Alive in an Ultra World


Alive in an Ultra World is a live album by Steve Vai, recorded during The Ultra Zone world tour in 2000, and released in 2001. The songs compiled on this album were written specifically for the countries that Vai and his band were visiting. All of the songs were first released on this album, with the exception of "Devil's Food", which was originally released on Vai's 1996 album Fire Garden. Due to logistical complications, some songs could not be recorded in the nation they were written for.

Background

During the promotional tour for the album The Ultra Zone, Vai attempted to compose and record live songs dedicated to different countries. However, the country that inspired a track did not always match the recording location. For example, "Giant Balls of Gold", dedicated to Poland, was recorded in Greece, while "The Black Forest", dedicated to Germany, was recorded in Scotland. The track "Devil's Food" includes quotations from Frank Zappa's song "Dog/Meat", and "Light of the Moon," dedicated to Australia, features a quote from "Waltzing Matilda".
Most of the tracks are not purely live recordings, as editing and overdubbing were applied. However, "Devil's Food" and the Japanese edition bonus track "Maple Leafs" are unedited; in the former, even Vai's MC during guitar string maintenance is included as it happened.

Reception and reviews

In his home country, the United States, the album failed to enter any of the Billboard charts. In France, however, it reached number 122 on the album chart dated 23 June 2001.
The track "Whispering a Prayer" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 44th Annual Grammy Awards. William Ruhlmann of AllMusic gave the album 3 out of 5 stars, describing it overall as "basically typical Vai", while noting that tracks such as "Iberian Jewel", "Incantatio"n, "Babushka", and "Light of the Moon" "show clear influence from the local music of the countries they are dedicated to."

Track listing

All songs written by Steve Vai.

Disc 1

  1. "Giant Balls of Gold" – 4:45
  2. *Song for Poland
  3. "Burning Rain" – 4:50
  4. *Song for Japan
  5. "The Black Forest" – 6:38
  6. *Song for Germany
  7. "Alive in an Ultra World" – 3:53
  8. *Song for Slovenia
  9. "Devil's Food" – 10:09
  10. *Song for The Netherlands
  11. "Blood and Glory" – 4:53
  12. *Song for the United Kingdom
  13. "Whispering a Prayer" – 8:45
  14. *Song for Ireland
  15. "Iberian Jewel" – 4:38
  16. *Song for Spain

Disc 2

  1. "The Power of Bombos" – 5:04
  2. *Song for Greece
  3. "Incantation" – 8:53
  4. *Song for Bulgaria
  5. "Light of the Moon" – 5:47
  6. *Song for Australia
  7. "Babushka" – 6:42
  8. *Song for Romania
  9. "Being with You " – 6:24
  10. *Song for France
  11. "Principessa" – 5:51
  12. *Song for Italy
  13. "Brandos Costumes " – 6:04
  14. *Song for Portugal
  15. "Maple Leafs " – 2:28
  16. *Song for Canada