Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A nice reward for fans., July 18, 2000
This is the first and only double Satch album, disc 1 being studio tracks that were not previously released and disc 2 being some outstanding live playing from various venues. One of the coolest things about this collection is that you get the long out of print Joe Satriani EP, which was released in very small numbers. At the time, he was in a band called The Squares and all of his bandmates, except drummer Jeff Campitelli, thought it would go nowhere. How wrong they were, as this EP marked the beginning of a very successful solo career for Joe. The "Time Machine" album also introduced one of Joe's most beloved songs, "All Alone." It is a very beautiful rendition of the Billie Holliday song "Left Alone" and is often used by figure skaters during their routines. Disc 2 features some awesome live performances of all his hits. Tracks 11-14 were recorded at the California Theater in June 1988 and I feel represent Joe at peak performance (please read my review of Joe's album "Dreaming#11," which features more of the California Theater concert, and you will find out the strange story behind this recording). One of the definite stand-outs on the live disc is "Big Bad Moon," a hard rockin' blues number that makes you want to hear him in person. Overall, this is an excellent album and is a treat for Satch fans and guitar fans in general. I highly recommend it.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satriani serves an eclectic mix of live and studio tracks., July 17, 1998
By A Customer
With Time Machine, Joe Satriani serves up a lively mix of old and new studio tracks as well as a series of scorching live tracks. Disc 1 features some new studio tracks as well as some pieces left off previous albums. While Satriani really shows off his vast array of technique on several tracks, it is when he reins in his impulse to let the solos rip that he really shines. This is not to say that some technique pieces don't shine, such as delicate "Banana Mango" and the searing "Speed of Light."However, for live music junkies such as myself, disc two offers the Satriani fan with a great show minus the visuals. What will amaze is that many of the techniques that enchant listeners on studio albums are acutally recreated live. The disc starts with the wild rides of "Satch Boogie" and "Summer Song." Again, when Satriani reins in his tendency to let fly with mind bending technique-driven solos is when the live music really shi! ! nes. "Flying in a Blue Dream," one of Satriani's most ethereal tracks on a studio album comes across with restrained elegance in this live version. Joe Satriani is sadly one of the most unrecognizable names in the guitar universe. "Time Machine" will show Satriani novices the wide range of skills and tastes he possesses while still thrilling those of us who enjoy his music. This double CD carries exactly what the name implies, a journey through Satriani's musical evolution, from the wild rides of fiery guitar expos of early tracks to the more restrained, musically connected pieces of later albums. It also assuages the yearnings of those who love Satriani's studio work as well as those of us who think live music is the only true test of a musicians abilities.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
3 1/2 stars really, nice compilation for fans., October 25, 2005
A curious collection of rarities, outtakes, new recordings, and live material, "Time Machine" is an intriguing mix and a worthwhile investment. It is divided into two discs, a studio record and a live record, each stretches over an hour in length.
The studio record contains performances from a number of sessions-- the new material was all recorded in 1993 for this record. The best of these is probably the title track, "Time Machine", a dense, churning, powerful piece filled with tension begging to explode that never quite does. A large portion of material were outtakes from "The Extremist"-- the album was evidentally heavily pared down to keep it fairly lean ("Flying in a Blue Dream" felt a bit long to me at least, so the change of pace was nice). Some of this material is superb, including the "Tears in the Rain"-styled "Baroque" and ballad "Thinking of You", which really shows how far Satriani has come as a lyrical and emotive soloist. From the "Surfing With the Alien" sessions one leftover is yielded, the frantic "Dweller on the Threshold", a moody and explosive piece not dissimilar to material on "Not of This Earth". There's also a handful of rarities-- most crucially the "Joe Satriani EP" which never received wide distribution. While i tlacks much of the polish even of "Not of This Earth", this hastily assembled material has its own charm, and certainly having it is as valuable as the material simply because of its rarity.
Still, for all this nice material, there's quite a bit of throwaway too-- Billie Holliday's "All Alone" gets a reasonable reading, and Satriani never ceases to surprise with his ability to stretch, but its just not too intriguing, "Banana Mango II" (left off "The Extremist") just seems to lack any real energy to it, and the closing "Woodstock Jam" has a lot of interesting ideas, but ultimately doesn't hold together.
The live disc fares much better, with unnervingly brilliant performances from the course of Satriani's career-- there's really not a bad cut on here, and particularly superb readings of "Always With Me, Always With You" and a ferocious "Big Bad Moon" are real highlights. Of extraordinary note is the presence of several extra pieces from the same performance that produced the live tracks on "Dreaming #11".
All in all, its a pretty mixed bag-- the live disc is better than the studio, and I kept waffling back in forth on three or four stars. Recommended for fans, newcomers should start with "Surfing With the Alien".
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