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In 1985, Joe Satriani, a guitar teacher living in San Francisco, decided to embark on his solo career with a self-titled E.P., which went unnoticed and has now become a true object of mystery. The long-haired man of Italian origin (with relatives in Veneto and Puglia) did not give up and tried again to conquer the guitar market with the album "Not of This Earth". Once again, in terms of pure success, the goal was missed.
What surprises about "Not of This Earth" is instead the freshness of listening, the fluid style of its melody and the experimentation between styles. The title track introduces us to Joe's multifaceted landscape, colored by melodic "songs" of experimental matrix, a powerful Hard base, and an alien-like guitar solo, as the title of the track suggests. We move forward on the Disco/Funk tracks "The Snake", with minimal rhythmic guitars pursued by the soloist and the insistent rhythmic groove of the drums, programmed with the help of a drum machine. The album's style appears somewhat robotic and "homemade" up to this point, but "Rubina", perhaps the best piece of all, is an intense and warm ballad (dedicated to Joe's wife) that dissipates between simil-New Age meditation and a rejuvenating solo explosion halfway through, with constant emotions until the end of its 6 minutes. We then arrive at "Memories" where the emotions multiply. A track that hits the listener, strikes with a simple melody, and knows how to unleash at just the right moment. Its themes are dark in the chorus, while the verses stretch out between Funk tempos and almost reggae backing guitars. A sharp distorted guitar leads the finale, quickly fading away to make room for the relaxing "Brother John". The track is purely guitar and is an excellent example of Satriani's melodic knowledge, as demonstrated by his subsequent albums. "The Enigmatic" is a sick and experimental track: musically hard to categorize, the track is a foreign species of Hard-Metal based on continuous dissonance, made evident by the lightning-fast solos using the Legato technique, typical of the guitarist. Even the last tracks of the album are very good, maintaining balance and sound quality without ever exceeding. Standing out especially are the mad dash "Driving at Night" and the magical dreamlike melody of "New day", where Satriani reaches a remarkable peak of inspiration.
In conclusion, it remains his richest and most underrated album.
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