Joe Satriani - 1988 "Dreaming #11" [EP]

Dreaming #11 is the second EP by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on November 1, 1988 through Relativity Records and reissued on May 27, 1997 through Epic Records. The EP reached No. 42 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for 26 weeks. Its sole studio track, "The Crush of Love", reached No. 6 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart and was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1990 Grammy Awards; this being Satriani's second such nomination. The remaining three tracks were recorded live during the Surfing With the Alien (1987) tour. The title track, absent on the EP, would later be released on Satriani's 1993 compilation album Time Machine. Dreaming #11 was certified Gold on August 15, 1991.

Dreaming #11 is something of an oddity: a mini-disc released in 1988 with three live tracks and one new studio track. The live tracks, taken from the Surfing with the Alien tour and featuring the powerful duo of Stuart Hamm on bass and Jonathan Mover on drums, showcase Satriani's outstanding talents in a live atmosphere; however, they've been heard before ("Ice Nine" was on Surfing with the Alien and "Memories" and "Hordes of Locusts" came from Not of This Earth). The studio track, "The Crush of Love," immediately became a favorite of Satriani fans everywhere, mostly because of its catchy tune and its creative use of the wah-wah pedal to give the guitar an almost human voice. A recommended disc for musicians and fans.

This is the first Satch cd I bought and boy was I amazed! I'd never heard anything that cool up to that point. I have every album he's released and as the title says, this is Joe at his peak. I saw him live a few months ago, and even then, he didn't play at this level. The first track is the studio version of "The Crush of Love," a favorite of many. The other three tracks are live and demonstrate how differently he plays songs live. Which is great for someone who already knows the studio versions note-for-note. These songs reach unbelievable heights and leave you wanting more (on the album "Time Machine" there are additional tracks recorded at this concert, so there you go.) As an interesting side point, at the soundcheck for this concert, a lighting technician high above the stage fell five feet in front of the band flat on his back and had to be revived twice with the band's collective knowledge of CPR. It is something that affected them throughout the performance that night. The tracks even had to be slightly altered because Joe didn't even notice that his guitar had become badly out of tune after awhile. Just thought you'd like to know that little bit of trivia concerning this great album. It would be a shame for any guitar fan to go through life without having heard this.  By Guybert.

Joe Satriani is not just a guitar legend, but also a very good all-round musician. Although players like Yngwie Melmstein might be slightly better technically, their compositional and group-performance skills are sometimes awful.

Satch's versatility is what makes him special, and this EP is a good example. The first track, The Crush of Love, is the only studio track on the album, and is a very catchy, pop-rock guitar piece which has some great melodies, but does not showcase Joe's technical skill as much as the other tracks, apart from excellent Wah-pedalling. Don't get me wrong, it is a flawless performance, but Satch is capable of so much more. This is more an example of Satriani's compositional skills and ever-so-lyrical guitar lines.

The rest of the album is recorded live at a concert held in San Diego in 1988. Track two is a performance of Ice Nine, with some new, cool bluesy solos which are full of fast fingerwork, pinch harmonics and wah-pedal.

Memories, the third track, is my favorite track of the album. It is around twice the length of the original, and has some very technically difficult guitar phrases. Jonathan Mover and Stu Hamm are superb on drums and bass on this track, adding another dimension to this song. Joe's solos are diverse, sometimes lyrical and othertimes utilizing dischord in traditional Satch fashion. He uses a many different techniques to achieve this. It enters many different moods to the listener as it progresses through the piece's several movements, and it has quite a different feel to the original recording (perhaps in a more rock style).

The final track on the album is also strong. It makes use of the harmonic minor scale and has quite an "Eastern" feel. It is marginally heavier than the other tracks, and the guitar lines sound almost neoclassically influenced at times, with some touches of prog. Satch again impresses with some difficult phrases, some possibly harder than in Memories (I am not a guitarist, so excuse me if I am wrong). Mover and Hamm again impress, and it is a very solid group performance.

This is a very good album, although is not the best live album from Joe Satriani; for mine his Live in San Francisco and G3 performances are longer and more diverse. However, if you are a fan of Joe it is an essential album. If you are new Satriani, The Electric Joe Satriani - An Anthology gives a good overview, while I would also reccommend Surfing With the Alien, Crystal Planet and The Extremist. By Timephoenix.

Dreaming No. 11 is an EP consisting of 4 songs, and tries to point out Satriani's live performance. The Crush of Love is the catchy piece, which is the only song in the EP, which has been recorded in the studio, and it showcases Satch's ability to mix sadness with happiness, in a very emotional way. The professional use of wah-wah makes the guitar sing on this one.
The other 3 songs are recorded in live show and Ice 9 is the starter, and it is played mich more faster than the original with some blues stuff thrown in, making it sound very different but cool. Memories is doubled in time and this version last about 9 minutes, showing how Satch can perform songs out of limits, and make them even sound better. the band is only 3 people and yet they manage to sound incredible and catch the spirit of the songs in very different dimensions. A must have for any Satch fan!  

Recorded At The California Theater, San Diego, CA On June 11, 1988. Relativity Records (Studio/Live Recording).

Track listing

All music composed by Joe Satriani.

1.     "The Crush of Love"       4:22
2.     "Ice Nine" (live - California Theatre, San Diego; June 11 1988)     4:41
3.     "Memories" (live - California Theatre, San Diego; June 11 1988)     9:08
4.     "Hordes of Locusts" (live - California Theatre, San Diego; June 11 1988)     5:12
Total length:     23:23

Personnel:

Joe Satriani – guitar, keyboard, bass (track 1), remixing, production
Jeff Campitelli – drums (track 1)
Jonathan Mover – drums (tracks 2–4)
Bongo Bob Smith – percussion (track 1), sound replacement
Stuart Hamm – bass (tracks 2–4)