Joe Satriani, The Elephants of Mars Review

Joe Satriani is one of the guitarists that literally shaped the eighties guitar legend icon. A constant student, he studied with the famed Charlie Banacos and was a teacher himself, teaching Steve Vai and Kirt Hamlet, to name a few. Thirty-five years ago, he hit fame with his second album, Surfing With the Alien, which was the follow-up to his Not Of This Earth debut album. Satriani has continued to explore his musical muse in any direction it may lead, not concerned with fame, money, or consequence, and his diverse catalog reflects many styles and techniques. Satriani is now releasing his nineteenth album titled The Elephants of Mars.

The Elephants of Mars brings us fourteen new songs that span a vast sound pallet of styles. Joining Satriani is a core rhythm section of Bryan Beller on bass and Kenny Aronoff on drums. Adding colors is the keyboards of Rai Thistlethwayte and Eric Caudieux with symphonic orchestrations and in the producer chair. The album is mixed and Mastered by Greg Koller. “We did everything. We tried the craziest ideas. And we entertained every notion we had about turning something backwards, upside down, seeing what could happen.” “Sahara” opens the album with backwards guitars and etheric sounds before settling into a hip minor-keyed groove. Satch still has plenty to say with his guitar, and his playing is impassioned. He still is finding new sounds of freshness. The title track is a rolling riff that Satch and the band take through many moods and densities. “Blue Foot Groovy” is a relaxed jam with Satch showing off all his warm and robust distorted guitar tones with precise technique and a strong sense of melody, but still putting in the guitar shred when called for. “Doors of Perception” is a moment of Middle-Eastern influence and focuses on acoustic instruments. Again showing his ability to follow the music in any direction. Caudieux’s orchestration is outstanding in this selection. Overall, The Elephants of Mars is a solid album from an icon of the guitar world with an endless passion for finding the balance between songwriting, melody, great tone, and full-on guitar shred. That is why we love him, and that’s the short of it!

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