Joe Satriani – SURFING WITH THE ALIEN:

The review ….

02 – Ice nine
I saw this live and when he played it, it sounded nothing short of FAT!! No, make that PHAT! The studio rendition is much more clear, and almost a little tiny and brittle in places, but the riffs remain the same, however this song doesn’t really sit out from the first. But don’t be mistake by dismissing it, there is a crazy almost discordant solo in the middle, but unfortunately its “how many notes can I fit into one bar” for a while before it breaks into another solo. This song has many layered guitars, often changing the overall lead guitar (melody’s) tone whilst the main backing riff will have you toe tapping and nodding.

04 – Always with me, always with you
The number four slot on all his albums seem to be saved for the ballad songs he does, and this is no exception. It could be mistaken for a slow and dreary ballad at the beginning, but stick with it, when the guitar comes in you feel yourself slowly unwinding. The tracks strong points are the movement towards really focusing on the main lead. The backing guitar compliments this track well, remaining audible, but subtle enough not to detract from the piece. The main tapping solo lends itself well to the main solo which seems to almost be an explosion of emotion captured on this record. (Satch has been known to walk offstage once or twice playing a song because of becoming too emotion I recall.)
05 – Satch boogie
This is almost his personal track, in the sense his nick name is “Satch” and we are led to belie this song was the result of his guitar teacher and Joe naming his riffs “ satch boogie 1, 2, 3, 4 etc” This song is crazy, just with the amount of energy it posses, and is a really cool song to see live, although I am not particularly favourable to it. The main riff again is catchy and almost infectious along with the almost seeming jazz drumbeat. Overall this song could almost be used as a nice introduction to the start of a gig, just to bring the band out in style.

07 – Circles
I love this track, there is something about the clarity in the songs melody and tone here that lends its self to creating images of a dark, rainy windy night, and being out walking. I did hear a live version of this track with a really really cool drum introduction, which is sadly not here L. The track takes off after one minute into a crazy upbeat solo, only to return to the image casting introduction riff where it slowly fades. A nice song LISTEN TO IT! wohahahha

09 – Midnight
This is Joes magnificent two handed tapping track, very difficult to get the co-ordination correct on this when playing guitar, even though it’s a short track don’t be fooled into thinking its easy! This shows his true skill as an amazing guitarist. It sounds like it should really be linked off Circles, as a cool build up to it. Again this is an atmospheric track, capturing the spirit of something almost evil. It’s hard to describe!

Overall, I like this album; some tracks are good others not just like most albums. The overall sound is very studio, professional and polished, its clarity struck me the most listening back to it. A lot of the synth work goes un noticed to, but it’s a nice addition to this album. Have a listen if you get the chance, but if you are thinking about buying it, you might want to try getting Joe Satriani – Live in san fransicio, which is a much better, collection of hits.