Flex-Able

1984 studio album by Steve Vai

Flex-Able

Studio album by

Steve Vai

Released| January 1984
Recorded| April–November, 1983
Genre|

* Progressive rock
* instrumental rock
* experimental rock

Length| 41:18 (without the bonus tracks)
55:04 (with the bonus tracks)
Label| Urantia Records (original)
Akashic Records (1988 reissue)
Epic Records (1997 reissue)
Producer| Steve Vai
Steve Vai chronology
|  | Flex-Able
(1984)  | Flex-Able Leftovers
(1984)

|
|

Alternative cover

1988 reissue with bonus tracks

Professional ratingsReview scores

Source| Rating
Allmusic| [1]
Classic Rock| [2]

Flex-Able is the debut studio album by American virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. This was his first as a solo artist, and was created in Stucco Blue, a shed converted into a studio in Vai's old back garden. It is very different from many of his other albums, and is largely influenced by Frank Zappa; Vai was a member of his backing band from 1980 to 1983. Flex-Able does not rely as much on massive guitar arrangements and shred moments as the rest of his output from the 1990s onwards, with the exception of Leftovers which is a compilation of bonus tracks and remasters from his sessions at Stucco Blue.

The cover of the May 2009 issue of Guitar World features a photograph of Vai in a pose similar to the album's cover, including the bending guitar neck.[3]

## Track listing (Original LP release)

[edit]

The album was originally released on vinyl in 1984.

All songs written by Steve Vai.

### Side one

[edit]

1. "Little Green Men" – 5:39
2. "Viv Woman" – 3:09
3. "Lovers Are Crazy" – 5:39
4. "Salamanders in the Sun" – 2:26
5. "The Boy/Girl Song" – 4:02

### Side two

[edit]

1. "The Attitude Song" – 3:23
2. "Call It Sleep" – 5:09
3. "Junkie" – 7:23
4. "Bill's Private Parts" – 0:16
5. "Next Stop Earth" – 0:34
6. "There's Something Dead in Here" – 3:46

## Track listing (extended edition re-release)

[edit]

The album was re-released on CD in 1988 by Akashic Records, with four bonus tracks from the Flex-Able Leftovers EP; and again remastered and reissued by Epic Records in 1997, with the same track listing as the Akashic reissue. There is also one European reissue on Curcio Records (released in 1992 in Italy) that features the same cover on the vinyl and just the first eleven tracks.[4]

All songs written by Steve Vai unless otherwise indicated.

1. "Little Green Men" – 5:39
2. "Viv Woman" – 3:09
3. "Lovers Are Crazy" – 5:39
4. "Salamanders in the Sun" – 2:26
5. "The Boy/Girl Song" – 4:02
6. "The Attitude Song" – 3:23
7. "Call It Sleep" – 5:09
8. "Junkie" – 7:23
9. "Bill's Private Parts" – 0:16
10. "Next Stop Earth" – 0:34
11. "There's Something Dead in Here" – 3:46

Bonus From Flex-Able Leftovers EP

1.   2. "So Happy" (Steve Vai, Laurel Fishman) – 2:44
3. "Bledsoe Bluvd" – 4:22
4. "Burnin' Down the Mountain" – 4:22
5. "Chronic Insomnia" – 2:05

## Trivia

[edit]

The first song on the album, "Little Green Men", is dedicated to Nina Hagen.

## Personnel

[edit]

* Steve Vai – electric guitar, acoustic guitar, synthesizer, bass, percussion, piano, keyboards, sitar, vocals, bells, producer, engineer, drum machine, drum programming, design, and mixing

Additional Musicians

* Scott Collard – synthesizer, keyboards, Fender Rhodes
* Larry Crane – lyre, xylophone, bells, vibraphone
* Greg Degler – clarinet, flute, saxophone
* Joe Despagni – sound effects
* Laurel Fishman – vocals
* Peggy Foster – bass
* Chris Frazier – drums
* Stuart Hamm – bass, sound effects, vocals, vocals (background)
* Bob Harris – trumpet, vocals (as Irney Rantin)
* Suzannah Harris (as Ursula Rayven) – vocals
* Billy James – percussion, drums
* Paul Lemcke – keyboards
* Pia Maiocco – vocals
* Tommy Mars – violin, keyboards, vocals
* Lill Vai – sound effects
* Chad Wackerman – drums
* Pete Zeldman – percussion, drums

Production

* Aaron Brown – design, illustrations
* John Matousek – mastering
* Mark Pinske – assistant
* Neil Zlozower – photography

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Allmusic review
2. ^ Classic, Rock (September 10, 2019). "Steve Vai: Flex-Able - Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
3. ^ "Guitar World - New Issue Preview May 2009". Guitar World. February 25, 2009. Retrieved April 7, 2009.
4. ^ More Informations (Discogs)

* v
* t
* e

Steve Vai

Studio albums|

* Flex-Able
* Passion and Warfare
* Sex & Religion
* Fire Garden
* Flex-Able Leftovers (album)
* The Ultra Zone
* Real Illusions: Reflections
* The Story of Light
* Modern Primitive
* Inviolate
* Vai/Gash

EPs|

* Flex-Able Leftovers (EP)
* Alien Love Secrets (EP)

Compilations|

* The 7th Song, Enchanting Guitar Melodies (Archives Vol. 1)
* The Secret Jewel Box
* FZ Original Recordings; Steve Vai (Archives Vol. 2)
* The Elusive Light and Sound Vol. 1
* Mystery Tracks (Archives Vol. 3)
* The Infinite Steve Vai: An Anthology
* Piano Reductions, Vol. 1 (by Mike Keneally)

Live &
orchestral|

* G3: Live in Concert
* Alive in an Ultra World
* G3: Rockin' in the Free World
* Live in London
* G3: Live in Tokyo
* Sound Theories, Vols. 1–2
* Stillness in Motion: Vai Live in L.A.

Videos|

* Live at the Astoria, London
* Live in Denver (DVD)
* Visual Sound Theories

Frank Zappa|

* Tinsel Town Rebellion
* Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
* You Are What You Is
* Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
* The Man from Utopia
* Them or Us
* Thing-Fish
* Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
* Jazz from Hell
* Guitar
* You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
* You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
* You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
* As An Am
* You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
* You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
* Strictly Commercial
* Have I Offended Someone?
* Cheap Thrills
* Son of Cheep Thrills
* FZ Original Recordings; Steve Vai Archives, Vol. 2

Alcatrazz|

* Disturbing the Peace

David Lee Roth|

* Eat 'Em and Smile
* Skyscraper

Public Image Ltd|

* Album

Whitesnake|

* Slip of the Tongue

Collaborations|

* Generation Axe

Related|

* Evo

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

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