Joe Satriani – Engines Of Creation (2000/2014) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96Hz]

Joe Satriani – Engines Of Creation (2000/2014)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 53:39 minutes | 1,01 GB | Genre: Rock
Studio Master, Official Digital Download – Source: HDTracks | © Epic Records

Engines of Creation is guitarist Joe Satriani’s eighth album that was originally released in 2000. The record peaked at number 90 on the Billboard 200 chart, remaining there for three weeks. This was a different album for Satriani, he backed away from his typical blues/rock sound and decided to venture into the realm of electronic music. “Until We Say Goodbye”, the single on Engines of Creation, was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 2001 Grammy Awards.

With Crystal Planet, Joe Satriani made an effective return to his signature sound following the erratic blues-rock detour of Joe Satriani. For the follow-up to Crystal Planet, Satriani is once again exploring novel territory in an effort to keep his music fresh, and Engines of Creation is the biggest stylistic shift he’s made yet — to electronic music. Satriani’s guitar is still the focal point of the music, to be sure, but while his virtuosity is obvious, it’s often submerged in the new demands of this musical idiom. That isn’t a surprise either, given that Satriani is one of the few guitar shredders whose taste and musicality have never been in question. But fans who simply want to hear him rip through his typical jaw-dropping solos may be disappointed (even though, in the end, there are more than a few solos), as will those guitar fans who reflexively disdain all sounds electronic. Having defended it, though, Engines of Creation isn’t a total success. While the music is certainly influenced by techno and electronica, it probably won’t appeal to listeners coming from those arenas; overall, it simply isn’t as adventurous as much genuine electronica, avoiding complex backing rhythms or edgy sonic textures; nor is it as hypnotic, meandering or drifting aimlessly at times instead of moving into trancelike states of consciousness. Plus, Satriani’s songs are often more traditional than they may seem upon first listen; many of the compositions are based on repeated themes and riffs and standard rock-song structures, switching between recurring, identifiable sections rather than gradually building and unfolding. However, the album can also be quite inventive. Satriani has challenged himself to find ways of coaxing totally new sounds from his guitar, and he weaves them seamlessly into the futuristic electronic soundscapes. Moreover, his melodies and main themes have rarely been this angular and off-kilter, meaning that exploring this music has indeed helped Satriani refresh and re-imagine his signature sound. Even the pieces that aren’t ultimately that revolutionary are still intriguing, since very few musicians have the technical training and innate sense of musicality required to mine this territory. Overall, Engines of Creation is a brave and sporadically successful experiment, and it’s also a promising new direction for Satriani should he choose to continue this vein of exploration and take it out even farther.

Tracklist:

01 – Devil’s Slide
02 – Flavor Crystal 7
03 – Borg Sex
04 – Until We Say Goodbye
05 – Attack
06 – Champagne?
07 – Clouds Race Across the Sky
08 – The Power Cosmic 2000, Pt. 1
09 – The Power Cosmic 2000, Pt. 2
10 – Slow and Easy
11 – Engines of Creation

Remastering Notes by John Cuniberti:

When I was first told about this box set project, I suggested that we remaster the entire catalogue. I made this suggestion for two reasons.

First and most importantly, Joe’s albums were first digitized in 1987. While they were well done by the standards of the time, there have been vast improvements in digital audio since then. To achieve this goal, we started by searching through Sony’s tape vault in New York. Then, each original analog two-track tape was carefully transferred to high resolution digital using a Pacific Microsonics Model Two converter at 96k / 24bits. This produced outstanding sonic results that are closer in sound to the original mix tapes than on previous CDs. This process even reveals a few flaws, but if you have any of the original Joe Satriani CDs, you’ll appreciate the improvements in sound quality in this remastered box set.

The second reason for remastering was to provide more dynamic consistency between the albums themselves. Since the advent of the CD there has been a steady increase in their volume levels. This practice started with 7” vinyl records to gain more attention when played in jukeboxes. Unfortunately, the competition continues with CDs and in extreme cases, clipping and other audible distortion is introduced when too much digital processing (limiting) is applied during mastering. My approach to this box set was to use only the smallest amount of limiting to balance the perceived levels of each song presented. This approach produces a cleaner and more dynamic presentation of the entire catalogue. It also allows the listener to move freely between the older albums and the newer ones without the need to adjust their playback volume.

Turn it up and enjoy.

John Cuniberti

48k digital recording, analog 30ips 1/2″ mix, transferred and mastered to digital at 96/24 by John Cuniberti. Files are encoded at 96/24.

Download:

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