Steve Vai recorded his debut album,
Flex-able, at home on an eight-track studio and released it himself in 1984. Even though
Vai is one of rock's most renowned guitar virtuosos,
Flex-able isn't really a typical "shred" album; playing with
Frank Zappa for several years rubbed off on
Vai, and many of his compositions reflect both
Zappa's musical influence and a skewed sense of humor that makes for some whimsically entertaining moments (i.e., "Little Green Men"). Make no mistake, there's still plenty of
Joe Satriani-esque technical virtuosity on display, but since
Vai has a few other tricks in his bag,
Flex-able turns out to be much more enjoyable (and accessible to listeners other than guitar-technique fetishists) than the average '80s guitar shred-fest. ~ Steve Huey