Widely acclaimed as his best album,
Passion and Warfare
finds
Steve Vai
coming into his own as a composer, as well as bypassing vocals almost entirely. His style isn't quite as derivative of influences
Frank Zappa
and
Joe Satriani
as it was six years earlier on
Flex-able
; while some of
Vai
's sense of humor is still evident on tracks like the
cock rock
strut of
"The Audience Is Listening,"
it is mostly replaced by a spiritual reflectiveness on
ballads
like
"For the Love of God"
"Blue Powder"
and dignified, committed rockers like
"I Would Love To"
"Liberty."
is a more distinguished composer than most of his guitar-shredder contemporaries, and rather than simply showing off his technique, he isn't afraid to experiment or take chances in his playing. Thus,
is arguably the richest and best
hard rock
guitar-virtuoso album of the '80s. ~ Steve Huey