Customer Ratings & Reviews

Love Joe S. and this type of music in general. You will not be disapointed in this CD. Great buying experience from Best Buy too. Ordered online and had the CD in my hands only a few days later.

On his latest release, Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards, Joe Satriani sets a really comfortable mood and gives un hour of outstanding music. Again. In an era when the shuffle setting on the IPOD is king, and the art of true album making is a seemingly dying art, Satch brings us back to where rock and roll belongs. It's his strongest effort in years - and I liked Super Collosal and Professor Satchafunkilus! Maybe that long overdue Grammy will come his way. But what makes Joe and his fans great is that he doesn't care, and they don't either. This is an amazing record, one that deserves a lot of listens. Grab a good pair of headphones and settle in to listen all the way through. One of the reasons album making is dying is because we have lost the art of album listening. Give this one the attention it deserves! Premonition - A fitting title for the opening song on a truly dynamic rock and roll album. It's familiar, yet fresh, offering a hint of the new tracks to come. The tolling bells and footsteps at the start, the building melody with the keyboards layed gently over the top, then a blistering bridge to the solo. This song - like the record - goes lots of different places. Dream Song - A perfect choice for BSAWW's second cut. Starts with a nice, echoey Hendrix-like riff, a cool keybord rhythm - then some of Joe's patented tones and melodies. Satch says this song came to him in its entirety in a dream, thus the title. I wonder if he was dreaming about Crystal Planet? Dream Song has the feel of something from side two of that masterpiece. Pyrrhic Victoria - From the opening notes, you know the album is really hitting it's stride. The rhythm section lays down a killer groove, while Joe gets absolutely filthy on the fretboard. Big, loud, funky and a rager of a solo. Make sure you have a good pair of headphones; you don't want to miss this song's wonderful rhythm guitar chops. We all love the solos, but Joe's wide open rhythm work on his solo records is a real treat, too. I love this song. It's in rotation on my radio station starting, like, right now. Light Year's Away - This was the album's advance track, and was a good one to draw attention to the new release. It's got a great swing and a great vibe. This song - and several others on the album - give me the distinct impression that Satch was re-energized by the Chickenfoot experience. This has that big 80's arena sound that rock music has been missing for the last 20 years. Solitude - Just when you think you've got BSAWW pegged, here comes a pretty little bridge piece to take us in a new direction, for a stroll down... Littleworth Lane - One of the things that really sets Satriani apart from other guitarists is his ability to "play it pretty for the world" while still getting his chops in. This is a nice gospel-tinged piece that will have you humming along, but not singing the blues. Good stuff. The Golden Room - Like Andalusia, Asik Veysel, Belly Dancer, Morrocan Sunset - Joe takes an eastern style, plays with it, blends with a good dose of his own style - and comes up with a song that really swings. Jeff Campitelli's percussion work is wonderful on this track. He ties it all together very nicely. Two Sides To Every Story - I like this song. Mike Keneally gets it started with a tasty keyboard melody, and Joe follows with some juicy, understated blues riffs. The solo isn't a shredder, but it fits the song perfectly. He really lets the rest of his band shine and do their thing on this track. It's probably a testament to the overall strength of the album that Two Sides comes off as a weaker song at first listen. But don't give up on it. Listen a couple times and let it grow on you. Wormhole Wizards - When I first saw the tracklist and the album title, I had a feeling that the title cut would be something very special and memorable. I wasn't wrong. (Call it a Premonition?) Wormhole Wizards is as fine a song as Joe has recorded. Ever. On every listen, I hear something new and awesome. That rhythm work I referenced earlier is amazing on this cut, as is the keyboard groove that Mike Keneally lays down. Joe has a lot to express in this song, and uses every one of the six minutes and twenty seven seconds to express it. Listening to this for the 4th or 5th time, it occured to me that this song is what the Engines of Creation CD might sound like if he re-did it today. Very, very impressive piece of music. Wind In The Trees - This song would fit nicely with Clouds Race Across The Sky from Engines of Creation. It has that feel. But this song is far superior. Timing out at 7:42, it's the longest song on BSAWW, but it doesn't drag. There's some extended jam and solo work in here that sounds very much like a one-off in the studio. There's an extended run at the end where Joe and his Ibanez guitars fade way into the background and let Mike Keneally take the lead. It's a very jazzy, moody piece that fits the rest of this album very well. God Is Crying - The title suggests a power ballad, but it's clear from the first couple of notes that Satch has something else in mind. The song builds up to a really heavy groove, then settles into a distortion and pedal-heavy song. If God IS crying (and a look around the world indicates He certainly should be), then this track suggests that He sheds tears much differently than you and I. Heartbeats - The first of two bonus tracks - available either at Best Buy or on Napster. They're both good tracks, but neither is of the standout variety like Ghosts was on the last CD. I'm glad he included them here, but am also happy he didn't leave any of the other 11 cuts out! Heartbeats has a feel that's much more consistent with his last couple of releases. The tones on this song are really sweet. I hear a little Clapton in there, a little Jimi, even a little Carlos at times. But mostly it's just Joe. Longing - My favorite of the two bonus tracks. I'm reminded of Bono singing "all I've got is this red guitar, three chords and the truth". It's a very simple three chord song with some really blistering solo work. I want to hear this one live.

Once again, Joe Satriani delivers with one of his finest offerings in years.

The man plays his Heart out.His sound is so pure!!