Steve Vai's first album for Sony/Legacy is
Stillness in Motion, a double-live set -- it's available as a two-CD/two-DVD package -- that captures the guitarist's October 12, 2012 concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. This is, for want of a better word, something of an extravaganza: 22 tracks over the course of 130 minutes,
Vai dipping into nearly every phase of his career. He's as precise on-stage as he is in the studio, which may mean
Stillness in Motion lacks the kinetic energy that is the hallmark of so many great live albums. What it has instead is fluidity:
Vai and his backing band may specialize in pyrotechnics, but there's a grace to the playing on even the frenetic numbers, and that lyricism may be eye-opening to skeptics. To the converted, it is certainly a good reason to dive into this generous live set. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine