Shapeshifting

Joe Satriani

April 10, 2020

1,039 ratings

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	Sample this album Title by Artist 0:00 / 0:00
1	Shapeshifting	3:54	$1.29
2	Big Distortion	4:13	$1.29
3	All for Love	2:31	$1.29
4	Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me	3:42	$1.29
5	Teardrops	4:08	$1.29
6	Perfect Dust	3:30	$1.29
7	Nineteen Eighty	3:34	$1.29
8	All My Friends Are Here	3:24	$1.29
9	Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws	3:22	$1.29
10	Falling Stars	3:41	$1.29
11	Waiting	2:36	$1.29
12	Here the Blue River	5:02	$1.29
13	Yesterday's Yesterday	2:47	$1.29

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Product details

Date First Available : February 6, 2020
Manufacturer : Legacy Recordings
ASIN : B0848PQL8P

Customer Reviews:
1,039 ratings

Customer reviews

5 star		81%
4 star		13%
3 star		4%
2 star		1%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from the United States

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J. Marciniec

Mp3 sound quality disappointment

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

Big Satch fan since day 1.
Love the songs on the new cd but
Disappointed how this was mastered.
Lots of unwanted clipping on a bunch of the tracks. Mastered way too hot.
I'm not sure if the CD is like this but the MP3 is a disappointment on the sound quality. I hope this gets fixed and Amazon offers a replacement download. ☹

23 people found this helpful

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O. Asghar

Super Mega Excellent!

Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2020

Verified Purchase

A very very very enjoyable album. With JS music you have to listen to it a few times to get used to it. This is overall less complicated music but lots of layers of guitars. My only initial surprise was Here the Blue River, at about 1:14 the very harsh type distortion sounds out of place, too harsh in a reggae song and the other weird thing I noted was at 2:24 in The Big Distortion; got used to it. The album is well balanced, nice slow songs and amazing bass lines also, good drums. Ali Farka song the electronic Arabic styled synth sounds are very rhythmic, musical, elating. Nineteen Eighty is a return to nineteen eighties in a nice straightway with fun guitar techniques. The phrasing of slow and fast intertwines beautifully, as if to send you into a trance of images and colors.

Over time some of Joe Satriani albums, for me, seem to last longer, keeping my interest, this appears to be one of those. I have pretty much all of JS, except for the large boxset collection and some rarities. This CD is in the more masterful music category, like Super Colossal, Crystal Planet, What happens next, Surfing with the Alien, (and the self titled Joe Satriani, which is the source of all of Joe's powers).

I like all of Joe Satriani's music but somehow found myself gravitating towards certain albums much more. This is one of those. Enjoyed Unstoppable Momentum, but don't listed to it too much some how, it was a on the very cheerful upbeat side. Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards was a bit darker and lonely in comparison, probably fewer guitar tracks layered.

Once I start listening to Shapeshifting, it is hard to hit the Stop button. My wife, who listened to Taylor Swift and Gaga and what not, asked me in the car, "that is very nice music, what is that?" it was "Yesterday's Yesterday".

Anyway, here this is my silly review, I hope it is helpful.

9 people found this helpful

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C. Easton

Pushes some boundaries while imminently listenable

Reviewed in the United States on April 10, 2020

Verified Purchase

If you're a fan, this is a total no-brainer. The album is incredibly powerful, with a great balance of instantly catchy songs and deeper creations that just get better with each listen. Hearing "Waiting" for the first time brought out some very unexpected emotions and I can't explain why - an indication you've experienced great art. In fact, this album seems to illicit deeper emotions while continuing to challenge intellectually.

He and the guys are just so damn good.

13 people found this helpful

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Hallla

A Celebration of Music

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2020

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Satriani's new album is a wonderful celebration of music. The album is, generally speaking, much more diverse than his previous few albums and seems a bit more experimental, playful, atmospheric, and personal. There is palpable sense of joy and creative energy that runs throughout the album, track after track. I might not enjoy everything that Satriani puts out, but I am always grateful for it. Thanks Joe, for another great album. A solid effort through and through. One of my new favorites. Time to push play . . . again.

8 people found this helpful

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Eigen Space Cowboy

Satch is still at it and that's a good thing

Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2020

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This is now my go to driving CD since thats the only real time during a day when I can be alone with music and listen.
At first I was not tuned into the mood of the CD and that has been the case with many new albums and is often the case with new Joe Satriani CD too. It takes time to become familiar with the songs and listen to a song for the songs sake and not for the musicianship ( which is a given when its Satriani and company) As a fan one might say, " he's back to playing a Marshalls again", or "so and so is on bass or drums...." Its easy to get lost in looking for technical flash bang and think, "wow did you hear that sweeping arpeggio played over 4 octaves?" Remember Joe Satriani IS one of those guys BUT he writes and serves the songs on this CD as with all his music. It's his music over his playing and that is what makes the songs get stuck in your head. Melody is king and Joe's special guitar tone sings those melodies right into your spirit. Kenny Aronoff's heavy hitting rock drumming style propels each song with authority and again, being the musician he is along with Satch, serves the song with no bloated showmanship. There are also stylistically different pieces on this CD; they range from driving rhythm and Satriani-esque guitar gymnastics to an acoustic offering , a reggae song and a country flavored outing as well. This CD is not a one trick pony listening experience.
Is this his best CD? It could be if it becomes your favorite, but there are so many Satrinai classics that are hard to beat. I read some posts talking about mastering quality being off but I have not detected that on my CD. While I listen in the car, it is on a higher end player but still its in a a car is not in a studio listening on monitors ( which I do have) I'll have to check that out.
If you are a Joe Satriani fan it's a given that you would want to check this out. If you are an instrumental rock music fan and like songs rather than epic compositions, you might like this too. In the end, its about the music. It's the songs that stay with you. Enjoy.

