The Essential Joe Satriani is a solid alternative to the equally stellar two-disc career overview Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology, with the main difference being that it spans 13 albums -- all the way from 1986’s Not of This Earth to 2008’s Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock -- instead of stopping short at 2002’s Strange Beautiful Music.
Since much of Satch’s notable material comes from the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, either option makes for an excellent starter pack and does indeed cover the “essentials,” including shredder faves “Surfing with the Alien,” “Satch Boogie,” "Summer Song," “Always with Me, Always with You,” and “Flying in a Blue Dream.” For newcomers hoping to get acquainted with the Guitar God via a single disc, Sony/Legacy's Playlist: The Very Best of Joe Satriani compilation offers a cheaper alternative.
But, for those looking for a thorough chronological overview, this is the best to date.
And, as a nice bonus, the liners include an explanation of each song's inspiration, penned by Joe Satriani himself.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Surfing with the AlienJoe Satriani | Joe Satriani | Play | 04:20 | 9 MB | 29 MB |
| 2 | Satch BoogieJoe Satriani | Joe Satriani | Play | 04:57 | 11 MB | 38 MB |
| 3 | If I Could FlyJoe Satriani | Joe Satriani | Play | 06:31 | 14 MB | 50 MB |
| 15 mins | 36 MB | |||||
| 15 mins | 118 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Steve Berkowitz | A&R |
| 2 | Gregg Bissonette | Drums |
| 3 | Matt Bissonette | Bass |
| 4 | Mick Brigden | Executive Producer |
| 5 | Jeff Campitelli | Drums, Electronic Drums, Handclapping, Percussion |
| 6 | Eric Caudieux | Bass, Keyboards, Producer, Programming |
| 7 | David Coleman | Art Direction |
| 8 | John Cuniberti | Percussion, Producer, Tambourine |
| 9 | Paulinho Da Costa | Percussion |
| 10 | Nathan East | Bass |
| 11 | Anton Fig | Drums |
| 12 | Mike Fraser | Engineer, Handclapping, Mixing, Producer |
| 13 | Bernie Grundman | Mastering |
| 14 | Stuart Hamm | Bass |
| 15 | Andy Johns | Mixing, Producer |
| 16 | Glyn Johns | Mixing, Producer |
| 17 | Manu Katché | Drums |
| 18 | Andy Fairweather Low | Guitar (Rhythm) |
| 19 | Jeff Magid | Compilation Producer |
| 20 | Mike Manning | Handclapping |
| 21 | Stephan Moore | Project Director |
| 22 | Jonathan Mover | Drums, Percussion |
| 23 | Leann Mueller | Cover Photo |
| 24 | Simon Phillips | Drums |
| 25 | Liz Reilly | Photo Research |
| 26 | Darren Salmieri | A&R |
| 27 | Joe Satriani | Banjo, Bass, Composer, Executive Producer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Handclapping, Keyboards, Liner Notes, Mixing, Percussion, Piano, Primary Artist, Producer, Programming, Synthesizer, Vocals |
| 28 | Kevin Shirley | Additional Production |
| 29 | Bongo Bob Smith | Drum Programming, Drums, Percussion, Sound Design |
| 30 | Pat Thrall | Bass |
| 31 | Elk Thunder | Percussion |
| 32 | Eric Valentine | Piano |
| 33 | Neil Zlozower | Photography |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |