Artist: Satriani, Joe
Label: Sony BMG
Released: 1989
Length: 64:25
Rating: 3.5/5
After the outstanding second album, “Surfing with the Alien”, Joe Satriani did something in 1989 that maybe not many people expected. “Surfing with the Alien” was a phenomenal record, but with his third studio effort, “Flying in a Blue Dream”, Satriani topped even that and cemented his spot as one of the best guitarists on the planet.
For this album, Satch gathered a whole crew of outstanding musicians around him, who helped him shape his vision even further. This time it was about much more than just flexing his guitar muscles, as Satriani serves up plenty of tasteful melodies and solos, and of course there’s no shortage of classic guitar daring either. Overall, though, the album is something of a departure from the norm, as it’s one of the most adventurous releases in his entire history.
The album starts out slow with the title track, which soon takes off at full throttle. That goes especially for the solo, which Joe supposedly wrote while tipsy. He says it took him quite a while to learn how to play it sober. Next up is a wild tune with a weird, Zappa-esque title – another great melody in classic Satch style. Can’t Slow Down is the first song with vocals. It’s another hard rock beauty where Joe shows off all his strengths, on guitar and vocals alike. The melodies are especially catchy. After the short instrumental Headless comes the funky Strange, where you can see Satch’s versatility. Then comes one of the album’s finest moments – his hit I Believe, which proves that Satriani doesn’t need to race through the notes all the time to make an impression. After another feverishly fast composition comes the more bluesy/hard rock-flavored Big Bad Moon. After a short banjo excursion on The Feeling in The Phone Call, Joe suddenly wanders into more mystical (almost new age) waters with Day at the Beach. Back to Shalla-Bal brings us back to normal hard rock territory, again with some outstanding guitar work. On Ride, Satriani sings the praises of his love for heavy bikes. Since Satriani sings about riding his “bike”, and “bike” in English means both a bicycle and a motorcycle, I’ve always pictured a goofy video where Satriani sits on a beat-up old pony of a bicycle, slowly pushing the pedals and ringing the bell like a little kid. Just when you think the album can’t get any better, two more two-part pieces roll in, both starting with a gentle, meditative section and ending more abruptly. And to close, there’s Into the Light, where Satriani wraps up an exceptional album with delicate guitar touches.
One of the album’s main virtues is that every song surprises you. Each track has something of its own, something unique. Genre-wise, Satriani is more diverse here than ever before or since. He plays all his aces – from typical guitar hard rock, funk, blues, country (banjo), atmospheric and (almost) new age music, and who knows what else. Every moment on the album is packed with some new feeling, some new idea, and that’s exactly what makes albums stick in our memory for a long time. It’s also important that the album doesn’t lose its intensity for a second, but keeps building on it the whole way through.
On this album, Satriani proves he’s not just a guitarist, but a whole lot more. His banjo, harmonica, and keyboard work stands out too. Even though he may devote more attention to other instruments than ever before, the power of the guitar is no less for it. Satriani is still the “guitar god”, but one who isn’t afraid to try something new. We still run into fast sections that show why Joe is so respected as a guitarist, but there’s no lack of parts that focus more on melody either.
With everything Satriani is doing, it’d be easy to forget the team that’s involved here. Among the collaborators on the album are gems like Stuart Hamm and Simon Phillips, who definitely leave a special mark on the music.
I think what sets Satch apart from the other so-called guitar gods is his ability to craft singable melodies and solos. It’s obvious he has at least as much skill as his “competitors”, but his main trump card is that he doesn’t always have to rush at supersonic speed, and can often create just the right feeling that sucks you into his music. Personally, I think Flying in a Blue Dream is his greatest achievement, and it will forever stand as one of the best rock albums, not just one of the best guitar albums. With it, Satch became an immortal, untouchable music icon, no matter what followed.
Lineup
Joe Satriani – guitars, basses, keyboards, banjo, harmonica, percussion, vocals
Stuart Hamm – bass guitar
John Cuniberti – sitar, percussion
Jeff Campitelli – drums, percussion
Bob Smith – drums, percussion
Simon Phillips – drums
Production
Joe Satriani & John Cuniberti
Track list
1. Flying in a Blue Dream (5:28)
2. The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing (5:05)
3. Can’t Slow Down (4:46)
4. Headless (1:28)
5. Strange (4:55)
6. I Believe (5:50)
7. One Big Rush (3:20)
8. Big Bad Moon (5:13)
9. The Feeling (0:52)
10. The Phone Call (3:00)
11. Day at the Beach (New Rays from an Ancient Sun) (2:03)
12. Back to Shalla-Bal (3:15)
13. Ride (4:58)
14. The Forgotten (Part One) (1:10)
15. The Forgotten (Part Two) (5:10)
16. The Bells of Lal (Part One) (1:19)
17. The Bells of Lal (Part Two) (4:08)
18. Into the Light (2:25)
