For those of you who
like a bit of rock 'n' roll guitar played
at 100 mph with loads of whammy bar, stretched
licks, and five hundred notes played a
second, when a mere mortal would struggle
to get fifty into the same time frame,
the sort of guitar playing that is only
possible by some of the world's greatest
gurners, then this is the album for you.
Back in the year 2000 Joe Satriani, Steve
Vai, and Eric Johnson went out on the
road in the United States of America doing
what can only be described as guitar workshops
in rock 'n' roll. Each artist had his
own band with him and would do an hour’s
set, followed every night by the G3 Jam,
where all three guitarists would get up
on the same stage, giving full reign to
a three way guitar battle. Magnificent
stuff.
Then in 2003 they did it again. This
time we still get Satriani and Vai, but
the very talented but uncharismatic Eric
Johnson had been replaced by the equally
talented, but way over the top exuberance
of Sweden’s favorite rock 'n' roll
sons, Yngwie Malsteen. The results are
explosive to say the least.
The first CD of this double CD package
is broken up into three parts, where we
get a twenty minute section from each
artist. First up is Joe Satriani. Quite
right that is, too. After all he is the
senior guitarist. Satriani sets a remarkably
high standard of twiddle for the others
to follow. Sticking to basically greatest
hits formula, he attacks the frets with
the enthusiasm of a teenager. The man
is the master of his chosen instrument,
even giving us a taste of his acoustic
playing on 'Midnight’, which gives
great balance to his segment of the CD.
Completely undaunted by this first set,
Steve Vai takes to the stage with a lineup
that most people only dream of. Apart
from his playing powers, Vai's confidence
levels must be at an all time high to
bring this lot on tour with him. (However,
I suppose being a Frank Zappa protégé
must help.) Sharing the stage with Vai
are Jeremy Colson on drums; Dave Weiner
on rhythm guitar (now do not forget that
this guy plays lead guitar in his own
band); and then on bass guitar is none
other than the five time winner of Guitar
Magazine’s ‘Bass Guitarist
of the Year’, Billy Sheehan, ex
of 'Mr. Big', etc. Sheehan played with
Steve Vai for a couple of albums and toured
with David Lee Roth when he put together
a super group after his departure from
Van Halen.
Then on second lead guitar and keyboards
Steve Vai has gone for the talents of
Tony MacAlpine. Tony MacAlpine would be
worthy of a place in the G3 lineup on
his own ability. Just take a listen to
any of his solo albums for proof, 'Edge
of Insanity' (1986) being probably the
pick of the bunch. Hearing these three
superstars jousting musically at the front
of the stage is a real treat to the ears.
Let’s hope that some record company
suit has the intelligence to release the
full segment of the show from this lineup
on a separate CD.
Whereas both Satriani and Malmsteen,
split their sections into five parts,
Vai sticks to three, giving his band plenty
of space to breathe life into their music.
There is only one way for Yngwie Malmsteen
to go after that, and that is pull all
the stops and let it all hang out, which
he does with spectacular effect, dispensing
with a large band. He comes on with a
stripped down trio, Patrick Johannson
on drums and Jocke Svalberg on keyboards.
However, their role is purely to support
this guitar genius. He opens with the
aptly named 'Blitzkrieg' before leading
us through his complete repertoire, partly
classically influenced, but with a lot
of Blackmore and Hendrix mixed in. His
version of 'Red House' gives the governor
a run for his money. If Malmsteen's set
leaves you breathless as it should, wait
till you open CD two.
On disc two you get thirty minutes of
all three guitarists on stage, all trying
to outshine each other. It's anybody’s
guess which star sparkles the brightest.
But if you have your air guitar handy,
grab it. You'll need it to join this lot
on stage in your mind. Again Hendrix is
given a huge nod of respect as they start
out with two of his classic songs before
they all rip into the final number, Neil
Young's 'Rockin in the Free World'. This
leads to a final battle to see who can
get the last notes in. They may be trying
to outplay each other, but you can still
feel the friendship and respect for each
other shining through the grooves of your
disc.
The original idea for G3 was supposed
to have included Dweezil Zappa with Steve
Vai and Joe Satriani, but prior commitments
made this impossible for Zappa, so Eric
Johnson stepped in. May I suggest that
Dweezil Zappa makes time (listen to his
album 'Automatic' (2000) for an idea of
what Frank Zappa's son can do with a guitar
in his hand.) so that the next time these
three decide to go out on the road together,
they invite Dweezil along and give us
G4.The mind positively boggles.
If you like this CD, there is also a
DVD of a different concert from this tour
with different set lists, so you can fill
your ears and your eyes if you so desire.
Three brilliant young men caught at the
top of their game. Enjoy.
Twiddled by Mott the Dog
Whammed by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
Musicians & Track Listing
Joe Satriani Band
Joe Satriani - Guitar, Harmonica, Vocals
Jeff Campitelli - Drums
Matt Bissonette - Bass
Galen Henson - Rhythm Guitar
Songs
The Extremist
Crystal Planet
Always With Me Always With You
Midnight
The Mystical Potato Head Groove Thing
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Steve Vai Band
Steve Vai - Guitar
Tony MacAlpine - Guitar, keyboards
Billy Sheehan - Bass
Dave Weiner - Rhythm Guitar
Jeremy Colson - Drums
Songs
You're Here
Reaping
Whispering a Prayer
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Yngwie Malmsteen Band
Yngwie Malmsteen - Guitar
Patrick Johannson - Drums
Jocke Svalberg - Keyboards
Songs
Blitzkrieg
Trilogy Suite Op 5 The First Movement
Red House
Fugue (Concerto Suite for electric guitar
and Orchestra in E Flat Minor Opus 1)
Finale
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The G3 Jam Band
Joe Satriani - Guitar, Vocals
Steve Vai - Guitar, Vocals
Yngwie Malmsteen - Guitar, Vocals
Jeff Campitelli - Drums
Matt Bassonette - Bass, Vocals
Galen Henson - Rhythm Guitar, Vocals
Songs
Voodoo Child (Slight Return)
Little Wing
Rockin In The Free World
