JOE SATRIANI WAS FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM AND WENT BACK TO SHALLA BAL

Hands down, no doubt about it, JOE SATRIANI is a shit hot guitarist. He was from the very moment he burst onto the 80`s music scene with his groundbreaking all instrumental album SURFING WITH THE ALIEN, following the promising but more rudimentary debut NOT OF THIS EARTH. Before commencing his recording career, Satriani was already a well established and highly acclaimed guitar tutor, fellow american virtuoso STEVE VAI and METALLICA lead guitarist KIRK HAMMETT being two of his most high profile 'students'. Following SURFING WITH THE ALIEN in 1987, Satriani backed it up with what i regard as his definitive album, FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM in 1989, which i will get to and elaborate more on in a sec, followed by the more subdued and introspective set THE EXTREMIST in 1992. Subsequent releases after THE EXTREMIST increasingly were a tad too self indulgent and lacked the fresh innovation of his three 80`s corkpoppers. What got me listening to Satriani again in the last few years for the first time since the early 90`s has been the supergroup CHICKENFOOT, of which Satch is a member, along with SAMMY HAGAR, MICHAEL ANTHONY and CHAD SMITH from the RED HOT CHILLI PEPPERS. The fact that there is singing in Chickenfoot makes it a lot easier for a music writer like me to find a starting point to write something about the band in contrast to Satriani's almost exclusively solo instrumental output. The only album that Satriani ever sang on is FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM from 1989. Okay, Satch is not a fantastic and powerful vocalist, but neither was Jimi Hendrix, and it's always bemused me why Satch and fellow instrumental solo guitarist STEVE VAI haven't opted to sing a lot more often. I may be wrong, but offhand i believe the only album STEVE VAI ever sang on was his brilliant and progressive 1996 release, FIRE GARDEN. Now getting back to FLYING IN A BLUE DREAM, the opening title track is an incredible dreamy epic, propelled along like a ballad with a perfectly executed finale with a mezmerising guitar rift. Track two THE MYSTICAL POTATO HEAD GROOVE THING might have a title like a Pink Floyd or Jefferson Airplane album but it doesn't sound anything like mid 60`s acid rock. It sounds like an epic piece of heavy rock guitar. BIG BAD MOON is Satriani's best attempt at singing, and this song was released as a single, the melody has a unusually workmanlike feel about it by Satriani standards, probaly because he had to write something more song based to sing to. My favourite song is one which Satch neglected to leave off his greatest hits, which i find a bit odd, and it's called BACK TO SHALLA BAL, a rollicking instrumental that is exhilirating and awe inspiring heavy rock guitar.