When it comes to guitar instrumental albums, various schools of thought weigh in on the process. For some players, who shall remain nameless, it’s all about speed, technique and histrionics. That’s fine if you’re into sleight-of-hand acrobatics and piercing, lickety-split solos. Guitarists with a broader musical vocabulary, however, know there’s more to creating a vibrant instrumental than just a rambling of notes. In the 70s, Jeff Beck’s ear for melody coupled with an irreverent style of handling his instrument paved the way for others. In the 80s, Joe Satriani took the baton from Beck and hit pay-dirt with Surfing With The Alien. Since then, he’s continued to craft a catalog rife with punctuating, allegorical textures and tones. Shapeshifting, Satriani’s 17th solo release for 2020, finds the guitarist phrasing his nimble touch across 13 tracks decorated in a kaleidoscope of shapes and shifts.
For this outing, Satch is joined by bassist Chris Chaney, keyboardist Eric Caudieux, and modern music’s most in-demand drummer, the incomparable Kenny Aronoff, who immediately asserts his muscle, steamrolling through the intro of the soaring title track. The track morphs into a cataclysmic montage, establishing an immediate take-no-prisoners stance that pulls you in. The rollicking, hip-shaking “Big Distortion” lightens the mood briefly before Satriani stirs up a sizzling, romantic elixir around the moaning melody of “Big Love.” The salacious rhythm that drives “Ali Farka, Dick Dale, An Alien And Me” allows the guitarist to explore the fretboard through a succession of Middle-Eastern scales and rapid tremolo picking accents (imbued with shades of “Miserlou”) — drowning in a cosmic stew. It all makes for an intoxicating blend of ear candy.
Perhaps the old-school guitar windup is why “Nineteen Eighty” comes off as one of the album’s more accessible tunes. Further along, the simple, easygoing thrust of “All My Friends Are Here,” “Falling Stars,” and “Waiting,” featuring keyboardist Lisa Coleman from Prince’s band The Revolution, represent an unrivaled maturity that separates Satriani from the pack. Economic, alluring, elegant arrangements — it’s subtle flourishes like these that keep listeners engaged and obedient to Satch’s iambic disposition. And just to show that it’s not always about the licks and tricks, it’s left to the bouncy “Yesterday’s Yesterday,” with Coleman and Spinal Tap’s Christopher Guest aka Nigel Tufnel on mandolin, to drop a final statement on Shapeshifting. As lofty and uncharacteristic as it may be, this album leaves little doubt that Joe Satriani’s uncanny zest for flair, creativity and envelope-pushing is as insatiable as ever.
~ Shawn Perry
