October 30, 1989 - Flying In A Blue Dream

Four weeks after my last release and two years since "Surfing With The Alien", Joe Satriani released his third album "Flying In A Blue Dream" on October 30, 1989. This album like it's predecessor performed very well on the charts as Satriani's popularity continues to rise. It's the same set-up as usual with Jeff Campitelli on drums and Joe doing everything else, but this time that also includes singing! Though most of the tracks remain instrumental, Joe sings lead vocals on a third of the album's tracks. How will vocals affect the Satriani experience? Let's find out!

The album begins with the title track "Flying In A Blue Dream" and we hear some quiet talking in the background while Joe plays some light backing guitar and this sets the stage for Satriani to play a louder lead guitar riff overtop. Joe plays some slow but cool sounding guitar as they (mostly he) jam along and after one "verse" Joe takes off on an extended solo. He just starts tearing it up, shredding his guitar all the way up and down and it sounds pretty sweet as he solos for nearly two minutes! Joe nicely returns to the original loud riff as they play another "verse" but then the song goes on for another whole minute, and there's not really much happening during this final minute at all. First 4 and a half minutes, solid. The final minute easily could've been shaved off. Up next is "The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing" and it's much more upbeat than the first song as Joe kicks right into a cool guitar riff and Campitelli plays a catchy drum beat to back him. This pretty cool guitar riff is actually the rhythm guitar as Joe comes in and out with some high lead guitar bits. This all makes for a pretty cool main riff and eventually we even get a third guitar track as Joe solos along with everything else! It's a lot of of guitars, but they all sound great! Joe is so great at playing down a great backing riff and then building and layering on it and this song just keeps getting better and better as Satriani takes his soloing in a new direction and segues very smoothly into a new riff. The amazing solo continues for a bit longer and then he snaps things right back to the original riff and he begins to layer the guitar tracks over again. There is a ton of awesome guitar, expertly done Joe! Track 3 is our first song with Joe singing and it's called "Can't Slow Down". They dive right into the main riff as Campitelli plays a fast drum beat and Joe leads the way with another catchy and cool guitar riff. After they've established the riff Joe sings for the first time and his voice is very underwhelming. It sounds really plain and almost monotone and I think Joe should probably just stick to his amazing instrument playing. It's not really bad, it's just extremely bland and mediocre and unnecessary. The lyrics are also very simple about driving fast and I believe that it takes away from could have been a better instrumental song. The guitar is good as you'd expect and keeps things interesting, but the added vocals add next to nothing, including a very boring chorus. After another verse and chorus it's finally solo time and not only does Joe play some awesome stuff, but it just sounds better because there's no more lame singing! It's another pretty awesome solo from Joe, but then it's back to the main riff for a very predictable final verse and chorus to end this one. The next song is "Headless" and it's just a minute and a half long. Joe plays some quiet but pretty fast guitar and we hear some indistinct talking from what sounds like a radio. Then Joe comes in on harmonica! It's a little unexpected but it actually sounds decent in this strange and short song. The harmonica basically "solos" overtop the guitar and for a short little song it was interesting for sure. Track 5 is titled "Strange" and it has some loud drums and bass backing a quieter and lighter guitar riff. Joe sings in a quiet voice that I think sounds better than his last vocal effort, but it's still nothing special. He sings the name of the song in the chorus and holds it in an odd way and this is definitely a strange song that is unlike Satriani's usual fast rock jams. He does whip out a typically cool Satriani solo but the rest of the song is pretty tame and not all that exciting. Up next is the lead single "I Believe" and Joe attempts to make a commercially successful ballad. He plays a very slow and light guitar riff while Campitelli plays some slow and very predictable drums and it's a very boring main riff for Joe. He then begins to sing in his bland and boring voice and this is easily the worst song on the album yet, and we're not even a minute in yet ro this near six minute song! I don't know why Joe chose to sing, or to try and make this sad ballad, both seem like terrible decisions in my opinion as this is not what I'm looking for in a Satriani song. The chorus is even lamer sounding than the verse and Joe's solo is also very tame compared to what we know he can do. Everything is dumbed down for the attempt to please the mainstream audience and in my opinion selling out isn't worth it. Track 7 is "One Big Rush" and this is much more like what I prefer as they kick right into a fast-paced rock and roll riff. Joe plays a cool backing guitar riff and then proceeds to play some even cooler lead guitar overtop and it's so nice to hear Joe go right back to the tried and true formula. There's