Joe Satriani

[Slaydon]

I was just wondering, what do you think of him? I think Vai is a better composer, but Joe def has some nice stuff and is a masterful guitarist.

 

[Swabs]

Personally I think Satriani is the better composer whereas Vai is technically more proficient.

 

[Postulate]

I'm not much for guitar virtuosos. It just never seems to click in the same way as a band. :/

 

[Slaydon]

I'm not much for guitar virtuosos. It just never seems to click in the same way as a band. :/

I know what you mean. Especially when it comes to Malmsteen. His incessant shredding just becomes too much after a while. There is too little structure.

 

[Meedleyx10]

He's got some great stuff but I've always felt that once you've gotten a few of the more "important" albums of his, you've heard all he's got to offer. If we HAVE to make the Vai comparison, I like Vai more all around. Better composer, more variety in his playing, better performer, etc. etc. Doesn't change the fact that Joe is a great player though.

 

[Postulate]

I know what you mean. Especially when it comes to Malmsteen. His incessant shredding just becomes too much after a while. There is too little structure.

Yeah. As corn-faced as it sounds, I think teamwork is important in creating good music.

 

[Slaydon]

He's got some great stuff but I've always felt that once you've gotten a few of the more "important" albums of his, you've heard all he's got to offer. If we HAVE to make the Vai comparison, I like Vai more all around. Better composer, more variety in his playing, better performer, etc. etc. Doesn't change the fact that Joe is a great player though.

I agree wholeheartedly. There is just more flow, or whatever you want to call it, in Steve's compositions, more harmony. Joe is more a meat&potato man, but that doesn't mean he didn't write any beautiful piecces. "Always with me always with you" is a classic. In fact, Steve has written few instrumentals that match that one in its simple but powerful beauty.

 

[CantoX]

He has a very nice flow within his songs. I like him a lot. I know how to play Tears in the Rain and Always With Me Always With You. Great songs.. good melodies.. hes a virtuoso!

 

[Detective Clarence Beauregard]

I like Satriani better than most guitar virtuosos because he doesn't overdo it with the shredding and wanking. I find his stuff to be pretty tasteful compared to others; his songs actually flow like "songs" as opposed to wank-fests.

I have a playlist of my top 20 Satch songs:

Ceremony
Chords of Life
Circles
Crystal Planet
Echo
Lights of Heaven
Made of Tears
The Meaning of Love
Mountain Song
Out of the Sunrise
Redshift Riders
Revelation
Searching
The Souls of Distortion
Starry Night
Theme for a Strange World
Up in the Sky
War
What Breaks a Heart
Why

I've never been a big fan of his shuffle-groove-type bluesy tunes, although they are well-done.

Also, I've never been able to get into Vai.

 

[Slaydon]

No Always with me always with you? No Lords of Karma? No Flying in a Blue Dream? No Crushing Day?? Ok, its your personal list...fair's fair.

Thanks for the recommendations btw. I'm now listening to some of your fav songs on my spotify. Have never heard them before, except for Circles and Mountain Song. Circles is one of his best pieces definitely. I too dislike his bluesy stuff.

 

[EyeballKid]

I love Satriani and prefer him to any other lead guitar player. The Detective was pretty right on with his comment on tastefulness, hence why I like Satch.

Even a mediocre Satriani album (*cough* Is There Love in Space *cough*) is more well-composed than most metal or rock albums.

 

[Kenneth R.]

I was just wondering, what do you think of him? I think Vai is a better composer, but Joe def has some nice stuff and is a masterful guitarist.

Both are excellent guitarists, neither one of them has written a memorable song in at least 10 years, maybe 20. And I'm saying that with the utmost respect, because Joe was the very first concert I ever saw. He's amazing, but he, like Vai and other 'virtuoso' players, are one-trick-bags. The trick smokes the first time, but on subsequent albums, you've already seen the magic.

 

[CantoX]

Aw cmon ken.. thats really unfair to say. They have both gone into areas of music on guitar that have never been reached or touched before on the guitar and made them into musical piesces. They are very creative in their songs.... I think what you just wrote explains Yngwie Malmsteen... but never Vai or Satriani.

I see Vai more as a person who wants to take guitar to a new level and to push it. He is always pushing the sonic boundries of guitar playing. Hes got good songs but most of them are cool.
I see Satriani more as a person who wants to make good songs. Good catchy melodies, smooth flow.. just good songs. Hes got mostly good songs with a few cool idea ones.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Nope, I meant every word I said. Different opinion is all I can say.

 

[Slaydon]

You can say Vai hasnt made a good meaningful song in 10 years, I'll accept it. But 20??! No way! Same with Satriani. But I thought Vai's 2001 album Alive in an Ultra World was fookin' great! He went and explored the ethnic music of all these European countries. And he made it all sound great. You gotta admire that. It's not easy to write music of strange cultures.

 

[ToastedOveries]

I'm not much for guitar virtuosos. It just never seems to click in the same way as a band. :/

Most virtuoso's just bore me deathless, the exception is maybe malmsteens first two albums, and to be honest i still perfer malmsteens newer stuff over satriani's, also some of paul gilberts stuff is quite bearable.

When it comes to instrumental, i much perfer spanish classical or that kind of vein, its just has alot more colour to it almost.

 

[Meedleyx10]

Alive in Ultra world was great. I could've sworn I remembered you saying you liked the "Real Illusions..." album, Ken?

 

[Liquid Tension]

There are so many instrumenatal discs available that are much better then anything Satriani has done.....

 

[SyXified]

You can put me down for a 'Satch sucks' vote.

I can't understand why more people don't see that he is really a very mediocre guitar player - he should not get the title of guitar virtuoso just because of the nature of his band as an instrumental, guitar dominant setup. He's sloppy and you can hear it live and on albums. His ability to improv is pretty much either 'simple blues' or if he tries to get more complex he totally ignores melody and just moves aimlessly around scales without much regard for which notes are being played. He bails out of half of those runs with an atonal 24th free whammy pull, which saves you from having to actually commit to a tonic resolution (ironically enough, the most interesting and meaningful part of any scale run is the resolution). He's managed to go his whole career with horrible tone. Even what I would consider his personal best compositions seem totally attainable as compositions (i.e. it's not as though I listen to Always with Me, Always with You and get the feeling like something particularly clever went on beyond my reach. I feel like I could crap out a guitar based composition in that style, and then if I played each for neutral observers, it would probably split about 50/50 on preference).

I've seen him several times on G3 and nothing has come close to impressing me about him.

 

[_Gentleman of_the Snow_]

That's how I feel about a lot of music... the compositions have nearly no point in being there because they don't take much of any creative thought. I could seriously compose and entire mainstreem album in a week... and I'm not bragging... I'm not some musical genius. Once again though, the general public would probably split 50/50 with my attempts and the real ones.