The Extremist

''The Extremist'' is the fourth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 21, 1992 through Relativity Records The album is one of Satriani's most popular releases and his highest-charting to date, reaching No. 22 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' 200"The Extremist - Joe Satriani , Awards"
'' AllMusic''. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-20. and remaining on that chart for 28 weeks, "Joe Satriani - Chart history" ''Billboard''. Retrieved 2014-03-20. as well as reaching the top 50 in six other countries."Joe Satriani - The Extremist (album)"
''finnishcharts.com''. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-20. Three singles reached ''Billboards Mainstream Rock chart: " Summer Song" at No. 5, "Friends" at No. 12 and " Cryin'" at No. 24. ''The Extremist'' was certified Gold on December 22, 1992. and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards,"35th Grammy Awards - 1993"
Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-20. Satriani's fourth such nomination.

Overview

"Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" is dedicated to Satriani's wife Rubina, and is the second song named after her, following "Rubina" from '' Not of This Earth'' (1986). "Summer Song" has endured as one of Satriani's best-known songs and is a mainstay at his concerts; it was used by Sony in a commercial for the Walkman"Joe Satriani's Chronology"
satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20. and was later included on the soundtrack to two of Sony's console video games: ''Formula 1'' (1996) for the PlayStation and '' Gran Turismo 4'' (2004) for the PlayStation 2. Two B-sides from ''The Extremists recording sessions, "Crazy" and "Banana Mango II", together with the outtakes "Thinking of You", "Speed of Light" and "Baroque", were later released on Satriani's 1993 double album '' Time Machine''.

Reissues

''The Extremist'' has been reissued several times. The first was in 1997 through Epic Records and again on June 16, 2008 as part of the '' Original Album Classics'' box set. The most recent reissue was part of '' The Complete Studio Recordings'', released on April 22, 2014 through Legacy Recordings; this is a box set compilation containing remastered editions of every Satriani studio album from 1986 to 2013.Bosso, Joe (2014-04-08)
"Joe Satriani talks The Complete Studio Recordings album by album , Surfing With The Alien (1987)"
''MusicRadar''. Future Publishing. Retrieved 2015-03-18.

Critical reception

Phil Carter at AllMusic gave ''The Extremist'' four stars out of five, saying that the album lives up to its name. "Summer Song", "Friends", "Motorcycle Driver", and the title track were noted as highlights.

Track listing

Personnel

*Joe Satriani – guitar, Dobro, keyboard, synthesizer, banjo, mandolin, bass (tracks 8, 10), harmonica, arrangement, mixing, producer
*Phil Ashley – keyboard (track 6), synthesized strings, synthesized trumpet (track 10), squeezebox
* Gregg Bissonette – drums (tracks 1–6, 8, 9)
*Bongo Bob Smith – drums (track 8), percussion (track 8)
* Simon Phillips – drums (tracks 5, 10), tambourine
* Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 9)
* Jeff Campitelli – cymbals (track 10)
* Andy Johns – organ (tracks 2, 9), arrangement (track 1), engineering (tracks 1–9), mixing, production (tracks 1–9)
* Brett Tuggle – organ (track 4)
* Matt Bissonette – bass (tracks 1–6, 9)
* Doug Wimbish – bass (track 5), spoken vocals

Technical

*John Cuniberti – engineering (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10), production (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10)
*Bart Stevens – engineering assistance
*Dan Bosworth – engineering assistance
*Michael Semanick – engineering assistance
*David Plank – engineering assistance
*Michael Reiter – engineering assistance
*Julie Last – engineering assistance
* Bernie Grundman – mastering
* Matt Mahurin – cover photography

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

Awards

References

External links

The Extremist
at satriani.com

at Guitar Nine Records

{{DEFAULTSORT:Extremist, The
Joe Satriani albums
1992 albums
Relativity Records albums
Albums produced by Andy Johns
Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance