Customer Reviews

Extremist

5 star:		(28)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have and love every Joe Satriani album recorded except for his latest "Engines", which is in the mail. The reason I feel this is Joe's best album is not because his best song is on it, but because the album as a whole flows nicely. There are plenty of shredding appregios and scales, such as "The Extremist", "Motorcycle Driver", and "War", and there are tunes that are more harmonic than melodic like "Why", as well as songs that are just about everything in between like "Summer Song". I must admit, the song "Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" brings a tear to my eye when I hear the acoustic guitars. You'll love this album because if you want to hear something that shreds, it's there. If you want to hear something that soothes, it's there. Pick this one up as Joe's paramount album.

According to the album liner notes Joe plays guitar, banjos, dobros, keyboards, harmonica, mandolin, synth, and bass on this album. The liner notes have a lot of interesting photos of Joe and his band, plus some art work by Joe. The Bissonette brother's, Matt on bass and Greg on drums who were in David Lee Roth's solo band after he left Van Halen in the Mid to late 1980s, play on most of the songs. This album has the hit single "Summer Song". People who like Hard Fast Blues and Melodic rock will also like the songs: "The Extremist", "War", "Why", and "MotorCycle Driver". They may also like the mid-tempo "Friends".

Wow. I bought this album about a year ago, and it remains my absolute favorite guitar album, bar none. It must have stayed in my 5-disc CD player for like three months, and it has lingered nearby ever since. I love that guitar takes center stage and you don't get tired of the album due to the lyrics, because there arn't any! There are numerous songs that could be singles here, and only a few of the songs, and only a few songs that I don't get excited about. Most of the songs are high energy and overwhelmingly succeed at showcasing Satriani's mastery of the guitar, and musicality within the most, ah. . .extreme musical context. As of yet, I have not found another high-energy electic guitar album that remotely approaches this one as an album.

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I have all the Joe Satriani collection. This is without the doubt my favourite, equally with " Crystal Planet"
This one maybe just gets the edge, due to the sheer number of emotion evoking tracks.
I also think this album is very underrated- not just here in Australia, but around the world.
I have heard " Summer Song" accompanied a commercial in the US- But I can't recall seeing that one in the land of OZ.
What a brilliant track and great clip too! Had no idea it was so commercial. " Summer Song" contains some of the best sliding down the scale hammer-ons and pull-offs I've ever heard. They are so dynamic. Oh how I wish I could play that well...!
Joe really is at his evocative best on this album.
The highlights are: " War" . Not since " Driving at night " has a song been so well aptly named by Joe. I can picture tanks thundering across the desert in Gulf War 1 when I hear this.
This is smoking! Unreal distortion, feedback, Wah wah pedal and breathtaking light speed guitar solos. One of my all time great songs.
" Cryin " is absolutely heartwrenching. A brilliant ballad, and one of the few Satch songs I can duplicate ( reasonably well ) on guitar myself. Dripping with emotion, that's hard to copy when you play this. Superby done.
" Rubina's Blue Sky happiness " is more goosebump material. This send shivers down my spine. It is brilliant!
This is another song written for his wife. Some more lovely acoustic work combines well with the electric. Very emotional song which comes out well when you listen.
Oh how I can't wait 'til Joe brings out an acoustic album!
"Tears in the rain" is just one of these, an acoustic- another beautiful slower track, done so well by the master.
Wish he'd do more of these.
" Why?" is another mind- blowing experience. Stunning harmonics start the track, which has one of the best beats I have ever heard from Joe.
Blistering, string tearing solo- what a ride!
And what an experience this album is.
For me it took about 9 or 10 listens to really start to like this one. So if you've only heard it a few times- give it a few more listens to really appreciate it. Once it hits you, you will never look back!
Do yourself a favour, if you haven't tried this album, give it a go. It truly is cutting edge, creative guitar, light years ahead of anyone else!

Essential guitar for your collection!

Joe is "the extremist".

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Satch is great-I've seen him live, but this disc is just average. Sure, everyone knows "Summer Song" from those 1992 SONY commercials, and "Cryin'" and "Tears In the Rain" are both beautiful and haunting. But the rest is pretty run-of-the-mill as far as Joe goes. Good, not great. For a first purchase go for "Surfin' With the Alien".

I think this guitarist stands out in that he himself can convey his own deep emotion directly into our hearts.That is ,his guitar techniques are all woven into his body and soul.
U R the GREAT!!!

When I heard 'cryin'' I couldnt stop listening to it. I was amazed at how much emotion he could pack into just one song. Cryin was the first Joe song I had ever heard. And I couldnt even imagine what his other stuff sounded like. I went ahead and bought The Extremist which turned out to be a musicians dream. I started the album out by "Friends." This song made me feel the same way about cryin' but had a light feel to it and very beautiful. I still wonder how can he make it to be so melodic and tasteful. Rubina's Blue sky happiness, New Blues, War, the Extremist are all pieces of art. I could go one forever telling you how much this album has changed my view of music, but I will let you discover the surprise yourself.

Highlight of this album: Rubina's blue sky happiness

Joe Satriani has never been one to stand pat as each of his albums seems to explore new and different sounds. This album may be one of his more conventional but it would be difficult to compare it to any of his other albums (the great "Crystal Planet" may come closest). The opening track "Friends" (not the theme song to the televison show) is very melodic and is unlike any other on the album. The scorching title song and "War" are both in-your-face Satriani. Other great songs are "Why" and "Motorcycle Driver". As with most Satriani albums, TURN IT UP AND ENJOY!

I'm not much of a fan of Summer Song, probably Joes biggest mainstream hit (Sony used it on one of their TV commercials and was cool enough to actually credit Joe on the commercial), but there are some gems on the album that make this a must-have album. "Tears in the Rain" is not only a great single-guitar acoustic song, but mere mortal guiatists can actually play the song if they spend a few hours at it! "New Blues" and "Why" is Joe at his best. One thing - don't expect the album to be full of over-the-top rockers like "Flying in a Blue Dream" or "Surfing with the Alien". It has a few good shred songs, but Joe seems to have slightly mellowed on this recording, which is not neccesarily a bad thing.

I love all of Joe's stuff. The Boy can just flat out play that thing. He shreds for sure but his compositions are first rate. It's always about the song. I've always found that the music evokes the title of the song. Joe is a musical genious. You can't go wrong with any of his stuff in my opinion.