Surfing With the Alien

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Surfing With the Alien is the second album by instrumental rock solo artist Joe Satriani, released in 1987. Often regarded as one of the most important guitar albums of the 1980s, Surfing helped Satriani establish his reputation as a top virtuoso in the field of guitar playing.

Related Topics:
Album - Instrumental rock - Joe Satriani - 1987 - Virtuoso

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The album contains fast and difficult songs such as "Surfing with the Alien" and "Satch Boogie", plus the stranger-sounding "Crushing Day" and "Lords of Karma", but it is not just an ego trip from Satriani. Songs like "Always With Me, Always With You" and "Echo" are very restrained, slow and melodic and make a change from the faster songs. Also notable is "Midnight", which utilises the odd technique of two-hand tapping at great speed for a sort of Latin-American effect. There are also Nashville tuned guitars (on "Echo") and time signature changes (on "Always With Me..." and "Echo") to vary the album. For fans of instrumental rock, the album has become a "must-have".

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