Flex-Able | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | January 1984 | |||
Recorded | April–November, 1983 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 41:18 (without the bonus tracks) 55:04 (with the bonus tracks) | |||
Label | Urantia Records (original) Akashic Records (1988 reissue) Epic Records (1997 reissue) | |||
Producer | Steve Vai | |||
Steve Vai chronology | ||||
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Alternative cover | ||||
![]() The 1988 re-released CD with bonus tracks |
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Classic Rock | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Flex-Able is the debut studio album by American virtuoso guitarist Steve Vai. This was his first as a solo artist, and was created in Stucco Blue, a shed converted into a studio in Vai's old back garden. It is very different from many of his other albums, and is largely influenced by Frank Zappa, whom Vai was a member of his backing band from 1980 to 1983. Flex-Able does not rely as much on massive guitar arrangements and shred moments as the rest of his output from the 1990s onwards, with the exception of Leftovers which is a compilation of bonus tracks and remasters from his sessions at 'Stucco Blue'.
The cover of the May 2009 issue of Guitar World features a photograph of Vai in a pose similar to the album's cover, including the bending guitar neck.[3]