How the hell do you say anything new about Joe Satriani?
He has been at the top of the tree since Surfing With The Alien and he is still making music that is complex, technical and massively difficult for ordinary mortals to play. He somehow manages to imbue the music with emotion in a way that no-one else in his field does and as a listener I find that I only really get to the bottom of his numbers after the tenth or twelfth listen – after that I can just enjoy them!
This release features Mike Keneally on keyboards, Vinnie Colauita on drums and Chris Chaney on bass and these talents allow him a little more space for his playing but also allow him moments when the guitar is not the only thing to take your attention.
A case in point is Three Sheets to the Wind where he adds a dose of humor to the playing before following up with the moody and dark I’ll Put A Stone On Your Cairn – the keyboard backing allows him to pour the emotion into the song more than he is usually able to do.
He still rocks on numbers like A Door Into Summer and I can imagine the arms will be pumping in the crowd for this one.
Jumpin’ In is a cracking ‘widdler’ running into Jumpin’ Out which had me bouncing around the room like a loon.
The Satriani haters will still hate this album but he is going to go right on doing what he does because he is good enough to: Satriani is one of those guys who live to play, never happier than when they have a ‘project’ – a rock version of Joe Bonamassa maybe – and the more he does the fresher he sounds.
This is a classic Satriani album and I feel it will only get better with more listening.