Surfing with the Alien is the second studio album by American rock guitarist Joe Satriani. It was released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records. The album is one of Satriani's most successful to date and helped establish his reputation as a respected rock guitarist.

Recording
The album was recorded on a budget of $13,000. Satriani's equipment was limited by the budget, consisting of two Kramer Pacer guitars and an adapted Stratocaster guitar, for which he would change the pickups to get different sounds. His guitar effects included a Roland JC-120, a Marshall '68 half-stack, and a Rockman.

Due to the limited budget, Satriani had to use whatever studio time and rooms were available, and as a result printed his effects to tape while tracking. This proved fortuitous for "Surfing with the Alien", whose solo was recorded with a malfunctioning Eventide H949 as his allotted studio time nearly ended.

To save money, the album heavily used drum machines, programmed by Bongo Bob Smith, with Jeff Campitelli recording overdubs of hi-hats, cymbals, toms and snares. Satriani stated this gave the music an "awkward charm", and maintained the combination of loose guitar playing and machine-like drum programming. 

"Satch Boogie" is the only song to fully feature live drums, played by Campitelli. The song was originally recorded to a drum machine pattern, and the quick fade-out disguised the sound of the drum machine being picked up by the amplifier at the end.

Composition 
Satriani described the arrangements of the album as follows:"Even though my sensibilities were driving me to be very succinct on the record—with very obvious chorus, bridge, and verse sections—after I tracked the outro to “Surfing,” I dug it so much that it set the template for the rest of the record. As a result, the outros turned into the spots where I could relax a little bit and go nuts."The heavy metal-influenced "Crushing Day" contains the only solo on the album that was worked out beforehand, due to its length; the others are improvised. Satriani expressed regret for this decision later, as he felt constrained when having to play the song on stage.

A Casio CZ-101 was used to record the flute and orchestral instruments on "Midnight".

It contains fast and complex songs such as the title track and "Satch Boogie", which helped to further popularize shred guitar during that time. By contrast slower, melodic songs such as "Always with Me, Always with You" and "Echo" provide a change of pace. "Midnight" utilizes the technique of two-handed tapping at high tempo, evoking a Spanish fingerstyle effect. "Ice 9" references the fictional apocalyptic substance from Kurt Vonnegut's 1963 novel Cat's Cradle.

Artwork
The cover art of the original release depicts the Marvel Comics character Silver Surfer on the front, with the hand of Galactus on the back cover. The artwork, which was licensed from the publisher, is taken from a panel from Silver Surfer #1 (1982), drawn by John Byrne. Byrne did not receive a royalty for the art's use on the album cover. Satriani was unfamiliar with the Silver Surfer and had named the album and title track without the character in mind. However, Jim Kozlowski, the production manager for Relativity Records, was a comic book fan and had used the nickname "The Silver Surfer" as a radio DJ name. He suggested using the character for the album cover. Kozlowski presented the album to Marvel and obtained permission to use the character. Subsequently, Marvel Comics has paid homage to Satriani in Silver Surfer comics ("the planet Satriani") and Satriani has named later compositions after other elements of the Silver Surfer mythos ("Back to Shalla-Bal", "The Power Cosmic 2000").

The original license to use the character artwork was time-limited. Though the license was renewed multiple times, in 2018, Satriani and Marvel could not come to terms on a price, and so the cover art was replaced. , digital retailers such as iTunes and Spotify display an alternative artwork that does not feature the Silver Surfer. In 2019 a limited deluxe edition of the album was released featuring a silver guitar headstock in place of the Silver Surfer. The background and font of this new artwork is very similar to the original with minor differences.

Release and reception

Released on October 15, 1987, by Relativity Records, Surfing with the Alien charted at number 29 on the Billboard 200, proving to be Satriani's third highest-charting album in the United States. It remained on Billboard 200 for 75 weeks, the longest run of any of his releases. Surfing with the Alien was certified Gold on February 17, 1989, and Platinum on February 3, 1992, having shipped one million copies in the US. It was Satriani's first album to earn platinum certification, and remains his only studio album to have done so.

Two singles from the album reached Billboards Mainstream Rock chart: "Satch Boogie" at No. 22 and "Surfing with the Alien" at No. 37. A third single, "Always with Me, Always with You", received a nomination for Best Pop Instrumental Performance at the 1989 Grammy Awards, while the album itself was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the same event, Satriani's first two of many such nominations. Live versions of "Always with Me, Always with You" would later be nominated for Best Rock Instrumental twice more, at the 2002 and 2008 Grammys.

