JOE SATRIANI – Surfing With The Alien (Rerelease)

Pretend for a minute that this is your first experience with Surfing With The Alien and that you have never heard of Joe Satriani. You pick up the newly remastered CD thinking it has just been released, only to find out later that it has been out for twenty years from its original release date. After carefully listening to it over and over from the shock and sheer brilliance of the musical composition that has just blown your mind, you think to yourself, “Where have I been all these years?” Don’t feel bad, because you aren’t the only one who has fallen into this trap over time.

Now that you have experienced the famous work of this phenomenal guitar virtuoso, the next thing on your agenda without any doubt should be to add all of Mr. Satriani’s work over the years to your collection. Who in their right mind would ignore the fact that there are another twenty CD’s out there waiting to become part of your music collection, not to mention numerous DVD’s?

Surfing With The Alien (SWTA) is a 20th anniversary special two-disc CD & DVD box set featuring the classic album remastered, along with a never seen performance from the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 15, 1988. This remaster was done by none other than John Cuniberti, the producer of the original SWTA. What a nice little bonus to include with the original CD, not to mention the impressive booklet that features personal liner notes and track-by-track commentary by Joe himself. Included in this booklet are never-before-seen photos and memorabilia from Joe’s personal archives. Another fun little treat is the Nigel Tufnel (Spinal Tap) interview taken from The Satch Tapes and music videos of “Satch Boogie” and “Always With Me, Always With You.” All of this comes nicely packaged and is most definitely worth the price, even if you already have the original.

Satriani (a.k.a. Satch as he is known around the world) began getting recognition following his debut album Not Of This Earth, but it was this subsequent album that sent this most technically accomplished and widely respected guitarist’s career into the stratosphere… the place where it has been ever since. It is a known fact that Joe was the teacher to some very famous students, such as Steve Vai and Kirk Hammett of Metallica. What is even more truly amazing is the fact that Satch performed the majority of SWTA himself, including bass, keyboards, and most drum parts. This display of musical talent was adequately showcased throughout this release and the original SWTA.

The New York-born guitarist continues to impress with his eclectic array of styles, ranging from the Hard Rock of the title track and “Crushing Day,” to the delicate Pop of “Always With Me, Always With You,” to the Blues of “Satch Boogie,” or a combination of genres in tunes such as “Ice 9” and “Echo.” He can mix these together at a moment’s notice to come up with some of the most intriguing and impressive sounding solos and spur-of-the-moment improvisations. He is a truly gifted and blessed individual with extraordinary musical capabilities only known to exist in very few musicians around the world.

There are two differences between the original SWTA and the newly remastered version. The first is miniscule in that the remastered CD is five seconds longer in overall time. The second is that the remaster is significantly louder than the original at the same volume level on your stereo. Outside of that, if you don’t own the original Surfing With The Alien, go out and pick up this copy. You won’t regret it and it is a great bargain for the money, not to mention the great music you will be able to enjoy.