Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
1988 . Was this where he peaked ? Was this his prime ?
DanTravis62
Moderator
No I think he peaked as a player on fire and ice
Techdeth
RESIDENT ROCK PROFESSOR
Fire and ice is pretty good . That was second choice . It is a strange production but I love it . I been playing through all my old tab books . Teaser is so fun to play still
W
Wayniac3
Well-known member
I don't think his playing was ever the same after the car accident in 87.. though that is a helluva comeback in 88! Even his tone & level of gain seemed to change (to my ears at least)
K
Kordoba
Well-known member
For writing commercial/catchy songs I think it was his peak. For ass blasting balls out material, Marching Out.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
I actually think Eclipse is him at his peak. He was apparently drunk for most of the recording of that album ( drinking wine daily) but he rips on it and the song writing is fantastic. So many 3 string arpeggio lead breaks, monstrous. But then Fire and Ice starts to dip down. Still had good tunes on other albums but started being very unstructured lead wise. I think Blitzkrieg was really good though, saw some signs of life there before War to End All Wars solidified and confirmed his fall from the throne. That album is shit. Attack album? More drivel.
Chubtone
Well-known member
I think Yngwie's peak was the Alcatrazz album. Monstrous and was forced to conform a little bit with other, more experienced musicians. That being said, I love everything from Steeler through Marching Out. Yes, the Steeler album is cheesy in 2025 but in 1983 that album and Steeler's club shows in LA set the whole city and soon the world on it's ear.
dstroud
Well-known member
you heard the instrumental jams when they were learning the tunes for that Alcatrazz album? Not the best audio but super fun to listen to anyway!
Metalhex
Well-known member
To me his peak was 1986 Yngwie. Check any live video from that year. That is, if we're talking technical prowess. I thought his albums were great all the way through the 90s. Including his Concerto Suite. Alchemy was very good but that's where the decline started. Thr stuff with Doogir was still good. The Ripper stuff was less good then since the 2010's it was a RAPID decline
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
that Steeler album is so bad but that guitar playing is CRAAAAAZY. He fucking rips hard on that. That was his first official album was it not? Hello World, meet YJM!
DanTravis62
Moderator
This. The decline didn't happen until the 2010s. The early stuff is great but it's overrated, especially compositionally, and its quite rudimentary compared to what he would do in the 90s and early 2000s
most of that (the overrating his early stuff) is nostalgia for the time period by people who lived through it i'm guessing - i'm sure hearing his playing was like an alien UFO landing in your living room in 1985 or whatever. But his music and actual albums weren't anywhere near their peak - just the level of mainstream attention to his technical skill.
crankyrayhanky
Well-known member
It's not this:
sandman
Well-known member
Odyssey and Eclipse are my two favorite albums of his. I like the earlier stuff also but his later stuff after Eclipse was more hit or miss to me.
C
chumbucket
Well-known member
For my money, Yngwie peaked on the Alcatrazz live album and the Rising Force debut. It was all downhill from there.
Chubtone
Well-known member
Thanks so much for explaining what really happened to those of us who experienced it chronologically.
Chubtone
Well-known member
It was 1983. Do you remember what was out and happening in 1983? Not much at all. The Ratt EP. Too Fast For Love. The Steeler album was kind of par for the course. If you got into rock in the mid to late 70's and heard things as they changed, the album didn't stand out as being that bad. If you started listening to rock in 1985 and then first heard the Steeler album in 1987, sure it was pretty bad.
DanTravis62
Moderator
I mean, you could just say "yeah you're probably right but I don't like that you're right about it
" but being a passive aggressive woman about it even when I added qualifiers like "I'm guessing" and "I'm sure" certainly makes it seem like a touched a nerve People assuming his peak musically was his peak exposure in the popular media is a common enough thing to conflate, so I'm not exactly surprised
Chubtone
Well-known member
I agree with this completely. Odyssey was his highest charting US album ever.
T
tonedog
Well-known member
100% and he played some of the best guitar ever on those records. If you like him or not, nobody had better command, better bend intonation and just raw virtuosity than he did at that time. Insane and absolutely great.
Kapo_Polenton
Well-known member
True.. Ratt's first albums is weak, Too Fast for Love sort of " cool" but the Scorps were bringing it and Schenker def was with MSG. Dio era Rainbow too I think no? There was some great stuff out. But you are right, Steelers wasnt drastically worse than a lot of what their peers put out.
