Joe Satriani was one of the best, most influential rock guitarists of the late '80s. Before Satriani became a recording star, however, he taught guitar is San Francisco. Some of his students are: Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Steve Vai, and Larry LaLonde of Primus.

Joe Satriani - Not of this Earth (Relativity) 1986

1. "Not of This Earth" (3:55)
2. "Snake" (4:40)
3. "Rubina" (5:50)
4. "Memories" (4:00)
5. "Brother John" (2:07)
6. "Enigmatic" (3:25)
7. "Driving at Night" (3:30)
8. "Hordes of Locusts" (4:55)
9. "New Day" (3:56)
10. "Headless Horseman" (1:50)

Joe's first full length studio release is simply phenomenal. I bought this as a new release when I was in college. It was the disc that we usually rocked late at night when we wanted to chill. This disc is more atmospheric than anything Joe would do from here on out. Most importantly, Satriani knows how to write songs, not just drum beats with solos on top making this disc one that appeals to more than just musicians. Not a bad song on this one. "Not of this Earth "was released with two different cover, this one is the original, the other featured a photo of Joe and was changed after his popularity exploded.

Joe Satriani - Surfing With The Alien (Relativity) 1988

1. "Surfing with the Alien" (4:20)
2. "Ice Nine" (4:08)
3. "Crushing Day" (5:16)
4. "Always with Me, Always with You" (3:20)
5. "Satch Boogie" (3:10)
6. "Hill of the Skull (1:46)
7. "Circles" (3:27)
8. "Lords of Karma" (4:46)
9. "Midnight" (1:42)
10. "Echo" (5:38)

This was Joe's breakthrough disc. Satriani's sound was more biting and the musicianship stunning. "Surfing with the Alien," was released in 1987 and was the first rock instrumental album in years to chart in the Top 30 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums. But what really broke the album, was the single "Satch Boogie" that is a staple for rock radio even today. However, other tracks like the twisted "Ice 9" or the melancholy, soulful "Always with Me, Always with You," make the entire album a good listen. Cool cover art as well featuring the Silver Surfer.

Joe Satriani - Dreaming #11 (Relativity) 1988

1. The Crush Of Love" (4:20)
2. Ice Nine" [live] (3:58)
3. Memories" [live] (8:46)
4. Hordes Of Locusts" [live] (5:08)

Essentially "Dreaming #11" is a single for "The Crush of Love" backed by three live tracks. "Crush of Love" is the only studio track here, and is one of Satriani's most popular instrumentals. Actually, "Crush of Love" receives quite a bit of airplay in my hometown. I hear it regularly on local rock radio. The song isn't just an exercise for Joe to prove to the world what an amazing guitarist he is. Rather, it is a moody song that tells a story without the help of lyrics. The remaining tracks are all live featuring two from "Not of This Earth" and one from "Surfing With the Alien". All three are outstanding, however I particularly like the extended jam version of "Memories". The original track is a little over four minutes long, while this live version is nealy nine minutes long. All three live tracks were recorded at the California Theater, San Diego, CA on June 11, 1988. (On the album "Time Machine" there are additional tracks recorded at this concert.) The live tracks also featured Stuart Hamm on bass and Johathan Mover on drums.

Joe Satriani - The Extremist (Relativity) 1992

1. "Friends" (3:27)
2. "Extremist" (3:42)
3. "War" (5:46)
4. "Cryin'" (5:42)
5. "Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" (6:10)
6. "Summer Song" (4:52)
7. "Tears in the Rain" (1:16)
8. "Why" (4:45)
9. "Motorcycle Driver" (4:56)
10. "New Blues" (6:55)

Satriani continues to explore new musical territory, this time getting a little more aggressive and heavier. "The Extremist" is another fine instrumental album that certainly lives up to its name. One coincidence about this one is that Lanny Cordolla released an instrumental album called "Of Riffs & Symphonies" about this same time with very similar cover art (smokey, tan color) and some of the same studio musicians (Greg & Matt Bissonette).

