Joe Satriani comes out smokin' on the curiously titled Is There Love In Space?, his 11th album. After flirting with - nay, embracing - world beats and techno on recent records, Satch finally seems to have returned to his old-school guitar roots. Opening track "Gnaahh" (whose title alone should give you some idea that the guitarist is in an aggressive mood) jams with plenty of groove and wah-wah before segueing almost seamlessly into the melodic, riff-heavy shredfest "Up In Flames." The man even sings again on the stiff rocker "Lifestyle" and the funked-up ZZ Top-fueled "I Like the Rain." That's something he hasn't done for years. It isn't until track five, the smooth and spacey title song, that Satriani strongly invokes some of the sonic elements that have dominated such recent records as Crystal Planet, Engines of Creation and Strange Beautiful Music. Plus, the mellow 10-minute "Searching" emerges as one of the most progressive songs Satriani has ever recorded. As usual, the guitarist is joined here by longtime pals Matt Bissonette on bass and Jeff Campitelli on drums, helping make Is There Love In Space? sound even more familiar. While Satriani isn't breaking any new ground here, Is There Love In Space? is noteworthy for the ground he retreads.
Track Listing:
1) Gnaah (3:33)
2) Up In Flames (4:33)
3) Hands in the Air (4:27)
4) Lifestyle (4:34)
5) Is There Love In Space? (4:51)
6) If I Could Fly (6:23)
7) The Souls of Distortion (4:58)
8) Just Look Up (4:50)
9) I Like the Rain (4:00)
10) Searching (10:07)
11) Bamboo (5:55)
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