Merry Axemas –by Rich Maloof
Guitar magazine, December 1997
Steve Vai culls holiday cuts from top players. Steve Vai has donned a lot of hats in his time. The Santa cap seems to fit him especially well.
Still on the road for G3, and at the same time preparing tracks for a soon-to-be-released box set, Vai called on some of today’s most highly respected guitarists to contribute their talents to Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas. Featuring 11 cuts of instrumental holiday melodies, the album packs more cheer than spiked punch at the office Christmas party. Neatly wrapped tracks from the likes of Alex Lifeson, Jeff Beck, Brian Setzer, Joe Satriani, and Vai himself make for an impressive, eclectic collection good any time of year.
“I thought it would be really nice to get tracks from various artists who really have a distinct voice in the guitar community,” says Vai. “Holiday melodies are timeless, and they’re inspired. And sometimes they’re corny, but some of them are really tender and pretty. We have a really good mix of all that on this record.” Though the average Joe might have a tough time getting these top-shelf players on the phone, Vai’s idea was warmly received.
“With everybody I approached, their eyes immediately lit up and they were ready to go. For a musician to be able to put aside all the hassles that come with releasing a proper full-length record – all the anxiety of pleasing the labels and pleasing the fans and falling within a budget and all that – makes for sheer simplicity and joy when you imagine what you would do with a Christmas melody.”
Steve took a few minutes out to describe the contributions to Merry Axemas. Though time constraints and various artists’ schedules cut Steve’s wish list back a bit (star players like Carlos Santana and Brian May had conflicts; versions of Hendrix playing Christmas songs were, unfortunately, unavailable for the project), this is one gift you will not wait until December 25th to open.
Kenny Wayne Shepherd – “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer”
Kenny did “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” and when I heard that was the song that he wanted to do, at first I was a little nervous. I was afraid it might come off sounding corny. But [the KWS band] made it playful yet hip; they funked it up and they bluesed it out, and I was really happy with it. It was a situation where they took something that would normally be considered pretty cornball and did a really good job with it.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra – “Jingle Bells”
I had heard he did a record for Jingle All The Way, that Arnold Schwarzenegger film, and there was a piece on there, “Jingle Bells,” that he was singing and playing with his 17-piece big-band. I thought it would be great to take out the vocal and take out the rhythm guitar and put a guitar on top of it playing the melody. This version is the same exact track from the soundtrack, with the guitar replacing the vocal. Brian is a guy who’s pushing the parameters and going against the grain. You look at him and you know he’s gone hook, line, and singer into that big-band era, and you that that he is what he plays – there’s no escaping it. And that’s where the success stories lie.
Jeff Beck – “Amazing Grace”
That Jeff wanted to be a part of this was a godsend, because he’s such a fabulous player, and so unique. We [were going to use] “Greensleeves” from his Truth album. I thought I could take that, and since it’s only 1:47 long, I’d put an arrangement to it for a second chorus. But Jeff wasn’t crazy about that because he didn’t think it was a good enough performance, and I guess he wasn’t quite sure how it would turn out. So he actually got really excited about doing “Amazing Grace,” and he went as far as to get together a huge 30-piece choir to perform the background while he did the melody on top. It turned out to be just stunning. The man has intonation like no one what was ever born. My jaw hit the floor when I heard it.
Joe Satriani – “Silent Night”
Joe was one of the first ones to hand in a track, and he was really enthusiastic to participate. He already had a version of “Silent Night” when I first spoke to him. When I heard it, I was really surprised by the way that he’d performed the melody. It was different from anything he’s ever done. It’s almost like a prayer the way that you can hear each note and the way it breathes and the way the wah-wah sounds. It’s really a very intimate performance. And then he goes berserk at the end, which is fun. It’s like, every time I received a cassette or DAT from each of these players, it was like Christmas.
Eric Johnson – “The First Nowell”
“The First Nowell” is played in a unique style for Eric, but it was always in him to do something like this. I think it’s one of his best recorded pieces in the sense of production, too.
Eric told me he’s turning over a new leaf and doesn’t want to spend so much time in the studio anymore. For whatever reason, I know I find my best stuff sometimes comes out under the gun. But when you hear that track, you can hear Eric’s voice. If you talk to him he has a certain way of speaking and inflecting his words, and when he sings there’s a certain touch – it’s filled with these little treasures of nuances. Those are in his fingers, too, and they identify him as Eric Johnson. That one was a real catch, and a wonderful rendition.
Steve Vai – “Christmas Time Is Here”
And then there’s my track. I was originally gonna do “Avé Maria.” But we were backstage one night last October and Mike Keneally, my keyboard player, started to play the Charlie Brown song “Christmas Time Is Here.” When you hear a song like that, if you’re my age or if you’re a sucker for the Peanuts specials, that song has heartstrings on it. It started just tugging away at me, and I thought, this is the song.
Alex Lifeson – “Little Drummer Boy”
I don’t think Alex knew the arrangement to “Little Drummer Boy” and first, or the melody per se. So I sent him a bunch of versions of it, and didn’t know what to expect. But there’s nothing like his track on the record. It really builds nicely, and it’s one of those ones that you can listen to without prejudice, so to speak; without worrying about any overt virtuosity or notes getting in the way or anything.
Steve Morse – “Joy To The World”
I knew as soon as his name was mentioned for the project he was going to do a great job. This is a song that’s in a sense between playful and sensitive, and the way he arranged all the layers, the song kind of evolves. At times it sounds sort of like Jeff Beck-meets-Eric Johnson in a sense, but the thing that I like about it is how he layered different tones. There’s no drums – nothing but guitars. It’s really hard to layer a lot of guitars and five them ample space so they have their own place in the frequency spectrum and can speak clearly without sounding like a mess of distorted frequencies. Not only did he do that really well, but he conveyed the sentiment of the melody.
Joe Perry – “Blue Christmas”
What a great choice. It was really hard to pace the record so that it builds and it ebbs and flows; it’s too easy to go ballad crazy. So Joe Perry’s track really sits nicely. We actually took two versions – one fast, one slow – and decided to “glue” them together. I love the version that he did, especially the first half; it sounds like a bunch of drunken sailors. His slide intonation is quite good. You can really hear Joe Perry on here. I mean, it sounds like him. Even though it’s got sequenced drums at times, it’s got that Joe Perry, rock attitude. You can’t mistake this guy when the pick hits the strings.
Richie Sambora – “Cantique”
I remember going to a Bon Jovi show years ago and realizing Richie was a better guitar player than I think most people are aware of. So I was really interested to see what kind of a track he’d come up with. He got together with [producer] Don Was on this one here, and if you listen to the arrangement, it’s quite thick and moves underneath.
Hotei – “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”
Hotei is a pop icon in Japan. Hotei is really big, and he’s not primarily an instrumental guitarist, but among the Japanese audience he has made a voice on the instrument. The track turned out really nice, and [Hotei’s people] were hoping to be a part of the worldwide release, so we thought it was a great choice. It’s very different than a traditional Christmas song. I was very pleasantly surprised when I heard the track because the arrangement sounds like they put a lot of energy and a lot of work into it. The melody is right there, and the tone of the guitar cuts you. And that’s what this record is all about.