Joe Satriani - Time Machine (Relativity) 1998

"Time Machine" is a 2-CD compilation of tracks from Joe Satriani.. The first CD comprises new, unreleased, and rare studio recordings, while the second one comprises live recordings pulled from tours in 1988 and 1992. Some of the rarities include tracks from Satriani's 1985 self-released EP and "Speed of Light", a song recorded during "The Extremist" session and used for the Super Mario Bros. movie. A large portion of the studio outtakes are from "The Extremist" sessions. Tracks 10-13 are from extremely rare Joe Satriani EP (1985). "All Alone" is an instrumental rendition of the Billie Holliday's "Left Alone". The collection finishes off with a 16-minute long, jazz-fusion, guitar jam that is one of the highlights of the disc. Some of this song reminded me of Frank Zappa's instrumental albums. All-in-all, there's really not much to say about this disc other than, if you like early Satriani material, this disc is a must have as it's more of the same high-caliber guitar shred. There's really nothing of poor quality. It's mostly just solid, enjoyable guitar jams. "Crazy" is one of the few songs to feature any vocals.

Disc two is all live material. Tracks 11-14 were recorded at the California Theater in June 1988. Other tracks from this concert were used on the "Dreaming#11" EP. The majority of the material was recorded in different cities between 1992 and 1993. I love live albums, but instrumental live albums tend to be a let down as the performances are never quite as tight and well-performed as the studio songs. While a loose performance may work well for dirty rock and roll and some heavy metal, for instrumental shred, it's all about precision and performance. The performances included here are outstanding. There is no doubt that Joe is as good a live performer as he is a studio musician. One of the stand-out cuts on the live disc is "Big Bad Moon," a smokin' blues-based number with vocals and a ton of personality. It was also cool to hear a drum solo in the middle of much, much guitar wankery. Overall, I enjoyed the live disc as much as the studio disc.

The collection includes a 24-page booklet with tons of black and white photos and plenty of biographical reading material, including some insightful notes about the live performances.

Joe Satriani (Epic) 1995

1.   Cool #9 (6:00)
2.   If (4:49)
3.   Down, Down, Down (6:12)
4.   Luminous Flesh Giants (5:57)
5.   S.M.F (6:44)
6.   Look My Way [vocals] (4:01)
7.   Home (3:27)
8.   Moroccan Sunset (4:23)
9.  Killer Bee Bop (3:49)
10. Slow Down Blues (7:25)
11. (You're) My World (3:57)
12. Sittin' 'Round (3:37)

Joe Satriani is the self-titled sixth studio album by guitar shredder Joe Satriani. The CD was originally release in 1995 by Relativity Records and reissued in 2008 on Epic Records. The album was produced by Glyn Johns (The Beattles, The Who, Rolling Stones, etc.). Along with Joe, the major players are Nathan East (bass) and Manu Katche (drums). Matt Bissonette (bass) and Greg Bissonette (percussion) also make an appearance on a few cuts.

While Joe Satriani is generally known as a shredder and a technical guitar player, he also plays with a lot of feel. This self-titled release is a slight shift away from Satriani's previous instrumental album and showcases a more stripped down, blues-based approach. This recording isn't so much about flash as it is about substance and creating a feel and an atmosphere. Songs like "Cool #9" are full of lush grooves and riffs while "Luminous Flesh Giants" is more straight-forward hard rock, not all that different from past Satriani records. For the most part, however, the songs are much more bluesy than past recordings. "Down, Down, Down" is full-on blues with Joe giving a soulful performance. "S.M.F", which stands for "Sick Mother Fu**er", is not a cover of the classic Twisted Sister anthem, but is another relaxed, bluesy number, this time featuring some harp playing. "Slow Down Blues" is likewise a blues based number featuring some nice harmonica playing. "Look My Way" is the only song to feature vocals and is an upbeat, swinging, bluesy number. It's one of the more fun moments on the CD. All in all Joe's '95 release is a bit more laid back, relaxed and definitely more bluesy.

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