Satch Boogie by Joe Satriani

Joe Satriani once claimed that he decided to be a guitarist on the day that Jimi Hendrix died. But he was a guitar teacher before he was a guitar star; and by the time “Satch Boogie” came out in 1987, two of Satriani’s former students were already making good - namely Kirk Hammett of Metallica and Steve Vai.

His second major-label album, Surfing With the Alien was made on the cheap - his label even complained that he spent the relative pittance of $29,000 on the recording. But they made the money back in a hurry. “Satch Boogie” proved that high-velocity shredding could be fun and helped turn the album into a major hit. Satiriani was now in such demand that Mick Jagger grabbed him to play guitar on tour in 1988.

Satriani was briefly a member of Deep Purple, stepping in when founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore abruptly jumped ship. That lineup toured Japan and Europe, but Satriani decided that an Italian guy from Long Island didn’t belong in such a quintessentially British band. However, Purple’s next guitarist was also American, namely Steve Morse from the Dixie Dregs.

Our testers have proclaimed this the new hardest guitar song in Rock Band! It’s all daredevil licks and it never lets up, so proceed with caution and make sure your hands are warmed up - seriously, take some time to play a few songs and get your fingers ready, otherwise half way through you’ll be too slow to keep up.

If you’re a bass player, save your Overdrive to bail out the guitarist; he or she will be very grateful afterwards.

Since this came out, Satriani has played more flashy solos than anyone can count. He is now in the band Chickenfoot with singer Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony (Van Halen) and drummer Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers).