Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir

by Joe Satriani, Jake Brown

Go behind the scenes with the musician The New York Times called "a guitar God!"

Oft-hailed as the Jimi Hendrix of his generation, living guitar legend Joe Satriani has long transcended stylistic boundaries with a sound that raises the bar like a new horizon for the broader genre of instrumental guitar rock. Joe's 6-string secrets have astounded listeners around the world for nearly 30 years.

In Strange Beautiful A Musical Memoir , Satriani and coauthor, music biographer Jake Brown, take fans on their first authorized tour of the story behind his climb to stardom and the creative odyssey involved in writing and recording a storied catalog of classics including "Surfing with the Alien," "Summer Song," "Satch Boogie," "Always With Me, Always With You," "The Extremist," "Flying in a Blue Dream," "Crowd Chant," and more.

Featuring previously unpublished photos and hours of exclusive, firsthand interviews with Satriani, Strange Beautiful Music offers a unique look inside the studio with Joe, giving fans a chance to get up close and personal like never before. With insider details about his collaboration with multi-platinum supergroup Chickenfoot, exclusive interviews with Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony of Van Halen and Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, commentary from fellow guitar legends such as Steve Vai, Metallica's Kirk Hammett, Primus's Larry LaLonde, and legendary music producers including Glynn Johns and the late Andy Johns, this memoir offers a rare inside look for die-hard Satriani fans, guitar enthusiasts, and anyone who loves to rock.

Genres: Music, Biography, Nonfiction, Memoir, Autobiography

320 pages, Hardcover

First published May 6, 2014

Reviews

[gekko100 · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a long-time fan of Joe’s music, I was gearing up for a fascinating read when I stumbled on his recently-released memoir. Unfortunately, the book rather failed to live up to expectations. Don’t get me wrong: it’s a reasonably interesting meander through his musical career over the years, and as such is certainly a worthwhile read for any Satch fan. It’s just that it could have been so much more.

The approach taken is very straight-down-the-line and uncontroversial: we get plenty (I would argue too much) of detail on the studio production story of each album, but very little on his personal life or the early stages of his musical development. I wasn’t hoping for the usual rock-star memoir cliches a la Keith Richards (which, in any case, I suspect were never Joe’s thing), but neither did I want to plow through the minutiae of a sound engineer’s logbook. For me, those are details that I may want to consult in an appendix; but they’re not my main interest. I guess I just wanted to read more about Joe the person, and how he became the staggerly accomplished musician we know and admire.

A couple of cases in point: his lessons early on with jazz pianist Lennie Tristano merit far more than the one or two passing mentions they are given; while his lessons with Steve Vai – surely the guitar nerd’s equivalent of Plato and Socrates sitting around discussing politics – are similarly glossed over. Also conspicuously absent is any real opinion/critique of his contemporaries: not a single feather in the guitar player community could have conceivably been ruffled by what’s in the book. Maybe I’m just seeing this through the warped lens of a wannabe guitar geek, but come on, how many people reading this book aren’t guitar players?

There is some discussion of the creative process and inspiration behind some of his songs, and indeed these are the most interesting moments in the book. However, coverage is very patchy and I personally would have welcomed a more comprehensive, even a track-by-track, discussion. (On a mischievous note, I for one would still love to know what on Earth he was playing at with the truly awful Woodstock Jam on the Time Machine album??)

As a final peeve, I found the copious use of extended interview excerpts from the likes of producers, session musicians and the other members of his recent collaboration Chickenfoot to be a little tedious and distracting from the flow of the book.

Overall the book is an easy, pleasant read; it’s just a little too “safe”. To sum up, it was something like the memoir equivalent of Joe and his buddies sitting around in the studio reminiscing over all the good times, with smiles and good-natured compliments all round, while Rubina’s Blue Sky Happiness plays softly on an endless loop in the background.

[Chris Haught · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won a free copy of this ARC through the First Reads progran at Good Reads.

OK, here's what happened. I read the first 60 pages or so of this book word by word. The story of Satch's childhood and teen years as he made the decision to be a professional musician - now those sections were very good. But then as the recording process started, we got a play by play of the technical side of music and guitar theory.

While all of that is fascinating on a big scale, I'm more interested in reading the story of a person's life and experiences when I read a memoir. There is more of it here, but it seems to be buried in more technobabble.

So I skipped ahead to the Chickenfoot chapter and read about how Satch formed that band with Sammy Hagar, Michael Anthony, and Chad Smith. I really enjoyed that and read up until we started seeing the recording sessions outlined.

Also, there are too many blurbs & quotes from other people. I thought that some of them worked in giving insight, but the constant shift from Satch to someone else back to Satch again and then again to another person was jarring.

I did give the book 3-stars because I enjoyed the biographical parts. I think a serious guitar player would love the other stuff too, but it's just a foreign language to me.

[N.N. Heaven · Rating 5 out of 5]

As one of the greatest guitarists in the world, Joe Satriani is a must-listen to and I am pleased to own several albums. When I heard he's written an autobiography, I knew I had to read it. Brutally honest, Joe takes us behind the scenes and inside his mind as he shares his musical life. I loved every part of his story and felt a deep connection with him. A must read!

My Rating: 5 stars

[Rod Horncastle · Rating 5 out of 5]

WARNING: this is a book for serious musicians and guitar players ONLY.

I would have given this book 5 stars if it shared just a few more stories about Deep Purple and all the people Joe has Jammed with over the years - especially his G3 gigs with Steve Morse, Paul Gilbert and John petrucci. Even a bit more of his Mick Jagger experience would have been cool. Thankfully we do get some great moments with Chickenfoot. (and yet no mention of him touring with Bassist Dave LaRue???)

But this is mostly a quick run through Joe's albums and career. He chats a little about his guitars and amps - but not much. The strangest thing was finding out he often does NOT use an amp on some songs.
As I was reading this I went back and listened to almost all of his albums - they are still great. I've been a fan since Surfing With The Alien came out back in 1987. Wow! 28 years I've been a fan of Joe's.

I still prefer to hear him live with no overdubs or endlessly tracked guitars. But both are necessary for a long ambitious career. Right now i'm loving " black swans and wormhole wizards".

Just read this for a 2nd time. 5 stars now!!! Makes me love all his albums once more.

[Molly Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joe Satriani is considered a guitar legend, having sold millions of albums and been nominated for many Grammy awards. If you are familiar with his work, you will know that he specializes in instrumental rock, and from reading his memoir, it is obvious that he is a guitar and recording gear geek. So, if you are into amps, wahs, and pedals and you can't get enough of recording techniques, I recommend this book to you (especially if you are very familiar with Satriani's work -- much of the book also focuses on his inspirations, preparations, and histories for his songs). Overall, it was an unique experience reading Satriani's book. (I do recommend having his albums on hand while reading so that you are able to reference the songs Satriani highlights.)

[patrick Lorelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really like the title says, beautiful music. Joe Satriani has been making music for decades and he takes you through his journey. From his learning to play the guitar to actually teaching and one of his students was Steve Vai, I thought that was actually an interesting part of this book because both of these men are guitar giants now. I don’t know how many people have heard of Joe Satriani, but I do know it is more than when his Surfing with an alien album first came out. Not only was that a very good album but it was totally different and perfect at the time. From there each record was something different until he got together with Chicken Foot. Now that music is special and I wish they could make more records. He takes you through each album he made and the people that were on them. There are also excerpts from the people that worked on those records talking about making them. Overall I thought it was a good book talking about the music that he has made over the years like the title stated. I got this book from Netgalley.com I gave it 4 stars. Follow us at www.1rad-readerreviews.com

[Eric Bittner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subtitle of this book tells you what to expect: a musical memoir. If you’re looking for sordid tales of life on the road as a rock star, keep looking. But if you want insight into Satch’s approach to songwriting and recording, this is it. I’m definitely biased, as I’ve been a fan of Joe’s music since Surfing With the Alien, but I found the stories about recording each of his albums fascinating. If you’re a fan like me, you’ll want to have your iPod, etc. cued up with his music as you read, as you’ll probably want to hear the songs as you read about how they were written and/or recorded.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

MY COPY OF THIS BOOK IS 294 PAGES LONG, THOUGH THE REST OF THE INFORMATION IS THE SAME AS LISTED.