4 people found this helpful

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VITSOL

Really good with no filler, but not his best

Reviewed in the United States on April 17, 2020

Verified Purchase

As for all of the bad reviews on this one, what on earth do you expect with him getting older and mellowing out? There is not one throw away cut on here. As usual with every new CD, I almost always rearrange the track order from up front rockers to gradually mellowing out. And that is the absolute reverse of concert performances. This CD has still helped me through the stay-at-home coronavirus pandemic whereby I have finally decided after fifteen years or so to star scanning those old photos from 35 mm film. That project is boring as hell, but Joe's music helps me to get motivated and this release is no exception. Not his best, so the 4-star rating, which is still light years better than the dreck on the radio or what gets nominated for Grammy Awards these days.

6 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

G. Steffens

A bit flat and well boring :o

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 12, 2020

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Well this is sadly the first Satch album I have actually found boring! I know right! Dont get me wrong the melodies are quite nice but and this is a big but there are very few solos on each track, it's basically an album of just melodies and rhythms with no major fret work solos. Technically it's an ok album but to me is missing that Satch effort but hey he is 62 now so maybe he's just chillin now. Oh and the tracks are short and leave you wanting more, a bit like opening a bottle of fizz to find its flat.
Still it's not terrible but you'll see what I mean.

7 people found this helpful

Isaac Hunt

Beautiful album

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

Another great Satch album, good for relaxing and driving along too.
In truth, Joe never makes a bad album, it's just that some fans are high on sniffing cocaine or whatever and consequently fail to distinguish between a guitar solo from melodic chord structure.
One can only hope that C19 eliminates these stupid folk and thus we can avoid having to read their effluent remarks.

5 people found this helpful

Mr G.

Headache-inducing mix but beautiful melodies

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 21, 2020

Verified Purchase

I am very sad writing this review. I have left 2 stars in the hope that someone will notice my comments regarding the audio mix.

This CD has some lovely melodies on it and is very "accessible". If you are looking for the pyromaniac playing of Satriani from his youth, you will not find it here. You will instead find his hummable melodies.

However, I am sad to say that the mix on the album is very disappointing. The bass is a quiet muddy affair (sounds more like McCartney's "Memory Almost Full" due to the extreme amounts of compression on it) and sometimes completely disappears, as the drums take over and cause a serious amount of ducking and pumping. Satriani's beautiful melodies get lost when the bass drum or snare appear. The snare drum is the loudest thing on earth (even worse than Schenker's "Written In The Sand"; it's almost like a drum album with a guitar backing), and the album is riddled with crackle from start to finish.

I think this is Jim Scott's role (eg. RCHP Californication was mixed by him, one of the crackliest albums ever mixed) instead of the mastering, since the same artefacts do not occur on Cuniberti's other recent master on Paul Gilbert's album.

You won't be able to listen to even half the album because your ears will shut down. I truly hope they release a re-mixed version that isn't as butchered as this (no offence intended to whoever reads this).

I am not a fan of the last song as it starts with whistling and sounds like the music you'd get on a Homebase advert, but everything else is enjoyable if not a bit short, and crackley.

3 people found this helpful

Bob McDougall

Just so different

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 5, 2020

Verified Purchase

Seeing Joe Satriani live is an absolutely unforgettable experience. I own most of his albums but always felt they just felt flat in comparison to seeing him on stage and I must admit I very seldom play them normally prefer listening to the likes of Nick Johnston, Widek, Sithu Aye etc. etc. However I am totally blown away with ‘Shapeshifting’. After 18 albums Joe has come up with something quite different. At first I was not sure I would like the new format with shorter tracks (the longest lasts 5 minutes 2 seconds). In just over three minutes he manages to accomplish so much in terms of tonal change and richness. The music is just beautifully strange. My favourite track is All for Love, a guitar lover’s dream. Only criticism I have would be the inclusion of the last track Yesterday’s Yesterday which is not up to standard of the rest of the album IMO. Can’t wait to see him play this set in Glasgow May 2021.

Daz Edwards

Unfortunately The Reviews Were Right

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 24, 2021

Verified Purchase

I wouldn't say I'm a massive Satch fan but saw Phil Collens riff of 1980 on YouTube and thought , wow, great track and also its on Joe's new album.
Headed over to amazon and had a quick nosey at the reviews which mostly said they were not that impressed with the album. I thought I would try it anyway. Downloaded the free mp3 version and have to say, bar a couple of tracks , 1980 being one of them , the album is pretty forgetful I'm not itching to listen to it like I was with live in Paris.

Oh well, they can't all be great, sorry Joe !

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