Super Colossal is Satriani's latest piece of work, released couple of months back. The albume theme brings back some of his other-worldy and sci-fi, obvious in albums such as Is there Love in Space and Engines of Creation.Guitars in this album have the vintage/warm and round sound even on the heavier numbers, which makes easier on the ears for prolonged listening. Fans will quickly associate the tone with that of this previous 2 studio albums, a departure from his 80's tone that fans grew up with on his much earlier works.
Joe plays everything on this album except for the drums and percussions, and I think it was a job well done.
Overall this album stays true to the Satriani signature of being virtuoso but yet melodic at the same time. One thing that Satriani never fails to do is to produce some really catchy numbers in every album that you can easily whistle/hum to giving it a 'singable' factor, which kind of makes the tune stick in your head for days.
Some of my favourite tracks include
Just Like Lightning, lots of wah usage here
Redshift Riders, a Oriental/Phrygian sounding piece,
Ten Words, one you can whistle/hum to, an inspiring tune.
One Robot's Dream, has some synth, has a nice jam section
The Meaning of Love, has a dreamy feel to it, reminds me of Until We Say Goodbye
Made of Tears, another interesting oriental tune, gotta love the accompaniment, very middle-eastern
The other tracks are so-so but thats just me. Maybe I need some more listening time to soak it in. Overall, this is one of his better albums since Crystal Planet, not I didn't enjoy those in between.
If you are listening to Joe for the first time, listen to Crystal Planet to start off with to decide if Joe is your cup to tea. Better still try out The Electric Joe Satriani - An Anthology compilation which collects all his hits, to at least give you a bird's eye view of Satriani's works.
For die hard fans (like me), this is will be another album to add into your Satch collection.
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