JOE SATRIANI, ERIC JOHNSON, STEVE VAI // G3 REUNION LIVE // ALBUM REVIEW

Picture the scene circa the summer of 1988, in Dublin, Ireland, I had recently discovered Joe Satriani’s ‘Surfing With The Alien’, and I was introducing it to my friends over the summer months of 1988. I lived in Belfast and was in High School, but over the summer, I would hit Dublin for extended breaks to stay with my bro and hang out with old friends who I had grown up with, we moved between Belfast and Dublin as mum and dad tried to help us kids avoid “The Troubles” pre “Good Friday Peace Agreement’ that was signed in April of this very year.

Dublin has always had a special place in my heart, from growing up there, the relationships I established and the many trips back after leaving to experience a level of culture Northern Ireland was starved of due to those very ‘Troubles’. Such as The Sound Cellar, one of Dublin’s most infamous record stores on Nassau St, catered for everyone, but if you were a metalhead or a guitar fanatic, this place was heaven. This is where I would worship at the altar of Satriani, Vai, Gilbert, Malmsteen and of course, Johnson to name but a few.

This time was pivotal in establishing my musical vocabulary and journey, hanging out with my bro and cousins, all older than me they introduced me to Dave Lee Roth, Van Halen, Steve Vai and all the big-haired metal bands of the day, Def Leppard, Whitesnake and beyond. Satriani and Vai were always constants along the way for me, guiding me through my teenage years and even today, many decades later, Satch and Vai are still very much part of my musical journey as a bedroom warrior on the guitar, still trying to figure out tracks they wrote forty plus years ago. Johnson came into my life a lot later, after my pallet expanded and I went down the SRV rabbit hole, getting into Blues more and digging cats like Kenny Wayne Shepperd, Jonny Lang and the likes, The G3 thing, is mindblowing! Alongside the studio albums, these artists would put out to keep the wolves at bay, they would bring us their live adventures in various forms over the years, and of course Vai, Satriani and Johnson one of the best.

So when a reunion recording was announced, the world lost its proverbial mind and the countdown was on until its release. That time is now, Friday, Jan 31st, sees the G3 Reunion Live Album arrive courtesy of earMusic. Twenty-seven odd tracks, all gloriously collated for your listening pleasure, Vai kicks off proceedings with a sonic barrage on the senses, his glorious complex musical style challenges the senses but takes you on a sonic rollercoaster ride unlike anything else you’ll hear today. His set is a collection of more modern tracks with hugely popular ‘Zeus In Chains’ and ‘Teeth Of The Hydra’ as well as a few comforting classics such as ‘Tender Surrender’ and ‘For The Love Of God’. You’ll need to go lie down in a dark room after taking all this in but believe me it is well worth it.

Eric Johnson steps up next to bring his own brand of melodic bluesy goodness. Eric has atone unlike any other; his signature Strat and amp combo creates a tone you can lose yourself in for hours, and his melodic phrasing is just a musical education all itself. Forty-plus years of recordings mean there is no shortage of material for Eric to pull from, but as always, we live to hear the classics and the likes of ‘Trail Of Tears’ and ‘Desert Rose’ are just like warm comfort blankets on a cold winter’s night.

Cometh the hour cometh the man, and Satch to me will always be ‘The Man’ I don’t think there is any other instrumentalist guitarist who has made a mark on contemporary music as much as Satch has to date. He just had the most beautiful melodic flavour that he brings to his songwriting that has separated him from the chasing crowd for so long. Regardless if it is a chaotic track like ‘Rasberry Jam Delta’ the magnificent ‘Always With Me, Always With You’ crossed genres as far as reach, and I can testify to this as my partner knew of this song when I met her some 25 years ago, that saved her ass let me tell ya! Satch is a master, and one we have to cherish while we still have him, Steve and Eric around to soak up every last gig we can. So little time so many tracks to choose but Satch’s collection of tracks is mouthwatering, then the moment we all love. The G3 Jam!

We get treated to the classics, Cream’s Crossroad’, Hendrix’s ‘Spanish Castle Magic’ and to close it all off, Steppenwolf’s ‘Born To Be Wild’. What can you say, glorious just doesn’t cover it, I could only guess, never having witnessed the G3 thing in the flesh, that it would be impossible to walk out of that gig untouched by what you have just witnessed. But for us mere mortals we can at least soak it all up in the comfort of our own homes, cars, or wherever we choose to absorb our music these days, play it loud, play it proud. G3 is back baby!!!

G3 Reunion Live is out this Friday, Jan 31st courtesy of earMusic.

The album is available to order worldwide from – https://g3reunionlive.lnk.to/Album