Joe Satriani
Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards

Joe - is - back!

In reality, Joe has never disappointed in his 25 years of activity, but frankly, as a great fan that I am, I cannot overlook his latest album, which left a bit of a bitter taste due to some songs that, while catchy, proved rather banal in structure and melodies (with the exception of some tracks like the title track or "Diddle-y-a-Doo-Dat" which instead contributed to making the album more varied and complex).

Therefore, a new album was expected to reuse the same principles as the previous one, also considering his commitments with his side project, Chickenfoot, and the numerous live performances linked to it, but it only took one listen of this new full-length to disprove all predictions.

"Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards" is indeed a highly inspired album, loaded to just the right point and extremely varied yet homogeneous.

A work truly well-crafted down to the smallest details, from the aptly chosen track titles (with the exception of God is Crying, from which an emotional ballad was expected, but it turned out to be a kind of rock-funk) to the cover, which, although seemingly banal, summarizes the album's sound well with its alternation of neutral colors and the warm color of the guitar, much like the alternation of genres homogeneously distributed within the album, ranging from Joe's characteristic direct and incisive rock of "Premonition" to the Eastern and especially Indian sounds of "The Golden Room" or the jazz-like "Littleworth Lane," dedicated to his mother, who passed away a few months ago.

As with most of his albums, therefore, one finds oneself listening not just to a simple record but to a genuine opus, ideally taking a mental journey traced by his infallible melodies and his explosive, yet never excessive, solos.

Also, the fundamental novelty of this record is the massive presence of keyboards, no longer used solely in a rhythmic role but now in a solo one as well; indeed, it is possible to notice the alternation of solos between guitar and keyboards, played by Joe himself along with the expert Mike Keneally (formerly with Steve Vai and Frank Zappa), in numerous tracks, such as in the pseudo title-track "Wormhole Wizards," with its somewhat science-fictional sounds, as Joe has accustomed us to since his debut with "Not of This Earth," or in the wonderful "Wind in the Trees," the longest and, in my opinion, the best of the album, thanks to its calm base, rich in natural harmonics dominated by the distorted sound of his Ibanez, enriched with numerous effects, such as reverb and especially a lot of wah-wah (here too, it is possible to notice a certain chemistry between the title and the melody).

An album thus remarkably inspired that does nothing but reaffirm the immense talent of Satriani, both in composing ingenious and effective melodies and in performing decidedly complex solos.

Keep on rockin' Joe!