1st Read: September 21, 2016 - September 28, 2016

An interesting look into the life of one of my favorite guitarists and what goes on behind closed musical doors. I love that he always pushes himself to be better than he was on his last performances, excelling into new accomplishments and collaborations. He seems to be a great musician to work with and comes across as very positive.

Even if you are not a gear-head (when it comes to his toys), you would still enjoy this book!

It was a Bucket List item stroked off from my own personal desires, upon seeing Joe and his band live on October 13, 2013. My mind was blown and I had a permanent smile on my face for days after. It was the best kind of high I've ever achieved!

[Ellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joe is one of my all time favorite guitarist and being a guitarist as well he has influenced me in ways others haven't. This book really got inside the head of a genius and shows us how he approaches his music from inception to the finished product. What I really enjoyed about this book was not only did Joe give us his perspective on his work but had the people he worked with do the same. The entire book is laid out almost like a call and response. I would have to say that there is a bit of technical detail in this book that may seem foreign to those unfamiliar with the recording process,the equipment and instruments involved. Overall it is a must read for fans of Joe Satriani.

[Oscar Quintero · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was looking for Satch to open up more but he fails in this book. A lot if interesting anecdotes on each of his recorded albums, but that's about it.

[Daniel Gonçalves · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great book detailing this brilliant musician's life.

[Luke Southard · Rating 3 out of 5]

You’d think a guitarist who mainly does instrumentals and wrote a book about recording his albums would gush a little more about his gear. He says, at times, that he used this guitar or this amp, but it’s just a mention. He doesn’t go into being approached by Ibanez, the development of his models, his partnership with Peavey or his partnership with Marshall.

If I were Satch or someone like Tremonti (both huge guitar nerds) and wrote a book, I’d talk AT LENGTH about my feelings of being approached by companies and how tempting it was as a guitar nerd to take them up on their offers, but no - they weren’t the perfect fit. But then X brand called and invited me out to their shop or showed me what they thought I would like and it was truly awesome. I was wooed. We probably went back and forth about what would eventually be my signature guitar maybe seven, eight times? Oh wait, I don’t need to guess because I’m a guitar nerd and wrote down what I liked and didn’t like from each attempt.

Ah, but we got it and the model was unveiled at Summer NAMM in X year and the whole goal was to get my dream gear - the gear I reach for when it’s time to record - into the hands of fans who like my tone or just want the most kick-ass merch possible.

There would be at LEAST one chapter about it. If I were Jim Root, I’d write three because that’s basically how many signature guitars he has. And I’d even include a segment about his Squier Tele saying something like it’s similar enough for any kid to feel good playing it, but if you want to know the truth, I use it in the studio when we want that classic passive pickup sound as opposed to my Fender’s EMGs.

You’d think this would be waiting in Satch’s book - a guitarist so famous for playing guitar that he made MULTIPLE tours around the world with bills filled with JUST instrumental guitarists.

But nooooOOOOOooooo.

And, honestly, it’s more bland for it. It’s very matter-of-fact and it’s shocking that such an emotive guitarist could make such a boring book. It’s weird that every single guitarist keeps playing because it’s fun and they were usually the kid ogling guitars in magazines and dreaming of their own customs and then they grow up and all of that fun just kind of disappears.

I’m not saying it isn’t a job or anything, but come on, man. Remember being a kid and playing a shitty guitar dreaming of something better? Why not talk about the moment when you realized “holy shit, one of the biggest guitar companies in the world would make me anything I want right now and probably even offer it as a production model!” Or how about the FACT that if he went to just about any guitar company, they’d trip over themselves crafting something for him?

What a wasted opportunity and a HUGE bummer for a guitar nerd like myself!

The best I can do is hope he wrote this huge story about the custom gear that eventually became production gear the rest of us plebs and it had all sorts of fun details but his editor (who's not a guitar player at all) said Satch needed to cut it.

