Satriani is a smokin' hot guitarist who can play anything. He plays a custom signature Ibanez guitar, and he can burn the thing. Technically, the guy has few peers.
Of course that means little on a CD of original rock instrumentals if Satriani can't write an interesting tune. Most of the songs here work. Some of them are little more than a riff to play leads over, but most of them are more than that. And even the songs that are just riffs are good riffs with incredible lead guitar parts that are both showcases for Satriani's talent and melodic leads that serve the songs. It's kind of like a hot Van Halen record without having to tolerate the vocals or the filler songs. Backed by Jeff Campitelli (drums), Allen Whitman (bass), and Zappa alumnus Mike Keneally (keyboards), the band is tight and all-pro. But this is Satriani's show all the way.
Satriani qualifies as a stunt guitarist, the guy that comes in to do the impossible stuff that the other guitarists would kill themselves attempting. Would you like this record? I have no idea. It's not something I'm going to listen to over and over, but I'm not a guitar player. If you play guitar and want to know how much stuff you can't do with your axe, this is the encyclopedia. It's also a very hot instrumental rock record, and you don't find all that many of them.
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