Unstoppable Momentum is the fourteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on May 6, 2013 through Epic Records. It was first announced on Satriani's official website on February 20, 2013, with a tour to begin in mid-May featuring Marco Minnemann on drums and Bryan Beller on bass.
The track listing and cover art were revealed on March 19.
A full-length preview of "A Door into Summer" was made available at Premier Guitar in April, along with a review of the album.
In 2013, over a qua...
Unstoppable Momentum is the fourteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on May 6, 2013 through Epic Records. It was first announced on Satriani's official website on February 20, 2013, with a tour to begin in mid-May featuring Marco Minnemann on drums and Bryan Beller on bass.
The track listing and cover art were revealed on March 19.
A full-length preview of "A Door into Summer" was made available at Premier Guitar in April, along with a review of the album.
In 2013, over a quarter century removed from his first album, Joe Satriani uses his solo albums as a way to stretch himself, both to flaunt his skills and perhaps to move him into areas where he's not quite comfortable. Unstoppable Momentum, his first album since 2010's boogie- and prog-heavy "Black Swans & Wormhole Wizards", finds the guitarist occasionally indulging himself in a bit of swing, letting him ride an elastic beat ("Three Sheets to the Wind" has a supremely delicate touch), and he also digs into a bit of a nasty ZZ Top groove on "Jumpin' In," a boogie he turns inside-out on its immediate successor "Jumpin' Out." This is a pretty good indication that this is the work of a virtuoso who enjoys playing with his surroundings, tweaking tempos and arrangements to coax out unexpected wrinkles.
Compared to "Black Swans," this is livelier and fuller, containing a greater variety of textures, rhythms, and attacks, spending not quite so much time with head-down, barrel-headed boogie and rather suggesting jazz, blues, even soul. Satriani often seems a little too restless for his confines -- he seems to enjoy when the tempo slows, so he can get a little lyrical -- but part of the appeal of Unstoppable Momentum is how Satch decides he should abandon his comfort zone, at least in part. He still adheres too strongly to the heavily phased instrumentals that make him feel stuck in a past before MTV, but he'll also indulge in a bit of swing, rhythm, and momentum that not only give Unstoppable Momentum character, but suggest there's an audience outside of guitar fanatics for this densely layered instrumental music.
- Allmusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine (3,5/5 Stars) -
Track Listing
01. - "Unstoppable Momentum"
02. - "Can't Go Back"
03. - "Lies and Truths"
04. - "Three Sheets to the Wind"
05. - "I'll Put a Stone in Your Cairn"
06. - "A Door into Summer"
07. - "Shine On American Dreamer"
08. - "Jumpin' In"
09. - "Jumpin' Out"
10. - "The Weight of the World"
11. - "A Celebration"
Personnel
Joe Satriani – guitar, production
Mike Keneally – keyboard
Vinnie Colaiuta – drums
Chris Chaney – bass
Mike Fraser – engineering, production
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