The Ultra Zone
The Ultra Zone is the sixth studio album by guitarist Steve Vai, released on September 7, 1999, through Epic Records.
The Ultra Zone is structurally similar to Vai's previous album, Fire Garden, in that the first half of the album consists mainly of instrumentals, and the second half mainly of vocal songs; however, unlike Fire Garden, The Ultra Zone is not formally divided into two "phases".
Background
The Ultra Zone is notable for its tributes to two guitarists: Frank Zappa, and Stevie Ray Vaughan.This was Vai's last studio album of original material until 2005's Real Illusions: Reflections; in the years in between, he released several compilations of his material, as well as a live album.
This album includes the participations of Koshi Inaba and Tak Matsumoto from the Japanese band B'z on "Asian Sky".
Track listing
All songs written by Steve Vai.- "The Blood & Tears" – 4:26
- "The Ultra Zone" – 4:52
- "Oooo" – 5:12
- "Frank" – 5:09
- "Jibboom" – 3:46
- "Voodoo Acid" – 6:25
- "Windows to the Soul" – 6:25
- "The Silent Within" – 5:00
- "I'll Be Around" – 4:57
- "Lucky Charms" – 6:44
- "Fever Dream" – 6:03
- "Here I Am" – 4:12
- "Asian Sky" – 5:34
Personnel
- Steve Vai – everything, everything else, guitars, vocals
- Koshi Inaba – vocals
- Tak Matsumoto – guitar
- Mike Keneally – keyboards
- John Sergio – bass
- Philip Bynoe – bass
- Bryan Beller – bass
- Gregg Bissonette – drums
- Mike Mangini – drums
- Robin DiMaggio – drums
- Andy Cleaves – trumpet
- Duane Benjamin – trombone
- Niels Bye Nielsen – orchestration