Steve Vai's "Sex and Religion" Review by Mogli
Sex and Religion was released in 1993 as another addition to Steve Vai’s discography. The guitarist. who had played lead for Zappa and David Lee Roth (and later the Halo 2 soundtrack) and was just coming off of his very well-received Passion and Warfare record, tried to assemble an all-star team of players to collaborate with, including: Devin Townsend of future Strapping Young Lad and solo work fame; TM Stevens, the bass player for James Brown; and Terry Bozzio, also from Zappa and the possessor of one of the largest kits in the world (yes even bigger than Neil Pearts’s). But as with most supergroups, the whole was not quite the sum of its parts. No doubt the chops are amazing and surprisingly tasteful, as the band members kind of balance each other out. The songwriting is where the record suffers, though. There are a few tracks that get the balance of edgy sincerity, glossy polish, and boundary pushing experimentation, but quite a few miss the mark by seeming forced/playacted, glorified porn music, and completely up-their-own-orifice wandering.
Tracks that are worth a listen? Here and Now, Still My Bleeding Heart, Pig, and the first half of Deep Down Into the Pain. Tracks to avoid, even for die-hard fans? Road to Mt. Cavalry, last half of Deep Down Into the Pain, In My Dreams, and the title track, where the pretension of the album/s “theme” collides with some of the hookiest songwriting.
The other tracks are all right but nothing terribly remarkable. At worst they sound like Nickelodean canned rock stuff. Again, the biggest feeling around this album for this reviewer is disappointment; you can hear where the potential of all these people could have gotten, but it never really reaches. On the plus side, the bitter taste of this album and the subsequent tour partially inspired Devin Townsend to start his Strapping Young Lad project, so silver linings and all.
Mogli out
Posted June 24, 2013, 7:10 p.m. to KMNR New Music Blog (Tumblr) - Permalink