Joe Satriani - A Still Relevant Guitar Legend Posted By : Daniel DeLucie
Joe Satriani - A Still Relevant Guitar Legend
Joe Satriani handles Ibanez guitars like a brain surgeon handles a scalpel…or maybe a like knight in King Arthur’s court handles a sword. The essence is that Joe Satriani is a heck of a versatile guitar player. If he entered your local guitar shop, half the store would fall to its knees.
Satriani has been an Ibanez endorsee since the release of his breakthrough sophomore
album Surfing with the Alien. Satch is surely the most famous of all Ibanez endorsed musicians, and rightfully so as he is one the most creative, innovative, and admired players of all time.
As far back as his first album, Not of This Earth, Satriani has had a unique sound and a highly recognizable style. In the world of instrumental rock guitar, his first album was a breath of fresh air. From the start Satriani was a composer first and technical player second. Each of the songs on his first release was a well thought-out, melodic journey of high energy and emotion. Technique was used as a means to express a melodic concept or establish a mood, not for shredding’s sake as so many albums of this genre were doing at the time. One particularly groundbreaking song was the tapping showcase, yet highly melodic The Headless Horseman. Other Satch classics include the live-favorite Rubina, the perfectly titled The Enigmatic.
Satriani’s second release in October 87, Surfing with the Alien, set the instrumental guitar world on its ear. Heads were turning and jaws were dropping. It was the first instrumental rock album to reach the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart where it peaked at #29. His second CD was more accessible and focused on straight forward rocking than the eclectic Not of this Earth. Regardless, the record certainly deserves its praise and sales numbers. Like the first album, the focus is on melody and emotion rather than technique. However, there is some balls-out shredding on this album, but it never diminishes the strength of the songwriting. The solo section on the hit Satch Boogie especially rips. Simply however, every song on this record is excellent.
Satriani’s third release, Flying in a Blue Dream, features Ibanez guitars both in the recording and pictured on the packaging. This album also featured Joe’s vocals. The addition of vocals and the inventive song structures make this a more experimental album sitting in between the styles of the first and second records. Featured on this record are several short pieces, 6 of them at around two minutes or less in duration. There are also tremendous technical and compositional masterworks like the fantastic title track and fan favorite The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing. Also there??™s the more whimsical The Phone Call, which always makes me smile especially when he asks “You still there?”? before jumping into a tear-it-up guitar lead.
Joe’s follow-up to Flying in a Blue Dream, was the more straight-forward album, The Extremist. This was a more commercially successful release for Satriani. Only recently have I come to appreciate this album as I remember being a bit let down upon its initial release. This album probably contains some of Joe Satriani’s best melodic hooks like the songs Friends and Why. And, Cryin’ is surely one of the most moving songs he has ever recorded.
In 1993, Joe released a double album entitled Time Machine. I remember initially appreciating the awesome cover showing Satriani jumping across an array of floating timepieces while holding his ???chrome boy??? Ibanez guitar. This CD was expressed to be a leftovers album, and surprisingly most of the tracks are of very high quality. The album kicks off in great style with the catchy title track. There is much variety on this record from the blues-infused The Mighty Turtle Head to the barnstorming Dweller on the Threshold. Thinking of You is a beautiful acoustic piece with moving melodies. The first CD ends with Woodstock Jam which I always considered a filler track, but by then the listener is already convinced of the quality of the album. The second disc features live tracks which I actually rarely play.
After two more releases, Satch released what has to be his most hated and controversial album, Engines of Creation. The album is essentially a dance CD but with a prominent guitar rock focus. Engines is a risky experimental album but a hugely successful experiment. The techno-esque drum sound is a bit annoying at times but ultimately the quality of the music on this CD prevails. This disc is crammed with innovative guitar tones never heard on a Satriani album. Borg Sex is a sci-fi masterpiece and a live favorite. In fact all the songs off this record performed in concert with traditional rock instrumentation work fabulously. The criticism of this record is unfounded and apparently just a dislike of the genre. If the listener can transcend the dance genre, they will enjoy this awesome album.
After Engines of Creation Satriani was able to slip back into his old hard rocking shoes and create Strange Beautiful Music. I can unflinchingly call this album a masterpiece. On the cover, Joe is pictured holding his Ibanez with the logo clearly visible as if to say, my guitar and I are here to rock! The CD boasts 13 excellent songs and unfortunately one clunker. I despise the Hawaiian styled Sleep Walk. It just sounds entirely out of place among the other songs on this disc. Granted Satriani is experimenting with many styles on this disc but this is the only song the sticks out like a sore thumb. On the other hand, Starry Night is one of the better stylistic experiments of Joe’s career. It’s quite an accomplishment that at this later stage of his career, Satriani can strap on his guitar and crank out a lengthy album of consistent high quality music like Strange Beautiful Music.
With Joe Satriani Ibanez has one of the best representatives of their product they could ever hope for. Satriani has benefitted from Ibanez guitars but you could certainly make say that Ibanez has benefitted from Satriani. Satriani has still yet to release a bad or even mediocre record really and continues to tour and record actively. And there you have the reason for the genuflection at the guitar shop.