no real solo on this one as the whole song is basically one long solo! Keep up the awesome guitar and keep the vocals off! The next song is called "Big Bad Moon" and it has a cool heavy rock main riff that really reminds me of George Thorogood. It sounds solid but then Joe begins to sing the verse and once again I find his vocals very underwhelming. His voice doesn't contribute anything positive and just seems to lazily sing along, detracting from what is a decent main riff. After the verse Joe goes off for a solo and he does a fantastic job with this one, playing some incredibly fast and amazing guitar! After another verse it's time for a harmonica solo! It sounds pretty good, but when it switches into another guitar solo I wonder why we're not just listening to guitar the whole time, because it's another phenomenal solo from Satriani. His guitar playing is spectacular, but his singing takes away from an otherwise excellent performance on this song. Track 9 is only 50 seconds long and is called "The Feeling". Satriani plays just a banjo in this short song and while I'm not a fan of the banjo Joe does manage to play a fast and cool short song on it. The next song is "The Phone Call" and it has almost a honky tonks main beat as Joe plays some more banjo. I liked the short banjo song, but this one is full-blown hoedown and while it's not bad it's definitely not my favourite style for Satriani. Coupled with some more lame singing, this is certainly not his best work, but like all Joe's vocals it doesn't make you cover your ears it's so bad, it's just so boring and unexciting. Joe delivers a cool electric guitar solo overtop midway through, but it's still not enough to salvage this odd styled song. Track 11 is "Day At The Beach (New Rays From An Ancient Sun)" and this two minute song is just Joe on one electric guitar as he plays some cool light guitar. After a slower beginning he doubles the speed of his cool riff and this faster part sounds pretty cool. He slows it down to finish it off and this was a decent little song with no vocals to detract from the guitar. The next song is called "Back To Shalla-Bal" and after a loud and epic opening they move into a catchy main riff with Campitelli keeping the pace on drums and Joe leading the way with a pretty sweet lead guitar riff. He builds really nicely at the end of the "verse" and sets the stage nicely for himself to begin a solo, and boy is it a good one! Joe is all over the guitar playing some incredibly fast and wicked guitar in this one of his better solos on the album! After another round of the catchy main riff the song ends with another solo and while this one isn't quite as flashy as the last, it still sounds great and he does an excellent job of ending the solo and the song on a cool note. Track 13 is "Ride" and it's a lot like the earlier song "Can't Slow Down": it has a simpler and more commercial main rock riff along with Joe singing some boring lyrics about wanting to ride and go fast. It seems most of the songs with lyrics are also way less complicated and both these things make the vocal songs easily the worst ones on the album, and this is no exception. Like the other commercial songs there is a cool solo where Joe is able to showcase his talents, but this song is five minutes long and most of it is pretty average, especially for someone as great as Satriani. The next song is "The Forgotten (Part One)" and it's just over a minute of Joe playing some light but pretty fast guitar. It leads right into "The Forgotten (Part Two)" and the rhythm section joins in as Satriani lays down a slow and smooth main guitar riff. After the main riff is established Joe begins a lengthy solo overtop and it's no surprise that he does a pretty great job. It's another fantastic solo that just keeps going and going as Joe treats us to some amazing guitar. After the solo finally ends they quiet things right down and finish off the song as it began with some slow and smooth stuff. We have another two-parter up next, starting with "The Bells Of Lal (Part One)", another minute long intro song that leads right into "The Bells Of Lal (Part Two)". Joe lays down a pretty cool bass riff that keeps the pace in this one and it's not long before he's soloing overtop. As usual, it's some pretty sweet guitar and whenever Joe keeps his mouth shut, things seem to sound pretty great. Joe is soloing for pretty much thos whole four minute song and it sounds pretty awesome as he plays a bunch of really fast guitar and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole song. The album is finally wrapping up with "Into The Light", a slow finale with some pretty epic sounding organ. Joe is leaving his comfort zone again, and while this is not the most exciting song I think it's a nice way to finish things off.

That is the end of "Flying In A Blue Dream" and I thought for the most part it was another excellent rock album from Joe Satriani. His amazing guitar skills cannot be denied, but the decision to sing on a third of the album's tracks was, in my opinion, a terrible idea. Joe's vocals are just so unexciting, but his guitar playing is the exact opposite! Despite the vocals being a drag on those six songs, the rest of the album was still some pretty awesome stuff. I think this newest effort is better than Joe's debut "Not Of This Earth", but nowhere close to the heights of "Surfing With The Alien". Where will Satriani go from here? I'll be here to find out!