Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani - Unstoppable Momentum - 2013 - Epic

Not since the heyday of hearing “Satch Boogie” and “Cliffs of Dover” on the radio has instrumental guitar rock been so fun. Now that Joe Satriani has found an outlet for his more commercial output with Chickenfoot, it’s almost like the pressure is off and he can sit back, relax, and play. On Unstoppable Momentum, Satch sets aside the futuristic slant from his last few outings and gives his strongest performances since his self-titled 1995 release. Even though you can hear the joy in Satriani’s playing on every track, he doesn’t hesitate to unleash a barrage of pick-tapping Whammy pedal fury in the opening title track. His saturated Ibanez-meets-Marshall tone is in full force and even though the gain is plentiful, the clarity is rather amazing. Outside of maybe Tom Morello, Satriani is one of the few guitarists who can play an entire solo devoid of “licks” and still pull it off with aplomb. The medium-tempo stomp shuffle of “Three Sheets to the Wind” brings to mind the melodicism of the Beatles without becoming derivative—a tough feat these days. Drummer Vinnie Colaiuta and bassist Chris Chaney are mostly to blame for the burning rhythmic backing that allows Satriani to explore every inch (both harmonically and dynamically) of each tune. And honestly, is there anything keyboardist Mike Keneally can’t do? The former Zappa alum’s presence is felt throughout the straight-ahead lo-fi grind of “Jumpin’ Out.” To my ears, the true sign of a well-crafted instrumental is that you could easily imagine lyrics going along with the melody. On “Can’t Go Back,” Satriani begins with a new wave-ish groove before launching into a wah-drenched melody á la “Cool #9.” For the Satriani army, this will be a welcome return to a stripped-down sound that relies a little less on futuristic themes and motifs and more on what inspired many of his followers—a cool guitar plugged into a loud amp. © Jason Shadrick, April 08, 2013 ****/5 © 2014. All Rights Reserved http://www.premierguitar.com/articles/Album_Review_Joe_Satriani__Unstoppable_Momentum

You really can’t say that instrumental rock-guitar music is in fashion right now, but that doesn’t make one bit of difference to Joe Satriani. The guitar maestro’s new album, ‘Unstoppable Momentum,’ proves that good music is timeless, no matter what trends come and go. After decades of being one of the world’s leading rock instrumentalists, Satriani doesn’t trying to reinvent himself on ‘Unstoppable Momentum.’ Far from it. Instead, he turns in an entire album of what he does best. Satriani’s strength has always been his sharp musical sense. Even though he has chops to spare, he doesn’t come from the look-at-me-play-fast school of guitar wankery. What sets him apart from so many of his contemporaries is that his playing almost always serves the songs; they’re not just vehicles for his instrumental grandstanding. On ‘Unstoppable Momentum,’ Satriani plays down the guitar-god heroics. If anything, he’s more of a contemporary composer whose primary instrument just happens to be the electric guitar. The songs showcase a marriage of melody, harmony, tone and phrasing with the understanding that a piece of music requires a viable rhythm/bed track before notes are sprayed in all directions. Some of the album’s best tracks, like ‘Can’t Go Back’ and ‘Three Sheets to the Wind,’ include such infectious melody and harmony lines that they could turn into genuine pop songs with a little nudging. And ‘A Door Into Summer’ and ‘Shine on American Dreamer’ feature such strong riffs that maybe Satriani should have saved them for the next Chickenfoot record. That’s not to say that shredders will be disappointed. ‘Lies and Truths’ showcases some of the fastest, showiest playing on the record. So does ‘The Weight of the World,’ which is a good thing, since the jaw-dropping licks rescue it from being the weakest track on the album (the goofy synth-pop riff sounds straight outta ‘Beverly Hills Cop’). But if you think all instrumental rock just amounts to meaningless noodling, you probably won’t get much out of ‘Unstoppable Momentum.’ Still, Satriani delivers on almost every track, showcasing a compositional depth that reveals something new with each listen. 8/10 Official Ultimate Classic Rock Rating. By & © Sterling Whitaker May 8, 2013 9:40 AM © http://ultimateclassicrock.com/joe-satriani-unstoppable-momentum-review/

