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"With "The Elephants Of Mars", Joe Satriani reinvents his music and offers us the most eclectic and conceptual album of his discography."
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5/5
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The last time Joe Satriani released an album with a cover without a picture of himself, it was in 2000 for "Engines Of Creation". This opus, which was not well liked because it was too far ahead of its time, marked a turning point in the American's way of composing. 22 years later, seeing the clever cover of the guitarist's nineteenth album, it is impossible not to make the parallel and to say to oneself that "The Elephants Of Mars" will mark a new turning point in the plethoric work of the guitarist, who has never left anything to chance in his rich career. And indeed, Satch delivers here the most eclectic, complex and conceptual album of his discography. And also one of the most beautiful.
If the pandemic will leave indelible traces in the musical approach of many artists, for Joe, it was a way to throw himself into the expression of his creativity. Between the release of the comic book "Crystal Planet" inspired by the album of the same name, the opening of his painting exhibition and the composition of "The Elephants Of Mars", Joe Satriani did everything to fill the void left by his forced departure from the scene. This episode, although painful for an artist, was in his case salutary, as this new album is of an impressive richness.
Composed entirely from a distance with bassist Bryan Beller, drummer Kenny Aronoff, keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte and the indispensable Eric Caudieux on sound design, "The Elephants Of Mars" pushes the limits of Joe's conceptual approach to the composition of a guitar-centered instrumental work. Because even if the opening track 'Sahara' makes the link with "Shapeshifting", it is to a new musical experience that the Master invites us here, so that his proximity with the listener has never been so obvious. Listening to "The Elephants Of Mars" on headphones is an emotion of every moment thanks notably to an outstanding production that allows to feel the unequalled expressiveness of the guitarist, whose every inflection, every nuance, every pick stroke can be heard, as if he was talking directly into our ears.
With "The Elephants Of Mars", Joe Satriani literally reinvents his music by leaving much more room for keyboards and by going to look for inspiration in the New York jazz-rock of the 70's, in particular Miles Davis and Weather Report ('E 104th St NYC 1973', 'Tension And Release'), in the funk ('Pumpin') and even in the disco ('Night Scene'). None of the tracks on the album sound the same, but Joe still manages the feat of coherence while navigating in totally opposite universes, like pop ('22 Memory Lane'), blues ('Blue Foot Groovy') or oriental music ('Doors Of Perception').
But what dominates most this extraordinary album is the emotion. An emotion that overwhelms us with the most melancholic tracks (the magnificent 'Faceless' and 'Desolation') dominated by the unique touch of the guitarist, and an emotion that devastates us by the evocative power of some tracks like the brilliant 'Sailing The Seas Of Ganymede', which marries in a sublime way the groove impelled by the rhythm section and the aerial leads of the guitars, or even the very dark 'Through A Mother's Day Darkly' and its tortured floydian atmosphere.
In 30 years, Joe Satriani has never stopped simplifying his playing to reach an expressiveness that he is the only one to master at this point, as much in his melodic approach as in his mastery of sound and the refinement of his phrasing. Today, at 65 years old, he clearly takes an artistic direction much closer to that of a Jeff Beck (in much more rock) than to a Steve Vai and his inhuman technique. "The Elephants Of Mars" is one more step in the career of this unique artist who has definitely not finished surprising us. Don't let yourself be influenced by all those who will tell you that Satch always does the same thing, they simply won't have listened to this fantastic album. - Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Sahara
02. The Elephants Of Mars
03. Faceless
04. Blue Foot Groovy
05. Tension And Release
 06. Sailing The Seas Of Ganymede
07. Doors of Perception
08. E 104th St Nyc
09. Pumpin'
10. Dance Of The Spores
11. Night Scene
12. Through A Mother's Day Darkly
13. 22 Memory Lane
14. Desolation
LINEUP:
Bryan Beller: Basse
Eric Caudieux: Claviers
Joe Satriani: Guitares / Claviers
Kenny Aronoff: Batterie
Rai Thistlethwayte: Claviers
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(0) MIND(S) FROM OUR READERS
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(2) COMMENT(S)
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Première précision : j’adore Joe Satriani, le musicien mais aussi le discours de l’homme !
Comme beaucoup j’ai accroché la vague avec le Surfer d’argent en 1987 et ramassé la deuxième claque de ma vie ( après Eddie VH)
S’il est indiscutable que Satch est un maître incontesté dans le cercle des guitar-hero, je reste sur ma faim avec ce » Elephant of Mars » pour plusieurs raisons :
D’abord ce qui me chagrine le plus, c’est la quasi absence de rythmiques hard ou métal, Joe est passé en mode jazz rock,voire jazz fusion, s’appuyant sur des structures où on a du mal à trouver un thème ou une cohérence.. le côté prog est ruiné par le retour des synthés, beaucoup trop présents (selon moi) qui me rappelle le malheureux « Engines of Creation »
L’absence d’un titre « fort », d’une locomotive style Crystal Planet par exemple, n’encourage pas l’écoute de la suite des morceaux..
Comme indiqué précédemment,excepté les 4 morceaux Sahara, Faceless,Blue Foot Groovy et Désolation, je suis paumé, à cheval entre des solos saturés et une section rythmique free jazz, agrémentées de claviers inopportuns !!!
D’aucuns diraient que ce ne sont que des compliments, j’y vois surtout un manque d’unité, des musiciens (excellents) qui s’éparpillent, pour un rendu final incertain…je suis incapable de mémoriser une trame autre que celle des 4 morceaux précités… j'ai envie de dire "rendez-nous the extremist ou Flying in a blue Dream" ....j’adore la guitare, j’adore Satch et pourtant je me suis un peu ennuyé… cela n’enlève rien au talent de Joe mais bon…
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Satch continue son voyage dans la musique sans jamais refaire à l'identique , il a"simplifié" son jeu qui devient moins démonstratif , ou seul la musicalité est au rendez vous , flirtant avec divers genre musicaux .Forcément cet album n'a pas le même entrain rock qu 'un "surfing" ou "the extremist" il en demeure pas moins un excellent opus !
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READERS
4.4/5 (7 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.3/5 (3 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH JOE SATRIANI
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OTHER REVIEWS
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OTHER(S) REVIEWS ABOUT JOE SATRIANI
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