Joe Satriani: Not of this Earth (1986)
Like most folks, I first became acquainted with Joe Satriani via his 1987 masterpiece, Surfing with the Alien, then circled back to its ‘86 predecessor -- and de facto proof-of-concept -- Not of this Earth.
What you see here is the 1988 reissue, on snazzy blue vinyl, but I’ve included a snapshot of the original cover art above ... is that the Death Star?
Prior to this, the Long-Island-bred, San Francisco-dwelling Satriani (Satch, to his friends) was a total unknown to average music fans, but a highly respected guitar teacher behind the scenes, responsible for honing the skills of many an all-star pupil.
Get a load of this impressive roll-call: Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Primus’ Larry LaLonde, Testament’s Alex Skolnick, Counting Crows’ David Bryson, Third Eye Blind’s Kevin Cadogan, jazz-guitar wunderkind Charlie Hunter, and eventual biggest champion, protégé and peer, Steve Vai.
Anyway, somewhere between devising lesson plans and brief stints with Bay Area groups (including a passage through Greg Khin’s band), an unexpected solo career was born, via a modest, five-track EP issued in ‘84.
Not of this Earth, too, arrived to little fanfare, before slowly generating a grassroots buzz -- basically by fulfilling Satch’s liner note promise “to make a ‘guitar-record’ that would be enjoyed by all; not just a ‘guitar-chops-record’ but one with real music on it.”
Naturally, with no vocals anywhere in sight, instrumentals such as the dreamlike title track, the reggae-flavored “Memories” and the strutting “Hordes of Locusts” were never meant for radio airplay (though they probably got some anyway), but they each laid down well-crafted musical foundations over which Satriani could show off his tasteful virtuosity.
Heck, with its urgent, new wave funk, “The Snake” could have come from a Prince album, the futuristic “Driving at Night” could have soundtracked a late night news program like Nightline, and the romantic “Rubina” (dedicated to his wife) would set the template for future ballads like “Always with You, Always with Me” and “I Believe.”
Only the soothing unaccompanied musings of “Brother John,” the Zappa-esque complexities of “The Enigmatic” (*) the painstakingly assembled climax of “New Day” and the blistering country and western send-up, “The Headless Horseman,” cry out “Warning: hot-shot guitar hero on the premises.”
And what Satriani ultimately accomplished with his next, massively influential albums -- most of which simply improved and expanded upon the template supplied by Not of this World -- was to update the definition of the solo guitar hero for what was left of the 20th Century.
He prophesied as much in his liner notes, by half-jokingly hyping the already-in-progress Surfing with the Alien, as an album that would “turn heads, drop jaws, and create world peace in our lifetime.”
Well, two out of three ain’t bad!
* Based on an actual “Enigmatic Scale”!
More Joe Satriani: Joe Satriani EP, Surfing with the Alien, Flying in a Blue Dream; Chickenfoot’s Chickenfoot.