Joe Satriani makes a guitar bend and play to his will. Not only does he master the complex, savour the unimaginable and perform as if the instrument is letting go of all the secrets that she has kept guarded for decades but at times he thrills with the playful, that unique combination that makes him one of the legends of rock. His 14th album, Unstoppable Momentum is no different, the complexity, the moments of light hearted mischief are all wrapped up in what amounts to a great album a man who never seems to stand still. If fans thought that his side project of Chickenfoot, which features the great Chad Smith, Michael Anthony and renowned Sammy Hagar, had taken Joe away from his own recording, both physically and in spirit, then the fear is misplaced. Like the breath of fresh air that Steve Lukather provided early on in the year with his release Transition, Joe seems to revel in being so busy, so available to life outside of what could be considered a comfortable atmosphere that he positively scintillates and enthrals with his overall capacity. Unstoppable Momentum is just that, a man who lives life at 1,000 miles an hour and transfers that momentum of his life into the guitar and his music. The eleven songs that the album hides beneath the guitar’s cloud of secrecy are soon unveiled. Like a magician holding back the appearance of time, the furtive looks of a schoolboy for his love or a girl wishing away her day dreaming of being swept of her feet, the secrets are soon released and seen. With Mike Keneally on keyboards, Chris Chaney on bass and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Joe Satriani weaves a spell so brilliant that songs such as the funky Three Sheets to the Wind, the lament of I’ll Put A Stone On Your Cairn, the class of The Weight of the World and Lies and Truth all shine with absolute distinction. Unstoppable Momentum, why would you ever want to slow down a talent as precious as Joe Satriani? A phenomenal piece of work, musically witty, haunting and full of verve, just wonderful. - Published on April 29, 2013 by admin in Music. Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10. © Ian D. Hall All content © Ian D Hall, 2014 http://www.liverpoolsoundandvision.co.uk/2013/04/29/joe-satriani-unstoppable-momentum-album-review/

In 2013, over a quarter century removed from his first album, Joe Satriani uses his solo albums as a way to stretch himself, both to flaunt his skills and perhaps to move him into areas where he's not quite comfortable. Unstoppable Momentum, his first album since 2010's boogie- and prog-heavy Black Swans & Wormhole Wizards, finds the guitarist occasionally indulging himself in a bit of swing, letting him ride an elastic beat ("Three Sheets to the Wind" has a supremely delicate touch), and he also digs into a bit of a nasty ZZ Top groove on "Jumpin' In," a boogie he turns inside-out on its immediate successor "Jumpin' Out." This is a pretty good indication that this is the work of a virtuoso who enjoys playing with his surroundings, tweaking tempos and arrangements to coax out unexpected wrinkles. Compared to Black Swans, this is livelier and fuller, containing a greater variety of textures, rhythms, and attacks, spending not quite so much time with head-down, barrel-headed boogie and rather suggesting jazz, blues, even soul. Satriani often seems a little too restless for his confines -- he seems to enjoy when the tempo slows, so he can get a little lyrical -- but part of the appeal of Unstoppable Momentum is how Satch decides he should abandon his comfort zone, at least in part. He still adheres too strongly to the heavily phased instrumentals that make him feel stuck in a past before MTV, but he'll also indulge in a bit of swing, rhythm, and momentum that not only give Unstoppable Momentum character, but suggest there's an audience outside of guitar fanatics for this densely layered instrumental music. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine © 2014 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved http://www.allmusic.com/album/unstoppable-momentum-mw0002507461

Speaking about the recording of this album, Jane's Addiction bassist and great session musician Chris Chaney said that, "It was great. I was very fortunate to get a call to do some recording with Joe. A great keyboardist and all-around multi-instrumentalist named Mike Keneally, who had played with Frank Zappa forever, and then the drummer, one of my favourites of all time, named Vinnie Colaiuta, who plays with Jeff Beck and countless other amazing musicians, we went up to Skywalker Ranch, up in the Bay area, for about two weeks and we just cut a song or two a day. Joe is a prolific musician and incredibly cool and it was a lot of fun. I really enjoy sometimes stepping out of L.A. to do a project like that." Many music critics constantly complain about Joe Satriani having the same sound on all his albums. There is nothing earth shattering on this album, but Joe Satriani is one of the greatest guitarists on the planet, and he sticks to a winning formula. This album is full of magical guitar playing and Joe is backed up by bassist Chris Chaney, the unreal Mike Keneally on keys and master drummer, the legendary Vinnie Colaiuta. Listen to Joe’s great “Time Machine” album and checkout his “The Extremist” album on this blog [All tracks @ 256 Kbps: File size = 88.4 Mb]

