Passion and Warfare

Passion and Warfare
Studio album by Steve Vai
Released September 1990 (1990-09)[1]
Recorded The Mothership
Genre Instrumental rock
Length 53:15
Label Relativity/Epic
Producer Steve Vai
Steve Vai chronology
Flex-Able Leftovers
(1984)		 Passion and Warfare
(1990)		 Sex & Religion
(1993)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]

Passion and Warfare is the second studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released in September 1990 through Relativity and Epic Records. It has been certified Gold by the RIAA. It was written based on a series of dream sequences that Vai had when he was younger, and in the guitar music book of the album, Vai sums it up as "Jimi Hendrix meets Jesus Christ at a party that Ben Hur threw for Mel Blanc". It was all recorded in The Mothership studio at his home in the Hollywood Hills, a 1,600-square-foot (150 m2) building in which his guitar parts for Whitesnake's 1989 album Slip of the Tongue were also recorded. As such, Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale has small spoken parts on Passion and Warfare.

Vai states that planning the album started as early as 1982, but was shelved after joining the David Lee Roth band and not picked up again until parting ways with Roth in 1989.[2] Vai utilized many unusual recording techniques on the album. For what would come to be one of his most popular songs to date, "For the Love of God", he fasted for ten days and recorded the song on the fourth day of the fast.[3] "Blue Powder" was originally recorded in 1986 as a showcase track for Carvin, using their X-100B amplifier, and given away with Guitar Player magazine in flexi disc format. Vai was introduced to Carvin by his mentor Frank Zappa, who had also used the X-100B. The drums were subsequently re-recorded for the album.[4]

The equipment used to record Passion and Warfare was: Ibanez JEM and Universe guitars; Charvel Green Meanie guitar; Marshall JCM900 and Carvin X-100B amplifiers; ADA MP-1 preamplier; Boss DS-1 distortion pedal; Eventide H3000 harmonizer; Lexicon 480L.

The song "For the Love of God" is available for download for the 2007 video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock, and was voted the 29th best solo of all time by a readers' poll in Guitar World magazine.[5]

In 2016, Vai embarked on the Passion and Warfare 25th Anniversary World Tour, where he played the album in its entirety for the first time.[6]

Track listing

All tracks written by Steve Vai. 

No.TitleLength
1."Liberty"  2:03
2."Erotic Nightmares"  4:15
3."The Animal"  4:01
4."Answers"  2:56
5."The Riddle"  6:24
6."Ballerina 12/24"  1:43
7."For the Love of God"  6:03
8."The Audience Is Listening"  5:30
9."I Would Love To"  3:41
10."Blue Powder"  4:44
11."Greasy Kid's Stuff"  2:58
12."Alien Water Kiss"  1:10
13."Sisters"  4:07
14."Love Secrets"  3:40
Total length:53:15

Personnel

Chart performance

Year Chart Peak position
1990
Australian Albums Chart[7] 25
Billboard 200[8] 18
Canadian RPM Top Albums[9] 27
Dutch Albums Chart[7] 32
New Zealand Albums Chart[7] 12
Swedish Albums Chart[7] 27
Swiss Albums Chart[7] 35
U.K. Albums Chart[10] 8

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[11] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[12] Silver 500,000[13]
United States (RIAA)[14] Gold 500,000^

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. 1 2 Huey, Steve. "Passion and Warfare - Steve Vai". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  2. ↑ Vai, Steve. "Notes: "Passion and Warfare"". vai.com.
  3. ↑ "Interview:Musician's Friend Exclusive Interview with Steve Vai, Part II". Musician's Friend. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  4. ↑ Tolinski, Brad (July 1990). "Steve Vai's Field of Dreams". Guitar School. Archived from the original on 2004-06-12. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  5. ↑ Guitar World Staff (2008-10-28). "100 Greatest Guitar Solos: No. 29 "For the Love of God" (Steve Vai). Guitar World. NewBay Media. Retrieved 2013-12-17.
  6. ↑ Fanelli, Damian. "Steve Vai Announces 'Passion and Warfare' 25th Anniversary World Tour". Guitar World.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Steffen Hung. "Steve Vai - Passion And Warfare". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2012-08-01.
  8. ↑ "Ultimate Music Database".
  9. ↑ "100 Albums". RPM Magazine. 59 (11). July 28, 1990.
  10. ↑ "everyHit.com - UK Top 40 Chart Archive, British Singles & Album Charts".
  11. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare". Music Canada. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  12. ↑ "British album certifications – Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 30 January 2016. Enter Passion and Warfare in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
  13. ↑ "Steve Vai's Nielsen SoundScan Gold Award – Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare". Equipboard, Inc. Retrieved 30 January 2016.
  14. ↑ "American album certifications – Steve Vai – Passion and Warfare". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 30 January 2016. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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