Customer Reviews

Dreaming #11

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is the first Satch cd I bought and boy was I amazed! I'd never heard anything that cool up to that point. I have every album he's released and as the title says, this is Joe at his peak. I saw him live a few months ago, and even then, he didn't play at this level. The first track is the studio version of "The Crush of Love," a favorite of many. The other three tracks are live and demonstrate how differently he plays songs live. Which is great for someone who already knows the studio versions note-for-note. These songs reach unbelievable heights and leave you wanting more (on the album "Time Machine" there are additional tracks recorded at this concert, so there you go.) As an interesting side point, at the soundcheck for this concert, a lighting technician high above the stage fell five feet in front of the band flat on his back and had to be revived twice with the band's collective knowledge of CPR. It is something that affected them throughout the performance that night. The tracks even had to be slightly altered because Joe didn't even notice that his guitar had become badly out of tune after awhile. Just thought you'd like to know that little bit of trivia concerning this great album. It would be a shame for any guitar fan to go through life without having heard this.

Joe Satriani is not just a guitar legend, but also a very good all-round musician. Although players like Yngwie Melmstein might be slightly better technically, their compositional and group-performance skills are sometimes awful.

Satch's versatility is what makes him special, and this EP is a good example. The first track, The Crush of Love, is the only studio track on the album, and is a very catchy, pop-rock guitar piece which has some great melodies, but does not showcase Joe's technical skill as much as the other tracks, apart from excellent Wah-pedalling. Don't get me wrong, it is a flawless performance, but Satch is capable of so much more. This is more an example of Satriani's compositional skills and ever-so-lyrical guitar lines.

The rest of the album is recorded live at a concert held in San Diego in 1988. Track two is a performance of Ice Nine, with some new, cool bluesy solos which are full of fast fingerwork, pinch harmonics and wah-pedal.

Memories, the third track, is my favorite track of the album. It is around twice the length of the original, and has some very technically difficult guitar phrases. Jonathan Mover and Stu Hamm are superb on drums and bass on this track, adding another dimension to this song. Joe's solos are diverse, sometimes lyrical and othertimes utilizing dischord in traditional Satch fashion. He uses a many different techniques to achieve this. It enters many different moods to the listener as it progresses through the piece's several movements, and it has quite a different feel to the original recording (perhaps in a more rock style).

The final track on the album is also strong. It makes use of the harmonic minor scale and has quite an "Eastern" feel. It is marginally heavier than the other tracks, and the guitar lines sound almost neoclassically influenced at times, with some touches of prog. Satch again impresses with some difficult phrases, some possibly harder than in Memories (I am not a guitarist, so excuse me if I am wrong). Mover and Hamm again impress, and it is a very solid group performance.

This is a very good album, although is not the best live album from Joe Satriani; for mine his Live in San Francisco and G3 performances are longer and more diverse. However, if you are a fan of Joe it is an essential album. If you are new Satriani, The Electric Joe Satriani - An Anthology gives a good overview, while I would also reccommend Surfing With the Alien, Crystal Planet and The Extremist.

Let me just say that Joe Satriani is in opinion the best guitar player/musician in the world, and to be able to see him live is an unforgettable experience. Dreaming #11, and Disc 2 of Time Machine are as close as you can get to experiencing Satch live. The highlight on this disc has to be the live recording of Memories, it's almost double the length of the studio version and a hundred times better (although the studio version is still a very moving piece of music). If you are any kind of Satriani fan, or guitar enthusist pick up this album, you won't regret it.

Dreaming No. 11 is an EP consisting of 4 songs, and tries to point out Satriani's live performance. The Crush of Love is the catchy piece, which is the only song in the EP, which has been recorded in the studio, and it showcases Satch's ability to mix sadness with happiness, in a very emotional way. The professional use of wah-wah makes the guitar sing on this one.
The other 3 songs are recorded in live show and Ice 9 is the starter, and it is played mich more faster than the original with some blues stuff thrown in, making it sound very different but cool. Memories is doubled in time and this version last about 9 minutes, showing how Satch can perform songs out of limits, and make them even sound better. the band is only 3 people and yet they manage to sound incredible and catch the spirit of the songs in very different dimensions. A must have for any Satch fan!

This album is intense, wow!!!!!!!!! Jonathan Mover and Stu Hamm intensified Joe's guitar. This is my favorite Satriani CD. If you liked this, you will love Eric Johnson.........

While this may not be Joe's best Cd, this often overlooked cd is a must have for any fan. The very clean studio cut "The Crush of Love" speaks for itself as it received alot of airplay when released. By far though the hidden gem and quite possibly one of his best master pieces of all time is "Hordes of locusts". I have alot of Joe Satriani but this live version of Hordes of Locusts epitimizes what Satriani is all about. Five minutes and eleven seconds of pure in your face vintage Joe Satriani rippin away.

This probably isn't the best cd to start off with for Joe Satriani. It only contains four tracks, three of which are live (from 1987 and 1988) and the other is a new studio track.

The first track 'Crush of love' is the studio track, and it is actually excellent. Just a sort of mid-tempo, upbeat song with a great use of wah-wah guitar. Definately one of Satch's best earlier songs. The other three songs are live, first is 'Ice nine', which is the live version from the song in the 'Surfing with the alien' album. There is nothing too much different about it, in comparison to the studio version. It's just interesting to hear it played live. Track 3 is 'Merories', which is a live version from the 'Not of this Earth' album. Frankly I don't really like it. The studio version is 4:06 mins, this live version is about 9 mins, so the song gets extended quite a bit, and it kinda gets boring. The final song is, in my opinion, the highlight. It is a live version of 'Hordes of locusts', which was also on 'Not of this Earth'. If you haven't heard it, it's quite a hard-rocking, heavy song, with some great soloing thrown in. For me, it is better than the studio version.

So, if you're a fan of Satch's earlier albums, or you just want to extend your Satriani collection, give this a look. It is worth it just for track 1 and 4.

"Dreaming #11" tends to be unfairly overlooked in Joe Satriani's catalog-- largely because it's an EP and it's not as widely available as many other recordings by Satch, but it really is deserving of wider attention. Essentially a single for "The Crush of Love" backed by three live tracks, the EP finds Satriani and company in fine form.

The only studio track, "The Crush of Love" is a moody ballad, with fine, round, and warm playing from Satriani, and is generally regarded as one of his best ballads and a fan favorite. The live tracks-- a pair from "Not of This Earth" and one from "Surfing With the Alien"-- are a treat. Satriani and company were really on fire the night this was recorded, and the performances are big, bold and exciting (note that more material from this show is available on "Time Machine").

Long story short-- this is critical for any Satriani fan. Recommended.

The best guitar master you can listen. I wonder, which feelings help you to create these singles.

This CD takes you to another level that Joe has made it to and other guitar players dream of reaching