Steve Vai once recorded a guitar track for four days straight, but Bob Dylan ruined it.
During a recent chat with Rick Beato, Vai explained the four-day work he did in a studio for Alcatrazz’s ‘Desert Diamond.’ In his words, he had a ton of ideas for the song but Dylan had other plans. He explained:
“There was this one song called ‘Desert Diamond,’ and the solo section I had this idea. I’m gonna orchestrate it for fifteen guitars and I’m gonna record this whole thing backwards and then fly it down to 2-tracks. I started to record this and it took me like four days. The next day I was gonna sneak in and fly it into the master.”
Vai then explained how his work was ruined when Dylan and his team decided to use the same tape Vai recorded to:
“I take my tape, and I put it on the shelf and as I’m leaving the studio, Bob Dylan is sitting in the waiting room. He’s waiting to get in, and he liked slap echo. And there’s my beautiful stereo guitar backwards orchestra and they grab it and they’re using that for slap for Bob Dylan. I get in there the next day, half of it is half of my backwards guitar orchestra and the rest, because I had to bring it back to speed, is a munchkin Bob Dylan just going (imitates Dylan).”
Vai Still Loves Bob Dylan
Although his work was ruined, Vai’s love for Dylan wasn’t.
In another interview with Louder Sound, the guitar virtuoso named the ten albums that changed his life. He also discussed the first time he discovered Dylan’s music and described it as a treasure:
“That moment of discovery is so special – the floodgates just open up – and the great thing is, it can continue to happen your whole life. I never really listened to Bob Dylan until fairly recently, and now I have every one of his records. It’s like a new life treasure when you find an artist who you resonate with. I love that feeling.”
You can see the interview below.