Steve Vai has revealed that the song “Damn Good”, a highlight from David Lee Roth’s 1988 Skyscraper album was originally scheduled for his defining 1990 work Passion And Warfare, until the former Van Halen singer got a hold of it. The guitar virtuoso made his comments while chatting to Eamon O’Neill of eonmusic about his latest album, Inviolate, which is available via Mascot Label.

Speaking about the recording of Passion And Warfare, Vai said; “So I’m 25 or 26, and Passion And Warfare is back here [in the back of my head] and it’s just going ‘let me out! Let me out!’, and I started recording it even when I was with all these other bands. It was a little secret. I didn’t expect that record to sell, I didn’t expect anything; I just wanted to make it.”

Speaking about the introspective “Sisters”, which has since become a fan-favourite, the onetime Whitesnake player said; “I used to think that it had to be technically dazzling in order to be interesting or in order for it to be engaging. There’s nothing fascinating about the performance of ‘Sisters’; it’s very simple, right? So, I was going back and forth in my mind; “well this is very simple; are people going to like it?!” That’s where I was at back then, but I loved it so much that I just said; “I’m just going to record this piece. I really want to do it. People might not get it; it might be a song they skip over”, and boy, was I wrong!”    

It was when the interviewer suggested that “Sisters” was reminiscent of “Damn Good” in places, that the guitarist opened up about the songs origins. “You can kind of hear it, yeah,” he said. “To be honest, ‘Damn Good’ was originally called ‘Scandinavian Air Solo’. That’s what I called it when I wrote it, and that was scheduled for ‘Passion and Warfare’, but since we did ‘Damn Good’, I didn’t do it for Passion And Warfare.” 

Going on to praise Roth, Steve said that he wouldn’t have been fit to attend any of his former boss’s farewell shows, which were scheduled to have taken place in January. Said Vai; “Well, I was scheduled to be in rehearsals, but, yeah, I know that those were announced to be his last shows, and you know what, god bless him. David Lee Roth came, and he delivered, in a big way for all of us, and might I add, he changed the whole scene, in the world of ‘80s rock, and rock in general.”

He concluded; “I mean, he played the part; and was a bona fide rock star, and we loved it. I know for me, it was amazing because I got to be a part of that whole craziness, and it was so much fun. It made me famous almost overnight, so it was great. So, I’m very happy for him.”

Read more at eonmusic.co.uk.

(Photo - Larry DiMarzio)