Customer Reviews

Not of This Earth

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not of This Earth was Joe Satriani's debut album and wow. This is an eclectic collection of songs. Since Satch didn't have a ton of money to make this recording the songs have simple drums/percussion and he plays bass on the tracks as well as the guitar.I don't think that those two things make a difference. This is simply one of the greatest debut albums by anybody period. The title track is simplistic but it is a good introduction to a guitarist with his own style."The Headless Horseman" is a technique driven tune but it is also a lot of fun. One can picture the title character riding through the night creating mayhem. "Rubina" is dedicated to his wife and contains a great use of mood in the intro, a nice melody and one of the most emotional solos ever recorded. "The Snake" is Satch at his funky best. "Driving at Night" is the tune that, even if you didn't know the title of the song, would be the one to listen to on the expressway. Joe shows that he is an artist by painting a musical picture of pounding the pedal to the floor. He does break out some blinding licks but the song isn't about technique it is all about creating a picture through sound. This is one of Joe's best songs and it is dissapointing that he hasn't played it live since the first tour."The Enigmatic" is named after the mode that it uses. Joe sounds like Holdsworth at times but he does add his own flavor to the legato laced tune. This is one of Joe's wildest creations. This disc shows how music can give mental pictures from the audio. Joe is an artist in every sense of the word on this Cd and any guitarist or musician that doesn't own it should buy it immediately.

Thanks for reading my review.
This is a great first effort from Joe, who made this album with a $5000-00 credit card limit. Was he crazy? No way! Fans got to see the birth of a brilliant guitarist, who had the courage to lay it all down, bare his soul, for everyone to see.
Joe was already a brilliant guitarist when this was released.
He had already been playing for several years before this. For fans who only have his latest stuff, you won't get to hear Joe playing half speed, or playing boring , simple melodies. No.. this has some brilliant stuff on it.
Granted this is clearly not Joe at his best. But you don't expect it to be, as he is still refining and developing his guitar technique at this stage of his career.
The album has the great " Rubina" in it's first incarnation. One of my all time favourites. I do prefer the elegant live version from " Live in San Franscisco " better. A great, beautiful track nevertheless, dedicated to his wife.
" Memories" is the best track for me. Probably the most creative track, with furious, mind bending ( and guitar bending too! ) hammer-ons and pulloffs in he solo sections.
" Brother John" is a beautiful all too rare acoustic track from Joe. I wish he would do more acoustic work.. maybe his new album?.....
The aptly named " Driving at night " is also brilliant. He really got the title right on this one, or was it he got the song right for the title?
The only track I really don't like is " Headless Horseman"
Sorry doesn't work for me.
All fans should have this one, as it's great to see his humble beginnings. Anyone wanting to try Joe for the first time should maybe try a later album such as " Flying in a Blue Dream" or " Crystal Planet"
Hats off to you Joe, we salute your guitar playing, long live you
Satch

Most of the tracks demonstrate first rate guitar abilities. If you are reading this, then you must a fan of solid guitarists. If you want a sampling of his work, this is good to represent earlier work. If you are on a budget, there are better one to own then this.

Nothing "earth" shattering here, just good solid material from Satriani's debut album. All of Satriani's succeeding albums are superior to this one, although it is still good in its own right. That says a lot. My personal favorites here include the title song, "The Snake", "Memories", and "Hordes of Locusts". Also "The Headless Horseman" sounds quite similar to "Headless" from the later CD "Flying in a Blue Dream". Coincidence? You decide.

I first heard this CD some time ago and didn't really take to it. Being a fan of his more commercial efforts - such as 1988's 'Surfing With The Alien' - I was expecting something along the same line: bone-crushing riffs, soaring 'in your face' solos and those infamous hooks that are synonymous with the name Joe Satriani. Instead I got something else - something that turned me away at first, yet kept clawing at me to come back and give this album another spin. One day, it all suddenly clicked with me. 'Not Of This Earth' is a wonderful combination of melody, feel and, yes, crunching guitar lines (even if they aren't as obvious as some of his other efforts). Other than those however, is a certain intangible quality; something I can't quite put my finger on... This album just creates a certain mood - an aura - that is something special. I'm sorry I couldn't describe it very well - music can be a very insular thing!

First up we have the title song 'Not Of This Earth', the world's introduction to Satriani. His weird lead phasing combined with the odd traditional (I use this term quite loosely) lick makes this piece quite interesting; it is also one of the first tastes of the 'pitch-axis theory' in rock music.

Next comes 'The Snake' which can be described in one word: funky. Seriously funky. Satriani is really grooving on some chords here and the experimental stuff half way through shows how creative Satch can be, as he explores an odd array of dive bombs, pick scratches, two-handed tapping and heavy-metal riffing. Also the pentatonic leads in this song, although minimalist, are very tasteful and apt.

'Rubina' seems to be one of the favourites off this album and, to tell the truth, it's quite easy to see why. Beautiful chord progressions and a gorgeous solo; the 'Live In San Francisco' version is even better.

'Memories' is one of Satch's most overlooked songs, if you ask me. It also contains a *fantastic* guitar solo. It doesn't jump right out at you at first, but if you pay attention there is some truly amazing playing going on.

'Brother John' is a nice little finger-picked piece.

