Joe Satriani

I love it! It sounds like typical Satriani, but with a much more interesting rhythm section. At this point in his career, I couldn't ask for more. It has a very Crystal Planet vibe.
 
Only listened to the new album once so far, but...

A lot of it feels like filler or extended jams. The title track, Peregrine Wings, Cataclysmic, and the final three songs are all great, but the rest just feels kind of lazy. I dunno. Maybe it needs to sink in a bit. I can say that no matter what, this album should have had some songs cut. I love Satriani, but not all of these songs are good enough to justify making the record.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
Only listened to the new album once so far, but...

A lot of it feels like filler or extended jams. The title track, Peregrine Wings, Cataclysmic, and the final three songs are all great, but the rest just feels kind of lazy. I dunno. Maybe it needs to sink in a bit. I can say that no matter what, this album should have had some songs cut. I love Satriani, but not all of these songs are good enough to justify making the record.
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I'm still working my way through his discography & probably won't get round to buying this latest album for quite a while yet. Still, interesting to hear your thoughts Knicks...
 
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Haven't listened to the album apart from the 4 released songs yet, but...

Sadly, many of Satriani's albums of the 21st century feel that way. There are amazing songs on each and every album but there's a lot of filler that doesn't take you back to listening to it. The good thing is, some music just takes a bit longer to understand. Just last week I discovered some really good songs on Unstoppable Momentum that I hadn't liked/remembered before.
It does feel weird Satch would put all that unfinished or lazy-feeling material on his later albums, I'm sure he can come up with such quality stuff all the time just improvising around , wish he'd spend more time on the weaker songs. That said, the last Satriani album I feel is fully complete and awesome is Super Colossal (2006).
 
I definitely need to listen again. Most Satch songs take awhile to unfold. I actually really liked Unstoppable Momentum, especially after the very forgettable Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards. Professor Satch is also a pretty great album, in my opinion. Super Colossal and Love in Space both have momentous peaks and valleys: some incredible songs and some very bad ones.

Unfortunately, I think this one is destined to go the way of Black Swans, nothing terrible, just not very distinctive or interesting. EDIT: I think the thing that feels missing is actual themes: the song titles don't really inspire much of a mood or feel. Connecting titles to sound has always been really big in Satch's writing (and my enjoyment of it), but half of this album just feels lazy. It's also far too long, 64 minutes, the longest album since Crystal Planet! I think it would be much stronger with 3-4 less songs. Less is more, Satch.
 
Yesterday was the big day. I got to see Satch live and need I say it was pretty damn amazing. It started off with Dan Palatsky, some other guitarist, warming up the stage. The songs weren't masterpieces but he could handle his guitar pretty well. After a little pause, an intro video started to play. I knew things would get serious and soon enough the band members appeared on stage (they were visible in the darkness) and opened up with Shockwave Supernova. The setlist was long and good. Time and Crazy Joey were particularly enjoyable. Minnemann's drum solo was fantastic as well - what a beast, that guy. Satch sounded awesome throughout the gig, only thing that bothered me was that Keneally's tone had this really sharp top-end. Still, they improvised a lot and it was all-round fun. Btw, Keneally almost dropped one of his synths on the floor at one point.

I bought this shirt:
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Some footage from yesterday's gig (not filmed by me):
 
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