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau snidely referred to Satriani as "the latest guitar god" and felt he is too much of a formalist, because he not only composes but edits his guitar melodies: "Thus he delivers both the prowess cultists demand and the comfort they secretly crave". In a retrospective review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine was more impressed by his technical abilities and praised Surfing with the Alien, writing that it "can be seen as the gold standard for guitar playing of the mid- to late '80s, an album that captures everything that was good about the glory days of shred." According to The Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992), the record "put Satriani on the map. Beautifully played and well-paced, it manages to capture all the icy fire of fusion jazz without losing any of the visceral power of rock & roll".

Reissues
Surfing with the Alien has been reissued several times. A remastered edition of the album was first released on July 27, 1999 through Epic Records, which featured expanded liner notes. A second remaster celebrating the album's 20th anniversary was released on August 7, 2007 through Epic/Legacy Recordings; this is a double-disc set comprising the album itself with further expanded liner notes, as well as a DVD featuring Satriani's live performance at the 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival, music videos for "Always with Me, Always with You" and "Satch Boogie", and additional bonus material. To promote the 2007 reissue, Satriani played exclusive club gigs in select cities.

The most recent reissue of Surfing with the Alien was part of The Complete Studio Recordings, released on April 22, 2014 through Legacy Recordings; this is a box set compilation containing newly remastered editions of every Satriani studio album from 1986 to 2013.

For Record Store Day Black Friday 2019, the album was re-released as a limited edition, gatefold cover on colored vinyl. The album included a hype sticker that read, "Surfing is now 'Stripped'". "Brand New Limited Edition Features The Original Album + All Of The Backing Tracks. Joe's Leads Have Been Removed, Allowing You To Play Lead On This Iconic Album, The Perfect Audiophile Guitar Player Experience." The release included the original version of the album on red vinyl and the "stripped" version on yellow vinyl.
The album artwork has been modified for this release, showing only the headstock of Joe's guitar, instead of the surfer while the background maintains a similar color scheme as the original.

Track listing

2007 remastered edition bonus DVD

Personnel

Joe Satriani – guitar, electric sitar, keyboard, drum programming, percussion, bass, arrangement, production
Bongo Bob Smith – drum programming, percussion, sound design
Jeff Campitelli – drums, percussion
John Cuniberti – percussion, engineering, remastering (reissue), production
Jeff Kreegar – pre-production programming, sound design
Bernie Grundman – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

External links
In Review: Joe Satriani "Surfing With The Alien" at Guitar Nine Records

Joe Satriani albums
1987 albums
Relativity Records albums
Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance
Silver Surfer
《Surfing with the Alien》은 미국의 록 기타리스트 조 새트리아니의 두 번째 정규 음반이다. 그것은 1987년 10월 15일 렐러티비티 레코드에 의해 발매되었다. 이 음반은 현재까지 가장 성공적인 새트리아니의 음반 중 하나이며 존경 받는 록 기타리스트로서의 명성을 확립하는데 도움을 주었다.

배경 및 구성 
그 음반은 13,000달러의 예산으로 녹음되었다. 새트리아니의 장비는 예산에 의해 제한되었는데, 두 대의 크레이머 페이서 기타와 각색된 스트라토캐스터 기타로 구성되어 있으며, 그는 다른 소리를 얻기 위해 픽업 장치를 변경했다. 돈을 아끼기 위해 이 음반은 봉고 밥 스미스가 프로그램한 드럼 머신을 많이 사용했고 제프 캠피텔리는 풋 심벌즈, 심벌즈, 톰, 올무 등을 오버더빙했다. 새트리아니는 이것이 음악에 "어색한 매력"을 주었고 느슨한 기타 연주와 기계와 같은 드럼 프로그래밍의 조합을 유지했다고 말했다. 〈Satch Boogie〉는 캄피텔리가 연주한 라이브 드럼을 완벽하게 특징으로 하는 유일한 곡이다.

헤비 메탈의 영향을 받은 〈Crushing Day〉는 음반의 길이 때문에 사전에 작업한 유일한 솔로를 포함하고 있고, 나머지는 즉흥적으로 만든 것이다. 새트리아니는 무대에서 이 노래를 연주해야 할 때 구속감을 느꼈기 때문에 나중에 이 결정에 대해 유감을 표명했다.

카시오 CZ-101은 〈Midnight〉에서 플루트와 관현악기를 녹음하는 데 사용되었다.

