Joe Satriani... I don't get it....

mystixboi1

mystixboi1

Kick Henry Jackassowski
So I've known about Satch for years and watch his portions of the G3 vids. However, I decided to pick up his greatest hits cd this past week. After giving it a few lessons, there's no doubt that he can play, but I don't get why he's so big.

In comparing him to Vai, I find his songs very one sided and not much excitement... they are just there. Vai's music always goes somewhere... it's interesting, dynamic and, at times, moving.

The same when I listen to Petrucci or Kotzen.

Anyway, Satch has got skills, but dang... nothing overly special.
 
Kinda how i feel about Stanley Jordon. He has jaw dropping skills, and is a blast to watch on youtube.

But musically kinda boring.
 
I don't quite get it either, but at the time he hit the scene, there was something I liked about his albums... We hadn't heard all that much shred at that time...
 
your first problem is that you started with a Greatest Hits record. never do that. always go for an album. it's cohesive and not limited to what the label thinks people should be hearing.

i'm not a huge fan of any of these guys, but i do like Satch's "Crystal Planet" and "Engines of Creation".

also, the guy you should really be listening to is Jeff Beck. especially the albums "Who Else?!", "Jeff", and "You Had It Coming".
 
Satriani had instrumental rock tunes that they could play on the radio when shred was in season. He had some stuff that people could hum. Vai, not so much.
 
Phil513 said:
Kinda how i feel about Stanley Jordon. He has jaw dropping skills, and is a blast to watch on youtube.

But musically kinda boring.
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Help!I'maRock! said:
your first problem is that you started with a Greatest Hits record. never do that. always go for an album. it's cohesive and not limited to what the label thinks people should be hearing.

i'm not a huge fan of any of these guys, but i do like Satch's "Crystal Planet" and "Engines of Creation".

also, the guy you should really be listening to is Jeff Beck. especially the albums "Who Else?!", "Jeff", and "You Had It Coming".
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I think when there is an entire album devoted to showing guitar skills, it's not nearly as good as an entire album devoted to great songs... One thing I really dig about Jeff Beck is that he is a phenomenal player, and seems to have endless chops, but he only plays what's good for the song, and knows how to lay back and just be a part of the whole...
 
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Mark Wein said:
Satriani had instrumental rock tunes that they could play on the radio when shred was in season. He had some stuff that people could hum. Vai, not so much.
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I'm with you. Out of all of those guys, Jeff Beck excluded, Satch is the only one who sounds like he's playing a song. With a melody. He is also very good in a band situation. I prefer Satch or Eric Johnson myself.
 
Not a huge fan but i'll play his newest album on Spotify in the house every now and then.
 
I'm not a fan of any of those type guys, I admire their abilities, but I just don't generally dig what they do.

That being stated... If I were forced to have to listen to either Vai or Satch, Satch would win in a heartbeat. He has a sense of song and melody about what he does that I have never heard from Vai. In fact, the Vai Live show I watched on Palladia last year is two hours of my life that I still want back. I only kept watching it because I was sure it had to stop sucking at some point... It never did. The suck was set to 11.
 
Mark Wein said:
Satriani had instrumental rock tunes that they could play on the radio when shred was in season. He had some stuff that people could hum. Vai, not so much.
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That's probably the reason I prefer Vai. The guy is a technical wizard and machine who also happens to write good melodies. His performance on the film "Crossroads" is pretty reminiscent of how he really is.
 
MuyLoCo444 said:
That's probably the reason I prefer Vai. The guy is a technical wizard and machine who also happens to write good melodies. His performance on the film "Crossroads" is pretty reminiscent of how he really is.
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I think Vai has a much higher level of technical ability than Satriani but for the average rock fan the fact that Satriani plays the occasional ZZ Top rip off goes a long way. Or that his music gets placed in commercials more. "Summer Song" is one that they played a ton on a Sony commercial several years ago IIRC.
 
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