Search - Joe Satriani :: Dreaming #11

Classic live Satch

Timephoenix | Christchurch, New Zealand | 12/22/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"


Joe Satriani is not just a guitar legend, but also a very good all-round musician. Although players like Yngwie Melmstein might be slightly better technically, their compositional and group-performance skills are sometimes awful.



Satch's versatility is what makes him special, and this EP is a good example. The first track, The Crush of Love, is the only studio track on the album, and is a very catchy, pop-rock guitar piece which has some great melodies, but does not showcase Joe's technical skill as much as the other tracks, apart from excellent Wah-pedalling. Don't get me wrong, it is a flawless performance, but Satch is capable of so much more. This is more an example of Satriani's compositional skills and ever-so-lyrical guitar lines.



The rest of the album is recorded live at a concert held in San Diego in 1988. Track two is a performance of Ice Nine, with some new, cool bluesy solos which are full of fast fingerwork, pinch harmonics and wah-pedal.



Memories, the third track, is my favorite track of the album. It is around twice the length of the original, and has some very technically difficult guitar phrases. Jonathan Mover and Stu Hamm are superb on drums and bass on this track, adding another dimension to this song. Joe's solos are diverse, sometimes lyrical and othertimes utilizing dischord in traditional Satch fashion. He uses a many different techniques to achieve this. It enters many different moods to the listener as it progresses through the piece's several movements, and it has quite a different feel to the original recording (perhaps in a more rock style).



The final track on the album is also strong. It makes use of the harmonic minor scale and has quite an "Eastern" feel. It is marginally heavier than the other tracks, and the guitar lines sound almost neoclassically influenced at times, with some touches of prog. Satch again impresses with some difficult phrases, some possibly harder than in Memories (I am not a guitarist, so excuse me if I am wrong). Mover and Hamm again impress, and it is a very solid group performance.



This is a very good album, although is not the best live album from Joe Satriani; for mine his Live in San Francisco and G3 performances are longer and more diverse. However, if you are a fan of Joe it is an essential album. If you are new Satriani, The Electric Joe Satriani - An Anthology gives a good overview, while I would also reccommend Surfing With the Alien, Crystal Planet and The Extremist."

THE CRUSH OF LOVE EP

JOE BLOW | MINNEAPOLIS, MN | 05/12/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you like Joe's hit single "The Crush Of Love" I suggest you get this EP. This version is a studio version of the song as opposed to the LIVE version on the TIME MACHINE double CD. The studio version is superior to the live version because it has a fast pace from beginning to end. The LIVE version on TIME MACHINE slows down for the last two minutes of the song. The other 3 songs were recorded LIVE at the California Theater, San Diego, CA on June 11, 1988.

"Ice Nine" is fairly fast paced,"Memories" starts slow and ends slow, the middle part of the song is medium to fast paced. "Hordes Of Locust" is medium paced. So to summarize, two fast paced songs - "The Crush Of Love and "Ice Nine", one medium paced song - "Hordes Of Locust" and one slow/medium paced song - "Memories"."

Overlooked but critical.

Michael Stack | North Chelmsford, MA USA | 10/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

""Dreaming #11" tends to be unfairly overlooked in Joe Satriani's catalog-- largely because it's an EP and it's not as widely available as many other recordings by Satch, but it really is deserving of wider attention. Essentially a single for "The Crush of Love" backed by three live tracks, the EP finds Satriani and company in fine form.



The only studio track, "The Crush of Love" is a moody ballad, with fine, round, and warm playing from Satriani, and is generally regarded as one of his best ballads and a fan favorite. The live tracks-- a pair from "Not of This Earth" and one from "Surfing With the Alien"-- are a treat. Satriani and company were really on fire the night this was recorded, and the performances are big, bold and exciting (note that more material from this show is available on "Time Machine").



Long story short-- this is critical for any Satriani fan. Recommended."