The Essential Steve Vai is comprised almost entirely of Vai's solo work (save for a Whitesnake song, "Kittens Got Claws," and one by the obscure outfit Alcatrazz, "Lighter Shade of Green"). While most "guitar shredders" got a bad rap during the '90s, Vai was always an exception to the rule -- there's no secret that Vai was one of the most technically accomplished guitarists in all of rock. If you're unfamiliar with Vai's work, go straight to the tracks from his first two solo releases, 1984's Flex-Able and 1990's Passion and Warfare, especially such ditties as "The Attitude Song," "For the Love of God," "The Animal," and the very Zappa-ish "Salamanders in the Sun.”

Some of these 32 tracks are reflective ballads, more are raging rockers (often laced with a devilish sense of humor)-and all abound in guitar pyrotechnics that only could have come from the mind and fingers of Steve Vai! These take us from his arrival in the '80s into the new millennium: Liberty; Die to Live; Salamanders in the Sun; The Animal; The Riddle; Bangkok; Blue Powder; Bad Horsie; Dyin' Day; Feathers; Frank; Ya-Yo Gakk; Jibboom; The Reaper; Essence , and more.