Satriani - An amazing guitarist but I still don't dig it

[Gooseman]

What is wrong with me? Honestly. I know so many people are wowed by him. I've seen him play and am absolutely amazed by his proficiency on the instrument. I get all of that. The music though, it just doesn't do it for me. And I love guitar-centric music, believe me; as a guitarist, I really do love someone who can just wail away. Andy Timmons, I get him. I get the appeal of his playing, technique, talent, and tone. Satriani though? I really don't get it. I admit this in shame and in hope that I'm not alone.

 

[BYTOR]

Satch has amazing proficiency, total command of theory and is a gifted melody composer. Nobody can argue this and be taken seriously.

Having said that, it does not mean that you have to be moved by him. Nothing wrong with that at all. We are complicated creatures.

His body of work as an instrumental guitarist cannot be questioned though. From delicate tunes to fast shreddy stuff, he always has great memorable melodies and riffs. His compositional melodic brilliance is what makes him stand out from all the guys with just chops

 

[hawkeye17]

Satch has amazing proficiency, total command of theory and is a gifted melody composer. Nobody can argue this and be taken seriously.

Having said that, it does not mean that you have to be moved by him. Nothing wrong with that at all. We are complicated creatures.

His body of work as an instrumental guitarist cannot be questioned though. From delicate tunes to fast shreddy stuff, he always has great memorable melodies and riffs. His compositional melodic brilliance is what makes him stand out from all the guys with just chops

Couldn't have put it better myself.....

 

[thiswaythatway]

Well, Satch has released a lot of albums so there's going to be plenty of fillers. But on every one of his CD's I find there's at least 4 songs that just have these irresistable hooks.

I think Satch is the guitarist who gets more airplay at sporting events and on ESPN than any other. That song crowdchant was an instant sports hit.

 

[joseph]

i hate his tone. his playing is super good/lame.

 

[Gainzilla]

Its nothing more than preference really. its like arguing which Ice cream is better; Chocolate or vanilla. How can someone be wrong if they prefer one or the other? As far as Satch goes, at first, I thought that he was cool but as the years went by, I liked him more and more and really respect what he brings to the table. I dig Timmons as well. For me, its hard to find fault with either but in the end, it all comes down to prefererence. At least you recognize and respect the talent.

That said, all bets are off when it comes to Kirk Hammett or Radiohead because they both suck without any redeeming qualities

 

[Wizard of Ozz]

He's very "technically proficient"... but I dig EVH/Lynch/DeMartini more for overall sound/feeling/presentation than Satch. YMMV.

 

[gkinsingapore]

I LOVE his playing and sound on the new Chickenfoot.

After the Extremist his instrumental stuff became really boring for me.....

 

[joolzriff]

same here,,,,,cant stand it even tho hes on top of the game....no interest

 

[Kapo_Polenton]

Agreed.. instrumental stuff has gotten long in the tooth but i still dig the back catalogue. Much preferred his Chickenfoot stuff because I could hear him play in context of a song. He def. delivers. His tone is not my favourite but he has that signature sound that you know is Satch after the first few notes are played. The guy who I don't get is Vai. Besides the cool stuff he did in the movie Crossroads, it just ain't happenin for me.

 

[Ultron]

^^^
I used to like Radiohead until I saw them perform live on SNL last night.....good Lord, wanted to smack Thom Yorke upside his wee tiny head.....what a little spaz.


I feel like the OP does, but in my case about Andy Timmons....talented guitarist, great tones, but I just cannot connect to any of his playing.

 

[gibson08]

Its OK not to like something. Thanks to you for not bashing him because you dont like it. IMO, The Extremist is amazing work.

 

[Spaceboy]

I will never understand Radiohead. I'm someone who's very into strange and artistic music, but that band has never done anything to excite me.

 

[Tone Zone]

IMO, The Extremist is amazing work.

Yeah, I always thought The Extremist was a great Satch album. I'm still a fan of him myself, but in my early days as a player....he was a huge influence on me, I LOVED listening to Satch. Since then, I've moved on to other players, but I never stopped liking him. After Crystal Planet though, I really wasn't into his direction as much...even though I can still find a couple of gems on each album since, to appreciate. Last time I saw him play was during the Crystal Planet tour, and man did he put on a hell of a show!

 

[datriani]

I've been a satch fan since 87 and I get his music and playing, it resonates with me from a few different perspectives. I'm also a few big fan of Vai, Eric Johnson, Andy Timmons, Guthrie Govan but I also listen to a lot of country, main stream top 40 junk, hip hop etc. What I've found is that each band/guitar player has a song or two that hits the spot for me, some more than others. I appreciate Satch's abilities tremendously but there are a few songs that stand out to me, Love Thing, Starry Night, Dream Song, Memories, Andalusia, those are the slower songs that have more than just shredding to them. But I also like Satch Boogie and Summer Song to a name a few that are faster. I would say there are 10 songs that I really dig and another 100 (out of my 111 Satch songs on my ipod) that are cool and I'll listen to but not as moving. So 10% of his stuff.

 

[Mailman1971]

I was big into Satch when he released Surfing with the Alien. Totally blew me away back then.
Really liked Flying in a Blue dream as well. Just sorta drifted away from listening to him since then.

 

['63-Strat]

Its nothing more than preference really. its like arguing which Ice cream is better; Chocolate or vanilla. How can someone be wrong if they prefer one or the other? As far as Satch goes, at first, I thought that he was cool but as the years went by, I liked him more and more and really respect what he brings to the table. I dig Timmons as well. For me, its hard to find fault with either but in the end, it all comes down to prefererence. At least you recognize and respect the talent.

That said, all bets are off when it comes to Kirk Hammett or Radiohead because they both suck without any redeeming qualities

Radiohead is pure genius.. people who beat up on Kirk too much, I say this as a former Kirk basher, don't realize that Kirk actually plays every riff just like hetfield, except then he goes out and plays solos on top of that. I gotta respect him for that.

Btw, Radiohead is fuckin genius.

+1 on Radiohead

I'll take listening to Radiohead over Satriani every day. If you can't understand why Radiohead is great, that's probably because they have nothing to do with guitar virtuosity and everything to do with great songwriting and vision. To each their own.

 

[glassjaw7]

Radiohead had a quick flash of brilliance long ago, but I can't stand them anymore. They're trying way too hard and their music sounds so forced now.

Satch is a beast technically, but it's the same thing for me; I feel nothing from the music.

 

[Mailman1971]

I would listen to WEEZER anyday over Radiohead.....but this has nothing to do with Joe Satriani.

 

[bsp01]

I was big into Satch when he released Surfing with the Alien. Totally blew me away back then.
Really liked Flying in a Blue dream as well. Just sorta drifted away from listening to him since then.

Pretty much my situation as well. I do like the odd thing here and there that's he's done since, but those two are my favs.