Super Colossal by Joe Satriani

Every other year or so the planets align and we here on earth are granted a wonderful gift; a new Joe Satriani album. Now, I’m quite sure 86% of you out there have no clue who Joe Satriani is, but hang around for a bit and I’ll let you know. Joe Satriani is the top selling instrumental rock guitarist of all time. If you’re not familiar with instrumental guitar rock, don’t feel too bad, most people aren’t. Instrumental guitar rock is usually thought of as a genre of music that only musicians appreciate, and on one hand that is true. Guitarists out there generally have a lot more respect and admiration of this genre than most people. However, Joe Satriani is about far more than fourteen minute guitar solos. Over his two decades in the business, he’s learned to craft not just great instrumental guitar music, but great music.
Super Colossal continues the trend that Joe Satriani has set for himself over the years of releasing great albums. It’s incredibly varied and goes from hard rock one second to blues the next. Tracks like “One Robot’s Dream” and “Redshift Riders” are designed to be very surreal and cosmic. Joe Satriani includes notes about each song with the album so you’re able to get an idea as to what each song means and what went into its creation and recording. I’ve been a fan of Joe Satriani since 1990, but this is his first album that really seems poised to achieve true crossover success. He’s been the best in the business for twenty years when it comes to instrumental rock but this album more than his others seems ready to cement his place as one of the best in the business in all the other areas of rock music.

Instrumental guitar rock isn’t for everyone. I wish it wasn’t true, but it is. Some people really don’t enjoy listening to music without words and that’s understandable. But if you’ve never given instrumental guitar rock a chance head out to the local store or go on over to ITUNES and check this album out. There really are a lot of uses for this type of music. It’s great to listen to as background music for when you’re writing or drawing, it’s great driving music, and it’s just an all around great rock and roll experience. Joe Satriani is an always dependable guy and this album is like all of his others; it’s great.

FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS

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