-on heavy metal album "Sex and Religion." "Bangkok," followed by "Fire Garden Suite" are my biggest reasons to recommend this album. This lead-in and suite are worth the full price alone. Steve plays eveything on these except drums and that includes guitars, bass, sitar, piano and a few other things besides. This is a true masterpiece and is, in my opinion, one of the most amazing pieces ever written. Very, very impressive! It is hard to describe how awesome this is. The flow is perfect, and so is the writing. I can't say enough about this song. Check it out! "All About Eve" is Steve's favorite vocal selection on this one, but mine is "Brother," a very heartfelt number that is similar to the Foo Fighter's "My Hero" in its message. This is a very impressive album overall and should be displayed on mantlepieces as an example of modern genius in songwriting.