Me and my best mate have been friends for over 40 years. In all that time, neither of us has redefined the way an instrument is played. But then we’re not Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.
You probably know the story. Back in 1973, a 13-year-old Vai started taking guitar lessons from a 17-year-old Satriani. It’s taken them more than half a century to make a full studio album together. Anyone who saw them live in 2025 will have had an idea how special it could be.
“Mayhem” is a fast and furious start, with all the dazzle you’d want from these two. The thing is, they’ve always understood that the joy is in the song. “Bronco Freight Train” adds a little crunch and fuzz and maybe a touch of Van Halen. The interplay is incredible. Half the fun is hearing where one goes with the phrase the other has just played.
“Dancing” has something of a samba about it. Strictly excellent, if you see what we did there. “The Feeling I Know” seems to float, and if an instrumental can have a chorus, there’s your proof. Then “Zoot Suit Riot” builds to a crescendo, gets funky and heads off on a journey of its own.
I’m a words man. It’s usually a lyric that gets me first, and I couldn’t tell you how they do any of what they do here. What surprised me was how much these tunes have to say. There’s something reflective about “Old Sins Have Long Shadows”, even as it takes a turn into prog in the middle. And when an actual singer does turn up, it’s Glenn Hughes. “I Wanna Play My Guitar” ought to be an arena rocker. In his hands, it is.
The three-part title suite is some statement to end on. The first part has an Eastern tint, while the Spanish guitar in the second gives it the feel of a song in its own right. Listen to how the drums and bass build underneath it, too. Marco Mendoza and Kenny Aronoff were the rhythm section when I saw them live, and the album credits also include the likes of Matt Chamberlain and Mike Mangini. There’s plenty worth listening to beneath those guitars.
“Reflections On A Year And A Half”, the final part, opens with a recording from one of Vai’s early lessons. What they’ve done for that year and a half is play guitar perfectly, and here’s the proof. But as the final minute quietens, it’s the 50-odd years that brought them here that you find yourself thinking about.
To borrow a line from my own live review, what struck me was that they were “just two guys that just loved playing music and loved playing music together”. You can hear that in every change of pace, every phrase they hand back and forth, and in the space they leave each other when it all quietens down. It’s quite stunning.
Rating 9/10
