Joe Satriani details ‘Shapeshifting’ album

Album set for release on April 10th via Sony Music/Legacy Recordings

Joe Satriani’s new studio album, Shapeshifting, is set for release on April 10th on CD and LP via Sony Music/Legacy Recordings. The first single, “Nineteen Eighty,” is available on all streaming platforms and at rock radio stations nationwide. Full track list is below.

Pre-order packages are also available. In addition to the CD and standard black vinyl, the D2C store will offer an exclusive translucent blue colored, signed vinyl. Additional offerings will include stemless wine glasses, coffee mugs, koozies, crew socks, guitar picks and a t-shirt – all featuring Satriani’s original artwork. Newbury Comics is also offering the album with an autographed 5″x5 postcard signed by Satriani. Anyone who pre-orders via the D2C will receive early access to the upcoming US tour, to be announced shortly.

Shapeshifting was co-produced by Satriani and Jim Scott (Foo Fighters, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers) with longtime associate John Cuniberti on board handling the mastering duties. Satriani enlisted a wide range of collaborators, both old and new, to help him bring the songs to life. Legendary drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty), bassist Chris Chaney (Jane’s Addiction) and keyboardist Eric Caudieux were the core musicians on the new album with additional contributions coming from Lisa Coleman (The Revolution) and Christopher Guest.

The retro feeling sounds of first single, “Nineteen Eighty” finds Satriani spiritually revisiting the time period when he was working with his first band, the Squares. The future guitar hero the world came to know less than a decade later, would have to wait. He recalls that in those early days, they “dialed back the guitar solos and histrionics to try to create a cooler new wave vibe.” Decades removed from those goals, he was free to go forward and attempt to recapture what was on his mind in 1980.

Staying true to the sounds of the time, he even used a vintage MXR EVH phaser. “I’ve always been a huge fan of Eddie Van Halen,” Satriani says. “In my mind, he just crystallized that era. The late ‘70s and early ‘80s, he kind of saved rock guitar. So that’s what I would have been doing.”

As previously announced, Satriani will embark on The Shapeshifting Tour beginning April 15th with a 42 date European leg that currently winds up in mid-June. Additional dates, including the U.S., to be announced soon. The 2020 touring band features celebrated drummer Kenny Aronoff (John Fogerty), bassist Bryan Beller (Aristocrats) and keyboardist Rai Thistlethwayte (Thirsty Merc) joining SATRIANI on guitar.

CDLP

  1. Shapeshifting
  2. Big Distortion
  3. All For Love
  4. Ali Farka, Dick Dale, an Alien and Me
  5. Teardrops
  6. Perfect Dust
  7. Nineteen Eighty
  8. All My Friends Are Here
  9. Spirits, Ghosts and Outlaws
  10. Falling Stars
  11. Waiting
  12. Here The Blue River
  13. Yesterday’s Yesterday

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com