Alien Love Secrets is an EP by guitarist Steve Vai, released on March 21, 1995, through Relativity Records. The EP reached No. 125 on the U.S. Billboard 200[3] and remained on that chart for two weeks,[4] as well as reaching No. 72 on the Dutch albums chart.[5]
| Alien Love Secrets | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| EP by | ||||
| Released | March 21, 1995[1] | |||
| Recorded | The Mothership Studio in Hollywood Hills | |||
| Genre | Instrumental rock | |||
| Length | 33:26[2] | |||
| Label | Relativity | |||
| Producer | Steve Vai | |||
| Steve Vai chronology | ||||
| ||||
Overview edit
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, 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.[6] Stylistically Alien Love Secrets marks a return to the more familiar instrumental rock of Vai's 1990 album Passion and Warfare, following the highly mixed reception to Sex & Religion.[1]
Notable tracks include "Bad Horsie", which was derived from a riff played by Vai during the final scenes of the 1986 film Crossroads; "Juice" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1996 PlayStation video game Formula 1; "Ya-Yo Gakk" is a call and response 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 as Jimi Hendrix's "Villanova Junction" from his 1969 performance at Woodstock, although written in a different key; and "The Boy from Seattle", which is a tribute to Hendrix written by Vai.
Critical reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic 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."[1]
Track listing edit
All music is composed by Steve Vai
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bad Horsie" | 5:51 |
| 2. | "Juice" | 3:44 |
| 3. | "Die to Live" | 3:53 |
| 4. | "The Boy from Seattle" | 5:03 |
| 5. | "Ya-Yo Gakk" | 2:52 |
| 6. | "Kill the Guy with the Ball"
| 7:02 |
| 7. | "Tender Surrender" | 5:01 |
| Total length: | 33:26 | |
Personnel edit
- Steve Vai – guitar, keyboard, Eventide H3000 harmonizer, drum programming, bass, engineering, production
- Tommy Mars – organ (track 7)
- Deen Castronovo – drums (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7)
- Julian Vai – baby vocals (track 5)
- Sergio Buss – engineering assistance
- Bernie Grundman – mastering
- Pam Daney – production assistance
Chart performance edit
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Dutch albums chart | 72[5] |
| Billboard 200 | 125[3] |
References edit
- ^ a b c d Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Alien Love Secrets - Steve Vai". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ Alien Love Secrets (CD release "Rel 478586 2").
- ^ a b "Alien Love Secrets - Steve Vai | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ "Steve Vai - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-04-01.
- ^ a b "Steve Vai - Alien Love Secrets (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
- ^ Vai, Steve. "Alien Love Secrets (1995)" Archived 2015-12-25 at the Wayback Machine. vai.com. Retrieved 2014-12-10.
External links edit
- Guitar Nine Records - In Review: Steve Vai "Alien Love Secrets" at Guitar Nine Records