Steve Vai is one of my favorite solo guitarist of all time. He is well known for his wide range of musical diversity and virtuosity in both technical and non-technical area. “For the Love of God” is one of his songs which is considered a classic, recorded in the album “Passion and Warfare” which were released back in July 1990. Quite a shock for me when I suddenly realized that this song is almost 28 years old but well, that’s the fact and I can do nothing about the amazement that I’ve just experienced. I don’t see why I should do anything about it anyway, hm. Anyway, this writing is going to be one of my most subjective post since it talks about a form of art which is music. And as far as I know, that thing called art often doesn’t come from that region where logical ideas and arguments escape from. For your information, below is the cover of Steve Vai’s “Passion and Warfare” album, the album that features “For the Love of God” as one of a number of songs in it.
Anyway, what’s with “For the Love of God”? What do I want to point out using that particular song as an example? Some people might feel that instrumental music pieces are just plain weird. They might be bothered by the absence of words in a song. I know very well that I’m not one of them obviously (and sure I’m proud of that, hm) but there’s this one question that keeps coming back to me: why do I like instrumental music? When some people asked me somewhere in the past, I didn’t think that I was capable enough to give any sort of satisfying explanation for them. But the past is the past. In this post, I’ll try to answer it and share my thoughts as clear as possible with anyone who are reading this. Greetings to all of you who are also able feel the “message behind a bunch of sounds without inherent meaning”.
I’ll start with the song “For the Love of God” itself and talk about what it means to me and what feeling does that tune evokes inside me, subjectively of course. But like any “academic-ish” approach of any form of art, even the tiniest bit of objectivity is mandatory to be mentioned or presented. In this case, I’ll describe the things I usually do and sense from the beginning of the song until the end. When I decide to listen to this song, I usually sit myself on the outer region of my bed, turn my head down first, take a deep breath while lifting my head up, and finally release the air inside my lungs; all done with both eyes closed, just like what Vai does in his video clip of this song. For me, it’s like a preparation for the spiritual event that I have chosen to experience with full consciousness. When the guitar finally kicks in, I instantly open my eyes a bit with my head tilted down a bit and also downward sight angle. Along the first verse I’ll spend most of the time with my eyes closed. What I hear is the line that is simply the main theme of the song, played in the key of E minor. Just flat notes, no bends, no vibratos, nothing. Just a series of notes being played in legato style. The second verse is a bit different, a bit escalation in technical aspect of the song is easily noticed. Vibratos and bends start to enter Vai’s playing. After the second verse is executed, the song takes a bit different turn by switching the vibe using G major chord as the section’s opening. I personally disagree to name that part as chorus, and it does not feel like a coda either. For me, the combination of the previously described verses and this section is similar to most poetry written in the Bible; the verses are the lines that are written a bit closer to the edge of the page while the G major section are the lines written closer to the center of the page. In this G major section, he incorporates his trademark slides into the phrasing of the notes. Then the song goes back to its’ main theme or verse. This time the whammy bar makes an entrance into the scene on the down-bend act from the note D to A, followed by further developed vibratos, slides and harmonic pickings. The repetition of the previously described third verse doesn’t sound anything like the main theme anymore although the other instruments are still playing the same verse pattern. Still dominated by legato style playing mixed with bends and vibratos, this part finally ends with aggressive whammy bar vibratos and a quick but not rushed series of ascending notes, up to the highest fret on the high E string and still incorporating a bend up to the highest F sharp note. Then the song takes a leap to a far higher level in both technical and soul aspect. This section consists of a main theme and a G major development part just like the everything else before, only this time Vai starts to do something called “shredding”. This section is special on its’ own since all of the techniques described above combined with the vibe that Vai wants to emphasis to his listeners is sort of like “a musical aggression that is as Steve Vai as it gets”. I’m unable to describe this section since I don’t think any other term beside “as Steve Vai as it gets” is going to do any justice to the description of this emotional section. After that glorious section, the song takes a turn back to the verse, only this time the leading line is an octave higher. Strangely, the song unexpectedly still goes “up” despite that this section is presented after the “shred” part. This final verse starts with the main theme that is an octave higher, followed by a series of note that finally concludes the song. The song slows down until it enters a “free tempo” region where the rest of the instruments sustains the E minor chord, garnished with some exotically placed notes while Vai’s lead goes higher gradually and the song is closed with a high B to C sharp bend, followed by a spoken line which says,”Walking the fine line between Pagan and Christian”. Oh and about me, I don’t really do much during the song since I enjoy drowning myself into the spiritual orgasm that this song provides.
Now with all those “textual” details, let’s move on to one of the most important part of understanding and appreciating music as a form of art; what does “For the Love of God” means to the listener (in this case, me)? Well, for me it “contextually” displays a spiritual journey. The lines which often doesn’t end in the root notes depicts the absence of any answer to every question that is being asked. The song sounds like a series of question and answer to me. The techniques, mode and scales that is being used in this song kinda speak to me that this is no cheap stuff. The story line in this song is pretty simple and well prepared yet at the same the storytelling is act pretty much unbounded due to the vast variants of “diction” I suppose. This interpretation is further confirmed by the video clip of the song. Another thing that is equally important for me is style. Subjectively, its’ a big score from me to a musician when I can easily know that it’s him/her playing without requiring to see any visual elements, all simply by listening using my own beloved ears. Simply said, I adore the presence of uniqueness and character in one’s creation, in this case that creation is in the form of music. If this song is considered a story which is being told, then who’s telling the story? In this case, it’s Steve Vai himself telling his own spiritual experience and you will easily recognize his “voice” in this song. Vai himself once said that for “For the Love of God”, one song that would come to be one of his most popular songs to date, he fasted for ten days and recorded the song on the fourth day of the fast.
But then, will another person who is also able interpret instrumental music decipher the exact same message after listening to “For the Love of God” as I wrote above? It’s a long shot, chances are small for such thing to happen. That’s another beauty of instrumental music; it gives more space and freedom for the listener to interpret the series of notes that he/she’s listening to. For me, a song with broader variants of possibly deciphered meaning can more easily relate to a person’s soul. Sometimes, just sometimes, the presence of words kinda force me to walk in certain shoes and sometimes I just plain hate that feeling since I highly value freedom of thoughts.
In the end, don’t get me wrong. I also love a lot of songs that feature lyrics in them. The number of instrumental pieces that I usually listen to might be far outnumbered by the songs that contain words that I also listen to everyday. It’s just, sometimes it feels better for me to hear no words at all, just notes being played by those instruments; guitar, piano, violin, you name it. Sometimes my need for a dive into the emotional part of myself pops up together with my urge to think at the same time. Well, for a musician and/or someone who appreciates music just like me, what activity could possibly provide a better relief from that condition other than listening to a song which one must decipher its’ meaning without a single word being said as a clue? Might be a guilty pleasure for me and others who are also like me in this context since it consumes time and thoughts, but hey, it’s still a form of pleasure nonetheless. Anyway, for those of you my fellow readers who are curious about this “For the Love of God” song or the people who know the song but simply want to listen to it after reading this, below are the links to the song and its’ video clip respectively (the video clip doesn’t feature the full song, some parts were cut off to shorten the duration of the clip). Enjoy, and see you on the next post.
- “For the Love of God” music video (Youtube):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiTXGswyAls
2. “For the Love of God” complete song (Youtube):
