Advantages: Skilled musicianship, unique interpretations
Disadvantages: None, if you like the genre

...of this blazing number. THE MAN: The 55-year-old Kottke is not a new name on the music scene. But despite a modicum of commercial success he remains somewhat of a cult figure. Like so many of his inspirations and mentors, Kottke seems content to have contributed to a uniquely American musical repository. Most of his early recordings, including this one on the now-defunct "roots" label Takoma, eschew any attempt at mass sales. Nonetheless, though Takoma has ceased to exist, Kottke’s early recordings including this one are easy to find on the likes of amazon.com, CD Now, half.com, etc. A self-taught guitarist who started on the trombone, Kottke has drawn heavily on the likes of Leadbelly, Robbie Basho, Ralph Towner, Joe Pass, and, of course, his true mentor, the inimitable John Fahey, founder of Takoma in a Washington, DC suburb in 1959... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Nice selection of tracks. Great for inspiring guitarists.
Disadvantages: Relatively small market niche.

...beat leading into bouncy chords, (nothing to over the top) just something to get your head bopping to. Then incomes the lead with the melody of the song, which is often not alone with the doubling of guitars to give it specific emphasis (nice overall pleasing tone :-)) Some of Joe’s lead playing can become a little lost when its at high speeds, but it lends to the dramatic build up in the melody. Towards the end, the song dies down after climaxing/crescendo slowly building up into the outro. As I have seen in other reviews I too have seen this live, (in the G3 concert this year) and I agree it’s more of an encore song, but I think if it was at the end of the album, it wouldn’t have got the recognition that it deserved. So maybe a wise choice putting it as the opener? 02 = The Extremist (3min48sec) - Another rock song which starts... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Some nice relaxing tracks.
Disadvantages: Too many drawn out blues tracks

...Joe Satriani - Joe Satriani Released in 1995, and follows the trend of an album being released every two years roughly in that decade. First off, those of you who have read any of my previous reviews know I enjoy this type of music very much, listening to it and performing it. For those of you who haven't heard much on Joe, his thing is "Guitar + Rock = Guitar instrumental Rock" which appeals to a larger audience than one might think. I have to say in advance that although I am a fan of his work, this album for me sticks out as the weak link in the chain of all his work, I feel like the albums songs don't complement his other tunes like previous albums. But each to his own, and so ill try to be as fair as possible when writing this review. 1 - Cool #9 This is a smooth groove classic, which often doubles as his opener to get... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: insert opinion here
Disadvantages: the long wait until volume 2

...it as it a great demonstration of brilliant guitar playing and also very relaxing. The three guitarists really have worked their guitars to the limits to get such great sounds. 9/10 12. Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way - 5:14 Guess what? Another fantastic guitar intro into a great song! This is a great all-round song, the guitar pieces are good and the lyrics do not let the 'team' down. 8/10 13. Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing - 5:45 This is the second longest track on the CD but is not repetitive and boring, it is a very good song, although the guitar is always in the background apart from around 11 seconds at the start. The guitar pieces are very good and I would like to have heard more pure guitar (perhaps this was a bad choice.) 7/10 14. The Surfais - Wipe Out - 2:38 Have you ever got a sudden urge to go surfing; well if you have... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: 2CDs with new and old material
Disadvantages: Repetition of old material, not all of them are live performances maybe?

...to the next song. CD 1 - 02 - The Mighty Turtle Head Joe's always been one of imagination when deciding the titles of his tracks, although this song has, in my mind nothing to do with a turtle as it starts off with a rather up beat and up tempo riff that I like! The clarity on this track as well as the last is noticeable compared to other recording of his work, as the backing instruments are really only bass and drums, so the lead guitar is doing more "interesting" work to make the song more palatable. Overall this song has a strong motif and chugs along quite nicely slightly raising the tempo from the first song. CD 1 - 03 - All Alone A much slower paced song, which is the ballad of the album (which, if you are familiar with Joe's work already you know takes the 3rd /4th track listing on all his albums.) The song suggests some sort... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: It rocks
Disadvantages: A few iffy tracks

...of simply epic proportions. The Troggs - Wild Thing Three chords. Just three chords. Magnificent. Covered by huge signed acts and garage bands alike, this record is one of the best known songs on the planet. David Bowie - Rebel Rebel Ziggy rocks us hard and fast with this fantastic display of remarkably 'un-fancied-up' guitar tones (Very unlike Mr. B...), vocals are particularly memorable, and undeniably Bowie. Jeff Beck - Where Were You This track slows it down to a long and melodic trip through wailing harmonics, beautiful slide guitar, and psychodelic reverberations. Woah dudes. Trippy. Joe Walsh - Rocky Mountain Way Driving rock at its best. This formidable track beats the monkey of all other chugging guitar riffs. You can almost hear the trucker horns just thinking about it... Dire Straits - Sultans of Swing... Read review </