I was introduced to Steve Vai for the first time via the 1986 movie Crossroads, which starred Ralph Macchio in an update to the famous story of a blues guitarist who sells his soul to the devil. In this version,Vai plays the devil's guitarist, who Macchio's character must duel in the end to win back his mentor's soul. Seeing Vai play in that movie was the first time I had been in total awe of a guitarist since Eddie Van Halen revolutionized rock guitar back in the late 70's. I immediately went out and got the album Vai made with the band Alcatraz, and then picked up his later work on David Lee Roth's first two solo albums, and the album he did with Whitesnake. His guitar playing was incredible on all of these albums, but the problem with Steve Vai has never been with his guitar playing, it has been with his songwriting skills. The guy just isn't much of a songwriter. His solo albums have been very hit and miss, and generally disappointing. Vai has never achieved the commercial appeal that his mentor and former guitar teacher Joe Satriani has achieved, and is doesn't appear that he has particularly tried to. His albums have been very eclectic, and esoteric collections of guitar wizardry that have great appeal to his devoted fans, and guitar fanatics in general, but provide little for the mainstream rock music fan to grasp on to.

Live At The Astoria London is an overall excellent presentation of a rock guitar god in his prime. Vai is a guitarist's guitarist, whose virtuosity is almost unmatched. Professional and aspiring guitarists will watch this video and just shake their heads in amazement at his technique. Vai is able to create a symphony of sounds on his guitar using his fingers, tongue, whammy-bar, slide, and a variety of other tricks. His songs vary tremendously from delicate ballads, to quirky sound experiments, to jazz/rock fusion, as well as ferocious heavy metal assaults. You just never know what to expect. The DVD is a combination of two night's shows that have been seamlessly edited together to appear as one concert. His band for this tour is an all-star lineup featuring legendary bassist, and his partner from the David Lee Roth days, Billy Sheehan, as well as Tony Macalpine, who is a minor legendary shredder in his own right. Long time Vai drummer-extraordinaire Virgil Donati, and guitarist Dave Weiner fill out the rest of the band. Having two extra guitarists and a keyboardist in the band provide for a full and powerful sound, as well as accurate live reproductions of some of Vai's more complex and multi-layered songs.