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Rating: There is no need to explain who Joe Satriani is (if he is one of the greatest and most famous guitarists on the international scene, there must be a reason, right?), but as everyone knows, anyone can make a misstep, and I believe that this misstep, good old Joe made precisely in 1989 by releasing Flying In A Blue Dream. We certainly cannot say that the album is the guitarist's downfall, but compared to masterpieces like Surfing With The Alien, The Extremist, Not Of This Earth (which in my opinion is one of his best productions) or even excellent CDs like Strange Beautiful Music and Crystal Planet, there is no real comparison. In the record, he collaborated with Jeff Campitelli on drums, Stuart Hamm on bass (even though most of the rhythm section was actually written and played by Satriani himself), and Bongo Bob Smith on percussion. As for the frontman, it is well-known that he enjoys recording keyboards, banjo, harmonica, percussion, and, in this particularly, sings with a very captivating voice in his albums.
The songs he wrote are 18 in total, and frankly, they didn’t seem all that great to me. The most evident flaw of the album is its repetitiveness. The tracks present ideas that might be interesting, but eventually, they become boring and lacking creativity. Even in the most significant tracks like the title track "Flying In A Blue Dream", the well-known "The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing", and the rock piece "Big Bad Moon", you can immediately notice the absence of that extra touch that the guitar hero did not fail to provide in Surfing With The Alien or will not fail to provide in The Extremist. His typical funky pieces like "Strange" are there, featuring a nice groove but nothing more. Meanwhile, the ballad "I Believe", whose lyrics deliver a message of hope to the world ("I believe we can change anything, I believe in my dream"), appears original but also not very convincing as it doesn’t evolve and remains the usual ballad with a good solo in the middle. Like "Midnight" in the previous work, Joe repeats his great demonstrations of two-handed tapping in The Forgotten part 1, which turns out to be interesting, but not as much as the previous one.
In short, this is not an album that can be defined as "a must-have for the most ardent fans", but it is not his best work either, and that’s all. It’s up to you to decide whether to buy it or not.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Strange (05:02)
My heart is pounding, my stomach's inside out
I'm feeling kinda shaky, my mind is full of doubt.
All I ever think about is fearing fear itself,
Wish I could unscrew my head and put it on the shelf.
CHORUS:
You know I'm feeling kinda... Strange.
You know I'm feeling kinda... Strange.
Everything is twisted, everything is oh so tight.
Don't know what I'm looking at, the lights are all too bright.
My brain's about to crumble, spill out on the floor.
Sweep 'em up, throw 'em away, I don't want 'em any more.
CHORUS
Clouds race across the sky, day turns into night.
Still there are the questions, no answers in sight.
Everything is twisted, everything is oh so tight.
Staring out the window, everything is just too bright.
Brain's about to crumble, spill out on the floor.
Wish I could unscrew my head and kick it out the door.
CHORUS
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