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.
Tracklist
01. Not Of This Earth [0:04:04.15]
02. The Snake [0:04:43.25]
03. Rubina [0:05:56.47]
04. Memories [0:04:06.03]
05. Brother John [0:02:10.57]
06. The Enigmatic [0:03:26.38]
07. Driving At Night [0:03:33.40]
08. Hordes Of Locusts [0:04:59.17]
09. New Day [0:03:52.28]
10. The Headless Horseman [0:01:53.30]