'The Enigmatic' is, as another reviewer said, named after the mode it's in. It appeals to me quite a lot, because it's just so rare for something like this to be played in Satriani's 'genre' (or whatever you want to call it). It features an almost 'out-of-control' tempo and there is some really strange legato soloing going on; almost sounds like Allan Holdsworth playing heavy metal.

'Driving At Night' is, as many reviewers have put it, is a perfectly apt title; another underrated piece in the Satriani catalogue.

'Hordes Of Locusts' has some crunching metal riffs, and probably the heaviest on the album. Probably one of the better cuts, although I personally prefer 'Rubina', 'Memories' and 'The Snake'. 'New Day' is a nice pseudo-send-off - like many songs on this album this doesn't exactly jump out at you, but if you just listen, you will hear Joe's sensitivity shine through, especially at about a minute-and-a-half in.

The album ends with 'The Headless Horseman, a piece comprised solely of two-handed tapping. Personally I feel it's one of the weaker tracks, but is still welcome, even if it doesn't match 'Midnight' off the subsequent album.


If you are new to Satriani, then you should probably pick up 'Surfing With The Alien' or 'The Extremist' first (both excellent albums). However, if you have those or just want to hear some good, tasteful and creative guitar playing, then pick this up. Who knows, you may be surprised. Joe Satriani really is Not of This Earth!

****.5 stars

This is the first full-length album by the guitar wiz known as Joe Satriani. It is somewhat different from his other albums, especially in the tones. His guitars have a very unique sound that he didn't really use later on. The production value is also amazing. This is one of the sweetest sounding cds I own. Listen to the song "The Snake" (a cool song that was actually spliced together from discarded tape right before deadline) about half way through and you'll see what I mean (turn it up loud, too!) There are some great songs on this one and gave a glimpse at the amazing things he would do later on. I give this one a four because it is definitely not his best stuff, but some of these songs ("Rubina" "Memories" and "Hordes of Locusts") sound awesome live and it is great to hear the original versions. I really like this cd, but I would recommend that this be bought after someone has become an established fan.

This album came out back in the late 80s, just when Joe was apparently comming out & seeing the light. When I bought this album, I was a bit dissapointed because it was not exactly what I had expected. By the time I bought this album, I had listened to other of his work, including Crystal Planet, Surfing...etc, so I was expecting this album to be in that style.
Nonetheless, it's worth every penny that I paid for it. Even though the tone and the sound is different from his latest work, this cd still does not get left behind.
Rubina is a beautiful track, nicely written, and played by the Master.
Here you can also hear some serious tapping, and clean guitar.
The drums sound very clear, and of course, have that 80's sound.
If you're a Satriani fan, this one can't miss it in your collection. If you like guitar music, make sure you add this one to your cd list.
You will enjoy it from start to end.

...Joe made this somewhat experimental guitar album. It contains what is simply the best night-driving song known to man, and Rubina - a beautiful tune Joe frequently still plays in concert. Memories and Hordes of Locusts are also both very solid tracks, but their live renditions on the Dreaming #11 EP have incredible energy to them, and are even better.

The first time I was ever subjected to Joe, it was back in 88' one afternoon while watching MTV in the middle of the day (you know, when they aired "music" not "muzak"?) and the video "Always With Me, Always With You" came on (you can see this video and many others on the 1992 VHS cassette titled, "The Satch Tapes", which is available through the Net and most music stores today). Watching Joe play those loving licks through a stark white Ibanez guitar in the middle of a Californian desert (along with an almost unnoticeable view of none other than Stu Hamm playing a stand-up bass) at the tender age of 13 was all I needed to see and hear. From that point forward, Joe changed not only the music I listened to, and how I listened to it, but he also changed my life and influenced me to pick up the guitar less than a year later.

In regards to the album at hand, "Not Of This Earth", it obviously wasn't the first disc I purchased from Joe, but it certainly is still one of the discs I most often listen to today. I only gave this album 4 stars because I'm not moved by "The Enigmatic" or "Hordes Of Locusts" as some metalheads are, but the remainder of the album definitely requires a listen if you're at all into fusion, jazz-rock, instrumental rock, whatever you wish to categorize it as. From the hypnotic title track to the heartbeat-like emotion of "Rubina" to the patriotic march of "New Day", this album arguably remains the most neglected record of Joe's career. It was left in the dust when "Surfing With The Alien" showed up a year later, but hey, for a record funded by a Visa with a $5,000 limit, there wasn't much funding left for advertisements after production costs. However, with a digital remastered version now available, thanks to Joe's newest label Epic, it sounds better than ever and despite some of the drum and synth bass effects sounding a bit dated, they still fill in precisely where they need to, leaving Joe to really show us what he's all about - the guitar. As he states best in the liner notes, "Not Of This Earth can be an amazing audio experience so turn it up!"

Thank you, Joe. For everything you've done and continue to do.

This is one of my favorite Joe Satriani cds. This was Joe's first album and sounds just as good as his second album Surfing With The Alien. Joe plays guitars,bass,and keyboards on all the songs. Joe's guitar work is top notch from start to finish; as usual. Some of the best songs include;RUBINA,DRIVING AT NIGHT,THE SNAKE,NOT OF THIS EARTH,and HORDES OF LOCUST. A must own for Satriani fans.