New Satch Album discussion

thomasross20

Haven't heard it yet but saw this:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/3egoy0/i_am_musician_joe_satriani_ama/

thomasross20

Must admit I never knew he had a new album coming out!

Octahedron

I have the album. I do like it. I'm a bit of a diehard Satch fan. And I do own all of his back-catalogue. I do have to admit he's got a few "dud" albums out there (Engines of Creation, his self-titled album, Professor Satchafunkilus & The Musterion of Rock) 

In saying that I think all of his albums have at least one track that I like.

On this new album my favourites would have to be: Shockwave Supernova, Crazy Joey, In My Pocket, San Francisco Blue, A Phase I'm Going Through (i just really like the vibe of this one, the disjointed feel), and Goodbye Supernova. 

I really like the way on the last two albums he's done a 'pairing' of tracks e.g. on Unstoppable Momentum, he had Jumpin' In, and Jumpin' Out. And then on this album it starts with Shockwave Supernova (a upbeat track with a cool riff) and closes with Goodbye Supernova (a 'ballad') with lots of sustained lead parts and it's very melodic and interesting. 

I think Satch still has it. Vai has no idea what he's doing these days. He hasn't put out anything good since Real Illusions: Reflections. He's tried to be complicated, market himself as a guitarist, while trying to sell a mish-mash of classical music and live albums of 'classics' and it's not even vaguely interesting. Mr Satch on the other hand stuck to the formula and it's worked for him. He had Chickenfoot to break things up a bit and I really liked his playing on both those Chickenfoot albums. 

Octahedron

So I suppose you could say I really like approx. 50% of the album, and the other 50% is a bit bland. But I would say it's worth having. Because when it's good, it's really good. And when it's not so good, it's still OK but you can forgive it for being mediocre in a way. Because there's only so much you can do without starting to go crazy experimental (like he did with Engines of Creation). But sometimes as I said, stick to the formula is the best way to play the game. 

Moss

Don't like satch but the packaging is awesome

bingefeller

Octahedron said:

I think Satch still has it. Vai has no idea what he's doing these days. He hasn't put out anything good since Real Illusions: Reflections. He's tried to be complicated, market himself as a guitarist, while trying to sell a mish-mash of classical music and live albums of 'classics' and it's not even vaguely interesting. Mr Satch on the other hand stuck to the formula and it's worked for him. He had Chickenfoot to break things up a bit and I really liked his playing on both those Chickenfoot albums. 

Fair dues man but I think the opposite.  I think Vai is way more interesting then Satch, and a better live performer. 

Satch's playing on the Chickenfoot albums is great though. 

thomasross20

Been listening to it. Not his best. I think he's going for the "less is more" approach but it's not working. Still not bad. 

He does tend to use a lot of the same bluesy licks these days which gets a tad tiring. The drummer is clearly amazing but I prefer it a bit more raw - sound is very refined and maybe a bit clinical.

Agree about Vai - weak of late. 

Slash said he doesn't compose solos so much anymore - that it's best to do it off the cuff but I disagree. Best stuff from Slash/Satch etc was when they composed more intricate solos back in the day. 

Just wait until you hear MY album! ;D Lol... (but seriously...)

Octahedron

I had to go back and re-listen to Unstoppable Momentum after this thread. It's not bad. But i still think things have been a bit all over the place since Super Colossal. Black Swans... Is the best out of the last 3 or 4 I think still.

Fuzzdog

Octahedron said:

 I do have to admit he's got a few "dud" albums out there (Engines of Creation, his self-titled album, Professor Satchafunkilus & The Musterion of Rock) 

Those are my three favourite Satch albums by far. )

I love Satch, but I do find a lot of his albums to have two or three great tracks and then a huge pile of quite forgettable filler.

Skipped

DLM

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4WC96NgHcOs/mqdefault.jpg

Octahedron

DLM said:

http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4WC96NgHcOs/mqdefault.jpg

Gotta hand it to the man, he can really play... And SP have written some fabulous riffs even if they're mostly based off well-known (and not-so-well-known) '80s hair metal riffs...!

rsvmark

Bought it, listened to it all day and I suspect that's it. I only you can see its following on from the last one but fairly forgettable. I wish it were otherwise

axisus

For me satch has been dull as dishwater since the brilliant Engines of creation, my favourite of his albums. I bought his first 10 records on the day of release (well, NotE was the month it came out), but EoC was the last I enjoyed. Didn't buy no: 11 onwards. He needs to get out if his box and surprise people, stretch yourself Joe!!!

imalrightjack

I have never been a fan, although it's impossible to deny his incredible talent.  The last thing I heard from him was around the time of The Extremist (I think that's what it was called) until Deezer recommended his new album and I played the highlighted track.  And I thought it was really bloody good and felt a bit stupid for having ignored him for so long.  I intend to investigate further, although I am utterly intimidated by shred music and feel inadequate so avoid it

thomasross20

I wouldn't say it's shred...

xSkarloey

I'm  listening to it on Spotify now. 

His playing is certainly restrained on it, and there's some decent melodies on it. 

There are some tracks I really like, but I'd say his touch and phrasing on the track "All My Life" is superb. 

Initially I thought the track 'San Francisco Blue' would be a blues cliche run-through but even that's got a few twists and turns to keep my interest. 

Not a bad album at all. I could imagine sticking this on during a long car journey and passing the time happily. 

rossyamaha

I was listening to some Satch last night. First time I'd listened to him for ages. Heard a lot of new stuff and to be honest, I was very much in the "meh" camp. I think back to hearing Summer Song, Cryin, Always With Me, Surfing, Flying In A blue Dream, Mystical Potato Head, Rubina. Basically all the stuff of the first 5 or 6 albums and they were instantly memorable melodies. Stuff I would go away and whistle for the rest of the day. Great tone, big riffs and great hooks. The later stuff just left me cold. No structured melodies. No "songs". I still have a bit of a soft spot and his live shows are loads better than they used to be but like has already been said, he needs to get it back to basics and write good stuff again.

Octahedron

I like that there's a genuine mix of opinions here. I think I would never class Satch as shred. Too much melody.

I always think of Satch tracks as songs. The reason for that is I watched the Super Colossal track by track. He talks about the theme and the story behind each track and then when you listen to them it's like "ah yeah I see how that is" and the theme, it really fits with the feel of the track and you can really get into the melodies and hum them - just like a song. The lead guitar lines have a real vocally melodic quality to them. You almost wonder what the words would be. Especially with the 'ballads', listen to "Love Thing" from Crystal Planet - one of my favourite guitar melody lines of all time, drenched in Wah, singable and it's pretty powerful I reckon. Hard to do that with shred!

thomasross20

After further listening WHILST WORKING it's a grower.

I don't know about listening intently on it's own but it's enjoyable enough to listen to whilst working. I like the guitar tone and some of the ethereal sounds (modes) he switches between.

thomasross20

I'm REALLY digging it now, actually. 

God I'm so fickle.