The Greatest Joe Satriani Tracks (Part 2)

 

More than being a great songwriter and virtuoso Super Guitarist, it’s Satriani’s ability to tell a story or convey an emotion through notes, chords, legato runs or any other musical passages that makes him such a great artist and composer on the Electric Guitar. And all the 5 songs listed here are testaments to this fact.

5. Lost in a Memory: The most emotionally powerful deep cut in Satriani’s discography, Lost in a Memory is a fever dream inducing track that can pull you in a labyrinth of strong emotions. There’s a great amount of emotional storytelling going on in this track, and the organic sounding notes, the dreamy chords, the cathartic riffs, the wavy synths and the plaintive solo—all of them contribute towards drowning you into the song. Even the brief chord section at the end feels magical. This is one of those rare tracks that you just bask into, as even after the song ends, the feeling stays on in you.  

 

4. Flying in a Blue Dream: Mystical and evocative, Flying...is a sonic dream of a composition that soars right from the get-go. More of an experience than a ‘song’, Flying...is laced with some of the most beautiful and tasteful licks and phrases that you’ll ever hear in a Satriani track. It’s one of those rare songs where both musicality and technicality merge to create moving, endearing moments that feel organic and ethereal.  

3. Surfing with the Alien: Explosive, drenched in rollicking swagger and sprinkled with ‘Alien’ level fretboard pyrotechnics, it’s the track that had cemented Satriani’s status as a modern day Guitar Deity. Technically extreme yet musically tasteful, Surfing is one of the most spectacular and jaw-dropping pieces of music in the history of the Electric Guitar but more importantly, it's an alive sonic elixir that you simply won’t be able to get enough of.  

2. With Jupiter in Mind: This track can be described as Satriani’s very own space rock Odyssey, with also a bit of trippy, psychedelic elements chimed in to great effect. A track that truly deserves to be characterized as ‘Cosmic’, it just throws so much at you—at some places intriguing and mysterious, at some parts unforgettably musical and deliciously technical, With Jupiter in Mind is possibly the most layered and imaginative track in Satriani’s entire catalogue. Probably cause of the sheer range of emotional gamut it covers, this song has a strange sonic mystique around it. Also, from a strictly music-theory perspective, this composition has some of the most tricky musical gymnastics going on. Overall, this track is one of the, if not the most sumptuous feast of music you’ll ever hear from Satriani. 

 

1. Time: An introspective on the ever-mystifying and often turbulent nature of Time itself, this track is a thrilling roller coaster ride through wildly different emotions and energies. Complex, layered and visceral, ‘Time’ is a spiral voyage of sonic artistry and exquisite Guitar delights, with some of the most technical and memorable playing in a Satriani track (2:06 to 2:38 is my most favourite playing from Satch, ever). Much like the passages of Time itself, this composition also features fascinating sonic patterns that repeats and flows in delightfully artistic ways—the shredding at 1: 51 to 2: 05 is essentially several intricately designed scale forms criss-crossing each other, and sounding glorious.

This track also has an almost shapeshifting quality to it, and continuously evolve into starkly different sections that not only sound different but also feel different, which is again just like the unpredictable flow of Time itself. This staggeringly powerful track is one of the greatest examples of how sheer playing can truly embody something that’s actually quite beyond musical in nature. And for that, it rightly deserves to be ranked at the top of this list. 

 

Beyond these 10 tracks listed here, there are also LOTS of great Joe Satriani tracks that anyone who loves music ought to listen to. And in no particular order, some of them are—The Power Cosmic 2000 Part 1, The Forgotten Part 2, Cryin’, Satch Boogie, Here the Blue River, Goodbye Supernova (especially the outro solo), Turkey Man, Time Machine, Made of Tears, Cherry Blossoms among others. 

 

If you think I missed anything or if this list is in anyway out of order, please let me know in the comments.