There’s not many guitarists that can absolutely rip like Joe Satriani and 1987’s Surfing With The Alien is a love letter to all the guitar-heads out there who just want to hear some good ol’ fashioned shredding for the sake of it. It’s bombastic, over the top, and just plain fun as hell. The album was recorded on a measly $13,000 budget which forced Satriani to be economical with the recording process, a process that led to his solos being largely improvised, the guitar effects being printed directly to tape, and the drums on the album almost exclusively being done by drum machines which gives it all a bit of a cheesy folksy charm.
I’ll never forget bumping this album with my friend during high school, who coincidentally was an incredible drummer at the time and helped introduce me to metal music. This one’s for you bud.
Standout Songs: “Surfing with the Alien”, “Always with Me, Always with You”, “Satch Boogie”
