Joe Satriani Extremist CD

Over the course of his last several albums, the legendary guitarist Joe Satriani has established himself as the poet laureate of heavy metal guitarists, a canny stylist with a rare gift for eliciting lyrical nuances from a wall of distortion and feedback. With the support of a skin tight funk-metal ensemble, Satriani unleashes his fiery range of moods, although on a ballad like "Cryin'" his orchestrations are poignantly tasteful. Balancing blazing hellbent phrasing with carefully wrought arrangements, THE EXTREMIST charts bold new directions for instrumental rock.

The Extremist lives up to its name, continuing Joe Satriani's tradition of exploring new musical and compositional ground. A vastly different array of musicians assists him in creating the songs displayed on this all-instrumental disc, and as such the songs are different from even the usual envelope-pushing Satriani fare. The chugging "Summer Song," the warm "Friends," the slamming "Motorcycle Driver," and the crunching "The Extremist" show Satriani's talents as a guitarist are undiminished, while the more traditional neo-folk approach to "Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" and the bluesy "New Blues" are different from anything he has done before. So, too, is the droning rock of "War" and the plaintive, questioning funk-rock of "Why." ~ Phil Carter

All songs written by Joe Satriani.

Engineers: Andy Johns, John Cuniberti, Joe Satriani, Bart Stevens.

Personnel: Joe Satriani (vocals, guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, keyboards, synthesizer); Phillip Ashley (strings, accordion, trumpet, keyboards, string synthesizer); Matt Bissonette (brass); Nicky Hopkins (piano); Andy Johns, Brett Tuggle (organ); Simon Phillips (drums, tambourine); Gregg Bissonette (drums); Jeff Campitelli (cymbals); Bongo Bob, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Audio Mixers: Joe Satriani; Andy Johns.

Recording information: Alpha & Omega; Bearsville, Coast Records, Alpha And Omega, LA; Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA; Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, CA; Ocean Way and Record One, LA; Ocean Way, L.A; Record One, L.A.

Illustrator: Joe Satriani.

Photographers: Lori Stoll; Pierre de Beauport; Neil Zlozower; Joe Satriani; John Cuniberti; Ken Friedman.

Unknown Contributor Role: Phillip Ashley.

Arrangers: Joe Satriani; John Cuniberti; Andy Johns.

Personnel: Joe Satriani (guitar, banjo, dobro, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, synthesizer, bass); Brett Tugle, Andy Johns (organ); Phil Ashley (synthesizer, keyboards); Matt Bissonette, Doug Wimbish (bass); Greg Bissonette (drums); Bongo Bob (electric drums, percussion); Simon Phillips, Jeff Campitelli, Paulinho Da Costa (percussion).

Producers: Joe Satriani, Andy Johns, John Cuniberti.

Entertainment Weekly (8/28/92, p.65) - "...you've gotta love his bounding enthusiasm and heartfelt bag of riffs..." - Rating: B
Q (9/92, p.79) - 3 Stars - Good - "...the mercury-fingered maestro harks back to a pre-metal paradise of curly leads...Satriani favors a clean, sweetly processed lead tone and warmly textured harmonies..."