Even the major dudes of Harry Potter can tell you: There are limits to wizarding. Consider the rarified realm of instrumental rock. For a long time the "holy grail" pursuits were mostly in the direction of mega technique – the ability to cram a zillion notes into spaces meant for four, the knack for creating intricate lines at speeds that register as brain-wave blurs.
Joe Satriani has gone further and faster than most of his guitar peers (some of them former students); his "brand" is about facility and fluidity, and his records, starting with 1987's rightly acclaimed Surfing With the Alien, have displayed astounding command of the guitar. Yet somewhere along the way – most overtly at the turn of the century, with his still-underappreciated electronic-leaning Engines of Creation – Satriani shifted focus to long-tone melodies, asymmetrical post-rock rhythms, and more intimate musical gestures.
This led to a "renewal" of sorts, a creative opening that continues on the remarkably varied Shapeshifting. Rather than dwell in a fixed genre, Satriani explores widely – several tracks travel dub spaceways, others (including the title track) situate everyday riff-rock phrases against fitful progressive grooves. But the most explicit clue to Satriani's intentions comes on track 4, "Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me." As drummer Kenny Aronoff pounds out a jaunty limbo-line pulse, the guitarist first conjures the fervent chants of legendary African bluesman Ali Farka Touré, then does some surf-rock hijinks a la Dick Dale, then takes off on lyrical, birds-soaring solo flights. It's a whiplash wizard journey that visits several completely different styles; Satriani masters all of them. © Tom Moon/Qobuz