커버 아트 
원작의 커버 아트는 마블 코믹스의 캐릭터 실버 서퍼를 전면에 그리고 안쪽 커버에는 갤럭투스의 손을 가지고 있다. 출판사로부터 허가를 받은 이 작품은 존 번이 그린 《Silver Surfer #1》 (1982년)의 판넬에서 따왔다. 번은 음반 커버에 사용된 예술품에 대한 로열티를 받지 못했다. 새트리아니는 실버 서퍼에 익숙하지 않았고 이 음반과 타이틀곡에 캐릭터를 염두에 두지 않고 이름을 붙였다. 하지만, 렐러티비티 레코드의 제작 책임자인 짐 코즐로프스키는 만화책 팬이었고 라디오 DJ 이름으로 "실버 서퍼"라는 별명을 사용했다. 그는 그 캐릭터를 음반 커버에 사용할 것을 제안했다. 코즐로프스키는 마블에게 이 음반을 선보였고 캐릭터 사용 허가를 받았다. 그 후, 마블 코믹스는 실버 서퍼 만화에서 새트리아니에게 경의를 표했고, 새트리아니는 실버 서퍼 신화의 다른 요소들 (〈Back to Salla-Bal〉, 〈The Power Cosmic 2000〉)의 이름을 따 이후의 작품들에 이름을 붙였다.

캐릭터 삽화를 사용할 수 있는 원래 라이센스는 시간 제한이 있었다. 비록 라이선스가 여러 번 갱신되었지만, 2018년에 새트리아니와 마블은 가격에 타협할 수 없었고, 그래서 커버 아트가 교체되었다. 2018년 기준으로, 아이튠즈와 스포티파이와 같은 디지털 소매상들은 실버 서퍼를 특징으로 하지 않는 대체 삽화를 전시하고 있다. 2019년 실버 서퍼 대신 실버 기타 헤드스톡을 특징으로 하는 한정 디럭스 에디션이 발매되었다. 이 새로운 삽화의 배경과 글꼴은 사소한 차이를 가진 원본과 매우 유사하다.

발매 및 반응 

1987년 10월 15일 렐러티비티 레코드에 의해 발매된 《Surfing With the Alien》은 빌보드 200에서 29위를 차지했고, 미국에서 세 번째로 높은 차트의 음반이라는 것이 입증되었다. 이 음반은 빌보드 200에 75주 동안 머물렀는데, 이것은 그의 모든 음반들 중 가장 긴 기간이었다. 《Surfing With the Alien》은 1989년 2월 17일 골드, 1992년 2월 3일 플래티넘 인증을 받아 미국에서 백만 장을 판매했다. 그것은 플래티넘 인증을 받은 새트리아니의 첫 번째 음반이었고, 그렇게 한 그의 유일한 스튜디오 음반으로 남아있다.

이 음반의 두 싱글은 《빌보드》 메인스트림 록 차트인 〈Satch Boogie〉 22위, 〈Surfing with the Alien〉 37위에 올랐다. 세 번째 싱글인 〈Always With Me, Always With You〉는 1989년 그래미 어워드에서 최우수 팝 인스트루멘탈 연주상 후보에 올랐고, 음반 자체는 같은 행사에서 최우수 록 인스트루멘탈 연주상 후보에 올랐는데, 이는 새트리아니의 그러한 많은 후보들 중 첫 두 곡이다. 라이브 버전의 〈Always With Me, Always With You〉는 이후 2002년과 2008년 그래미 어워드에서 최우수 록 인스트루멘탈상 후보에 두 번 더 올랐다.

《빌리지 보이스》의 현대 리뷰에서 음악 평론가 로버트 크리스트가우는 새트리아니를 "최신 기타의 신"이라고 일컬었고, 그가 너무 형식주의적이라고 느꼈다. 왜냐하면 그는 "따라서 그는 기량 숭배자들이 요구하는 것과 그들이 남몰래 갈망하는 편안함을 둘 다 전달할 뿐 아니라 작곡하고 편집하기 때문입니다." 올뮤직의 회고적 리뷰에서, 스티븐 토마스 얼와인은 그의 기술적인 능력에 더 깊은 인상을 받았고 "파쇄의 영광의 시절에 좋았던 모든 것을 담아낸 음반인 80년대 중후반의 기타 연주에 있어서 최고의 표준으로 여겨질 수 있다"고 쓰면서 《Surfing with the Alien》을 칭찬했다. 《롤링 스톤 앨범 가이드》 (1992년)에 따르면, 그 음반은 "새트리아니를 지도에 올렸다. 아름답게 연주되고 잘 짜여진 이 곡은 로큰롤의 본능적인 힘을 잃지 않고 퓨전 재즈의 모든 차가운 불꽃을 담아낸다."고 했다.

곡 목록 
모든 곡들은 조 새트리아니에 의해 작곡하였다.

인증

각주

외부 링크 
 In Review: Joe Satriani "Surfing With The Alien" at Guitar Nine Records

1987년 음반
조 새트리아니의 음반