06 SURFING WITH THE ALIEN JOE SATRIANI

(1987)

You can’t go platinum playing guitar instrumentals – it’s just not done. But Satriani did it with Surfing with the alien, charting two rock radio singles along the way with the title track and Satch Boogie. Joe’s virtuosity put him on guitar magazine covers immediately, and his warp-speed legato was the latest evolution of shred. But it was really his sense of melody that drew audiences. There were far more technical guitarists releasing albums in the aftermath, but none of them had a song as good as Alwayswith Me,alwayswithyou.

The guitars were recorded direct with a Rockman Headphone Preamp, and every song except Satchboogie features a drum machine. It’s remarkable how much groove Satch extracted from those unpromising beginnings. Incredibly, all the solos except Crushingday are improvised, showing Joe could think melodically even on the fly. His tapping approach on Midnight was clearly Van Halen-inspired while doing something original with the technique. On the title track, Joe tapped with a pick, allowing faster taps than are otherwise possible, an approach that influenced his former student Kirk Hammett.

Surfing with the alien stays interesting because Joe uses a range of modes and harmony to evoke different moods. The major climax of Alwayswithme is all the more joyous for the contrasting harmonic minor section that precedes it. The album remains the benchmark for instrumental rock 35 years later.