Flex-Able

Flex-Able is the debut studio album by 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. 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'.

Flex-Able
Studio album by
Steve Vai
ReleasedJanuary 1984
RecordedApril–November, 1983
GenreProgressive rock, experimental rock
Length41:18 (without the bonus tracks)
55:04 (with the bonus tracks)
LabelUrantia Records (original)
Akashic Records (1988 reissue)
Epic Records (1997 reissue)
ProducerSteve Vai
Steve Vai chronology
Flex-Able
(1984)		 Flex-Able Leftovers
(1984)
Alternative cover
The 1988 re-released CD with bonus tracks
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Classic Rock[2]

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)

The album was originally released on vinyl in 1984.

All songs written by Steve Vai.

Side one
  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
  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 (Extend Re-Release)

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

Personnel
  • Steve Vai – synthesizer, bass, guitar, percussion, piano, electric guitar, keyboards, sitar, vocals, bells, producer, engineer, drum machine, drum programming, design, 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
  • William Becton – composer
  • Aaron Brown – design, illustrations
  • John Matousek – mastering
  • Mark Pinske – assistant
  • Neil Zlozower – photography

References
  1. Allmusic review
  2. Classic, Rock (10 September 2019). "Steve Vai: Flex-Able - Album Of The Week Club review". Loudersound. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  3. "Guitar World - New Issue Preview May 2009". Guitar World. 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-04-07.
  4. More Informations (Discogs)
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