TRACKS

1 Unstoppable Momentum 5:14
2 Can't Go Back 3:58
3 Lies and Truths 4:44
4 Three Sheets to the Wind 3:22
5 I'll Put a Stone on Your Cairn 1:42
6 A Door into Summer 4:16
7 Shine On American Dreamer 4:46
8 Jumpin' In 5:11
9 Jumpin' Out 3:51
10 The Weight of the World 5:07
11 A Celebration 2:47

All tracks composed by Joe Satriani

MUSICIANS

Joe Satriani – Guitar, Keyboards, Harmonica
Chris Chaney – Bass
Mike Keneally – Keyboards
Vinnie Colaiuta – Drums

BIO

Along with teaching some of the top rock guitar players of the '80s and '90s, Joe Satriani is one of the most technically accomplished and widely respected guitarists to emerge in recent times. Born on July 15, 1956, in Westbury, New York, and raised in the nearby town of Carle Place, Satriani -- inspired by guitar legend Jimi Hendrix -- picked up the guitar at the age of 14 (although he was initially more interested in the drums). Quickly learning the instrument, Satriani began teaching guitar to others and found a kindred spirit in one of his students, Steve Vai. By the late '70s, however, Satriani had relocated to Berkeley, California. With his sights set on his own musical career, "Satch" kept teaching others, including such future rock notables as Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), David Bryson (Counting Crows), and jazz fusion player Charlie Hunter. In the early '80s, Satriani got a gig playing guitar with power popster Greg Kihn, doing some session work and touring with the group (an archival release recorded around this time, King Biscuit Flower Hour, was later issued in 1996), and issuing his own solo self-titled EP in 1984, financing and releasing the project entirely on his own. But when Vai hit the big time as the guitarist of David Lee Roth's solo band in 1986, he offered praise for his good friend and former teacher in several major guitar publications, leading to widespread interest in Satriani's playing. The timing couldn't have been more perfect for Satch, as he'd just issued his first full-length solo album, Not of This Earth, which automatically made ripples in the rock guitar community. But the best was still to come, in the form of his sophomore release, 1987's Surfing with the Alien. Almost overnight, Satriani was widely regarded as one of rock's top guitarists, as the album earned gold certification and the guitarist would finish at the top of guitar magazine's polls for years afterward. He was even handpicked by Mick Jagger to accompany the famous singer on a tour of Australia and Japan around this time. A stopgap EP, Dreaming #11, combined both studio and live tracks and was issued a year later, and in 1989, Satriani issued his third solo full-length, Flying in a Blue Dream. Another sizeable hit, the album also marked Satch's debut as a vocalist on several tracks. His career received another big push the same year when his song "One Big Rush" was included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's hit movie Say Anything. The '90s began with Satriani creating his own line of guitars for the Ibanez company (the JS Joe Satriani model), but it wasn't until 1992 that he would issue his next solo release, The Extremist. The double-disc set Time Machine followed a year later (a combination of new tracks, live material, and the long out of print Joe Satriani EP from 1984), and in 1994, Satch filled in on tour for the departed Ritchie Blackmore for heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple. Although he was asked to become a full-time member, Satriani turned down the offer to return to his solo career. Satriani issued two more solo albums during the '90s - 1995's self-titled release and 1998's Crystal Planet - and also started the G3 guitar showcase tour with Vai in 1996, which became an annual event; Satriani issued a live document of the tour's initial run, G3: Live in Concert, a year later. 2000 saw Satriani issue his most musically daring release yet, the electronic-based Engines of Creation, and a year later, Live in San Francisco. Engines was nominated for a Grammy the next year, and after a successful tour he stepped back into the studio. The result, Strange Beautiful Music, was released in 2002. Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology arrived in 2003, followed by Is There Love in Space? in 2004, Super Colossal in 2005, and Satriani Live! in 2006. In addition to his own albums, Satriani has guested on several other artists' albums over the years, including Blue Öyster Cult's Imaginos, Alice Cooper's Hey Stoopid, Stuart Hamm's Radio Free Albemuth, Pat Martino's All Sides Now, and Spinal Tap's Break Like the Wind. Satriani's thirst for collaboration extended to him joining forces with ex-Van Halen members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony for the 2009 supergroup Chickenfoot. The next year, Satriani returned to his guitar pyrotechnics with Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards. For that album, he recorded the 3-D special Satchurated: Live in Montreal, which was released on Blu-Ray and double-CD in 2012. Satriani returned to solo duty in 2013 with the new studio album Unstoppable Momentum. © Greg Prato © 2014 AllMusic, a division of All Media Network, LLC. | All Rights Reserved