Joe Satriani
Shockwave Supernova
Legacy
2015
Joe Satriani returns, two years after “Unstoppable Momentum”, with his 15th solo album entitled “Shockwave Supernova”. On this album, Joe has the keyboardist & guitarist Mike Keneally, the drummer Marco Minnemann and the bassist Bryan Beller by his side. These guys have also been part in Joe’s global tour.
“Shockwave Supernova” does not hold any surprises at all… how it could it be so in truth to be told? It’s more or less a rather “typical” Satriani album with its ups and downs. There are a few tracks that stand out here but the majority is rather OK and too “obvious” for a guitarist like Joe. I bet he can compose most of these “pattern-like” tracks even in his sleep. Don’t get me wrong, what’s easy-peasy for a renowned guitarist such as Satriani, it’s like a pipe-dream for everybody else. Joe has also worked, once again, with co-producer and engineer John Cuniberti on the album’s production, which is wonderful as always.
Minnemann and Beller handle the rhythmic duties on most of the tracks, with the exception of “Keep on Movin’”, “In My Pocket”, “Crazy Joey” and “Scarborough Stomp”, where Joe is joined by the eminent drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Sting, Paul Simon, among others) and bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction, Alanis Morrisette, Celine Dion, Rob Zombie, etc.).
“Shockwave Supernova” lasts around 64 minutes. That’s a lot for an instrumental guitar-base album. Joe and his partners should have known better than this and not release such a long album, which can become somewhat boring along the way, or even make the listener loose his devotion after a while. Fewer and stronger tracks are the right recipe, especially nowadays where music quantity is over music quality…
“Shockwave Supernova” does not hold any surprises at all… how it could it be so in truth to be told? It’s more or less a rather “typical” Satriani album with its ups and downs. There are a few tracks that stand out here but the majority is rather OK and too “obvious” for a guitarist like Joe. I bet he can compose most of these “pattern-like” tracks even in his sleep. Don’t get me wrong, what’s easy-peasy for a renowned guitarist such as Satriani, it’s like a pipe-dream for everybody else. Joe has also worked, once again, with co-producer and engineer John Cuniberti on the album’s production, which is wonderful as always.
Minnemann and Beller handle the rhythmic duties on most of the tracks, with the exception of “Keep on Movin’”, “In My Pocket”, “Crazy Joey” and “Scarborough Stomp”, where Joe is joined by the eminent drummer Vinnie Colaiuta (Frank Zappa, Sting, Paul Simon, among others) and bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction, Alanis Morrisette, Celine Dion, Rob Zombie, etc.).
“Shockwave Supernova” lasts around 64 minutes. That’s a lot for an instrumental guitar-base album. Joe and his partners should have known better than this and not release such a long album, which can become somewhat boring along the way, or even make the listener loose his devotion after a while. Fewer and stronger tracks are the right recipe, especially nowadays where music quantity is over music quality…