And hopefully Satch put up a fight about how he is, at his core, still a guitar-ogling kid who gets excited about this kind of stuff so surely there are people out there just like him.

But the editor says cut that material or lose the book.

So, faced with the tough decision that he struggles with over a few days, he relents.

"Fine," he says. "At least the guitar nerds out there can enjoy the rest of my book."

And that's how we got the book we did.

... God, I hope that's what happened.

[Peter Diggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been a fan of Joe Satriani’s music since I first heard Surfing with the Alien back in 1987. Joe’s international reputation as a guitarist, musician, producer, composer, etc. has been at the “we’re not worthy” level for three decades or more.

His godlike status among rock’s greatest guitarists comes from not only his virtuoso brilliance on the guitar, but his standing as the best-selling rock guitarist of all time (according to Wikipedia) and the fourth most Grammy Award nominations (15) of any artist without winning. I guess Joe – if you’re reading this – if it were up to me, you would have won a few of those.

Biographically, Joe spins a good yarn in his upbringings. Its nice to read a memoir where parents are acknowledged as doing a good job and being supportive of their child.

Much of the book after Joe’s musical releases started coming out is filled with quotes from the people Joe has interacted with over the years; his own musical teachers to his students (and some famous names amongst them), band mates, friends and producers.

Fans of his music will enjoy the insights into his recording processes and interactions with the various producers that have created Joe’s albums over the years.

Joe is quite clearly a perfectionist (‘Extremist’, as one of his album titles says). The effort he goes to, to capture the perfect sound left me gobsmacked. (Side note – I’m a very poor guitarist and play with myself in my man-cave – on the guitar, that is. I’m about as far from a virtuoso/ perfectionist on the instrument as I am from being an Olympic gymnast).

Guitar geeks will foam at the mouth at the comprehensive lowdown on the recording and song writing process. Joe draws inspiration from so many aspects of life and discusses his song writing as a from of very personal therapy.

Overall the memoir is a very good read. It doesn’t go into the depths of some other rock n’ roll memoirs and tell tales of arrests, sex, drugs and rock & roll. There is no dirt on fellow musicians nor any blatant criticism of anyone he’s worked with.

It was a great read. Like Joe’s music it is different to what everyone else has put out. Having said that my opinion is coloured from being a fan, and author and a musician (albeit on a much smaller scale).

[Danny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Essential for Joe Satriani fans. This book reads like the liner notes for every one of Joe's albums. Before I read a biography, I typically ask myself "what interesting thing do I hope this person cover in this book?", if these questions are addressed and I learn a couple of other things, I usually come out of the book happy. By these standards this is a great biography. It reads more like a documentary, Joe details parts of a tour or recording the album and then someone comments on it, and then Joe adds to those comments. It is an interesting style that fits the subject perfectly. There is a lot of information on instrument and recording specifics but in my opinion it did not interfere.
My favorite parts were learning how Joe self funded his first album and was almost done if not for a gig in the Greg Kihn Band at the end of their fame, how Silver Surfer ended up on the cover of "Surfing with the Alien", all the great guitarists that were taught by Joe and how long he was a guitar teacher. This definitely not a biography you will enjoy without having any previous knowledge of the subject but I found it a unique and easy read.

[Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, Joe Satriani. The soundtrack of my teenage years. There are very few guitarists in the world who have been able to master the instrument quite like him, not just through technical skill but also through his unique vision, feel, and distinctive style. His melodies will make you lachrymose, will pump you up, will make you smile, will make you reflect, make you nostalgic... His evolution as a musician is stellar, and I had a blast reading this memoir because its sole focus is on music. There’s hardly anything about his personal life or band shenanigans in it.

Joe offers great insights into his creative process and work ethic. There is no secret here, it takes a ridiculous amount of work to get there. I also geeked out on the origin of some of the album/song titles, approach to recording, collaborations, relationships with other musicians (hello, Steve Vai!), and touring.

