I finally got hold of the new cleverly titled ‘Naked’ Steve Vai Backing tracks  and i have to say i’m very impressed.

Playing Along with these tracks is excellent fun and as far as my ears can tell Mr. Vai has just taken the guitar off the original album tracks to give us the authentic sound of these fabulous musicians to play along with!

He hasn’t just muted the guitar off though,  guide parts have been left in over introductions so you know when to come in and the whole thing sounds like it has been re-mixed/mastered to give a fuller sound in absence of the lead parts.

Listening to these tracks without playing along has an unexpected bonus as you can hear all the little intricate parts that get lost in the mix behind the lead guitar.

It also certainly gave me a greater appreciation for how much Vai does with his guitar playing as the tracks do indeed sound very naked without his Vai-ness

There’s a new section coming to the www.guitarod.com website in the summer  called “The Style File” Where im going to take well known guitar players and show you how to do play in their style using techniques, riffs & phrasing common to there playing. Not just playing one of their songs but becoming a  “soundalike” so you play any song in their style.. Guess who’s going to be one of the first?!?…

Vai has once again pulled a marketing masterstroke and become the first guitarist to really capitalize from backing tracks using his own website www.vai.com and www.Itunes.com for electronic distribution.  Some guitar players have attempted this before but not with the marketing and branding that Vai has ironically made his trademark.

In summary; A must buy for any Vai fan and well worth the money!

This JD reporting for GuitarOD.com, playing ‘Tender Surrender” with my foot on the coffee table pretending its a stage monitor and i’m playing to a packed Wembly, not just my dog