This is a book about a musician, for musicians, mainly. I understand some of the criticism surrounding the music jargon, theory-speak, and sound engineering gobbledygook. If I weren't a musician, I would have been pretty frustrated.

[Jeff · Rating 3 out of 5]

I won this in a Goodreads giveaway a while back and just got around to reading it. This is the updated version that covers up to 2016's Shockwave Supernova.

I've been fascinated by Satriani's guitar playing since the first time I heard him play, I was blown away when I saw him live in the early 90's when Stu Hamm was playing bass and Eric Johnson was the opening act.

I'm giving this 3 stars not because I didn't like it but because it was so far beyond my capability to understand when they geeked out. My wife thinks I'm a music geek but they totally lost me when they started talking equipment (never my strong suit). What I can say is that I loved the enthusiasm that Joe has for his music, and I appreciate hearing what other people had to say about working with him. There were some things that I didn't know and other things that I didn't care to know. It was worth reading but it probably didn't need to be updated quite yet.

[Mick · Rating 3 out of 5]

As the title states, this is a “Musical Memoir”, so there’s lots of information of about songwriting, the creative process, recording, gear, and working in the studio. I enjoyed that part of the book, but that might not be what you would expect in a more typical memoir. I play a little guitar and do some recording, so I enjoyed hearing about it. It would have been good to here a few more stories about the people he worked with. I probably enjoyed the first part of this the most, learning about Joe’s early years getting started in music and playing in bands. Recommend listening to the albums while going through the related chapters.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. As a fan I always wanted to know what was this great mind thinking while writing those beautiful songs.

A major part of the book is about what gears Joe has used for the recordings which I personally didn’t find fascinating however I’m a guitar player myself.

There aren’t so many details on Joe’s life. it’s more of him and other musicians explaining about the record process and song writing.

Overall it was a great experience.

[Ivan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Love Joe’s music, but not enough to love this book which was deep into explaining the technical side of his recordings and VERY shallow into telling his story. The subtitle of “A Musical Memoir” is pretty accurate. This is all about the music and very little about the musician. For example, his wife is mentioned in passing without ever telling us that he got married. Ditto for his son. And so on...

Just not what I was expecting at all.

[DavidO · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book starts well, as Joe writes about his youth and what got him into music. But after a while it stops being a story of his life and more about going to the studio and recording.

You'd also think after reading this that everything he ever did was great. The honest truth is that his later albums didn't sell that well.

[Sam Motes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a very interesting peak into the mind of the great teacher, solo shredder and member of the supergroup Chickenfoot. Joe is certainly a rock god idle to many guitarists and music fans due to his unique voice on the instrument. The book gives a history of Joe’s musical journey and along the way give interesting insight into his creative process.

[Erwin Lemuel · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique look into the mind of guitar god Joe Satriani, as he went through the journey of making album after album of instrumental guitar. Interviews and comments from his collaborators also made this memoir richer. A must-read for those who had been a fan of his music.

[Marcelo · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s always a pleasure to learn more about such a beloved artist. I enjoyed the recording stories of so many albums and experiences, especially when learning more about Satriani’s view on art and music. However, I would have enjoyed a more detailed look on his personal side as well.

[Jean Pierre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This isn't really an Autobiography. It's more of his process for making each of his albums along with a brief intro on how he got to making music for himself. If you like the nerdy stuff and his thought process on how he creates his music, then this book is for you.

[Matto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four stars might be stretching but if you’re a fan you’ll enjoy at least portions of the book. Best read while listening to the songs being described!

[Chris Olson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joe gets into his process a bit, recommended reading for any guitarist.

[Tim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book I was expecting his story and it is more technical and explains how Joe gets these amazing sounds and how he is the master instrumental guitarist.

[Matti Äijänen · Rating 3 out of 5]

No sex nor drugs to be found here, but actually concentrates on music. Slightly dull and repetitive at times, but can be recommended to true fans.

[Godly Goldy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rather boring book with too much talk about which gear was used on which album.

[Simon Sweetman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Like his career, this started off great, but quickly turned humourless, repetitive, and then somewhat embarrassing. Like his career, a shame.