The Extremist

The Extremist is the fourth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 21, 1992 through Relativity Records[1] 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[8] and remaining on that chart for 28 weeks,[9] as well as reaching the top 50 in six other countries.[10] Three singles reached Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart: "Summer Song" at No. 5, "Friends" at No. 12 and "Cryin'" at No. 24.[8] The Extremist was certified Gold on December 22, 1992.[1] and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards;[11] this being Satriani's fourth such nomination.

The Extremist
Studio album by Joe Satriani
Released	July 21, 1992[1]
Recorded	1990–92[2] at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York; Coast Recorders and Alpha & Omega Recording in San Francisco; Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood; Record One Studios in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles; Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California
Genre	Instrumental rock
Length	47:53[3]
Label	Relativity
Producer	Joe Satriani, Andy Johns, John Cuniberti
Joe Satriani chronology
Flying in a Blue Dream (1989) The Extremist (1992) The Beautiful Guitar (1993)
Singles from The Extremist
"Friends" Released: 1992[4] "Summer Song" Released: 1992[5] "Cryin'" Released: 1992[6] "The Extremist" Released: 1992[7]

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[12] 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 Extremist's 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.[2]

Reissues

The Extremist has been reissued several times. The first was in 1997 through Epic Records[13] and again on June 16, 2008 as part of the Original Album Classics box set.[14] 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.[15]

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]

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.[16]

Track listing

All music is composed by Joe Satriani.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Friends" (arrangement: Satriani, Andy Johns)	3:29
2.	"The Extremist"	3:43
3.	"War"	5:48
4.	"Cryin'"	5:43
5.	"Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness"	6:11
6.	"Summer Song"	5:00
7.	"Tears in the Rain"	1:18
8.	"Why"	4:45
9.	"Motorcycle Driver"	4:58
10.	"New Blues"	6:58
Total length:		47:53

Japanese edition bonus track[17]

No.	Title	Length
11.	"Crazy"	4:06

Personnel

• Joe Satriani – guitar, Dobro, keyboard, synthesizer, banjo, mandolin, bass (tracks 8, 10), harmonica, arrangement, mixing, production
• Phil Ashley – keyboard (track 6), synthesized strings, synthesized trumpet, squeezebox
• Gregg Bissonette – drums (tracks 1–6, 8, 9)
• Bongo Bob – 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
• 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

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (1992–93) Peak position bgcolor="#efefef" Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] 29 Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[19] 27 bgcolor="#efefef" Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[20] 44 European Albums (IFPI)[21] 25 French Albums (IFOP)[22] 13 German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] 55 bgcolor="#efefef" New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 16 Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[25] 3 bgcolor="#efefef" Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[26] 35 bgcolor="#efefef" Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] 11 bgcolor="#efefef" UK Albums (OCC)[28] 13 US Billboard 200[8] 22

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales France (SNEP)[29] Gold 100,000^* United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000^^ ^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Singles

Year	Title	Chart	Position
1992	"Friends"[8]	Billboard Mainstream Rock	12
	"Summer Song"[8]		5
1993	"Cryin'"[8]		24

Awards

Event	Title	Award	Result
1993 Grammys	The Extremist	Best Rock Instrumental Performance	Nominated[11]

References

1. "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. RIAA. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
2. Time Machine (booklet). Joe Satriani. U.S.: Relativity Records. 1993. 88561-1177-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
3. The Extremist (CD edition "EPC 471672 2").
4. "Joe Satriani – Friends". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
5. "Joe Satriani – Why". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
6. "Joe Satriani – Cryin'". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
7. "Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
8. "The Extremist - Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
9. "Joe Satriani - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
10. "Joe Satriani - The Extremist (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
11. "35th Grammy Awards - 1993". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
12. "Joe Satriani's Chronology". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
13. "Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
14. "Original Album Classics - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
15. 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.
16. Carter, Phil. "The Extremist - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
17. "Joe Satriani - The Extremist +1" Archived 2014-03-21 at Archive.today. MusicStack. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
18. "Australiancharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
19. "Top Albums/CDs – Volume 56, No. 11, September 12 1992". RPM. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Satriani – The Extremist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
21. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music and Media. American Radio History Archive. 12 September 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
22. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste" (in French). Institut français d'opinion publique. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
23. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts – The Extremist". Offizielle Charts. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
24. "Charts.nz – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
25. "Top 10 Sales in Europe" (PDF). Music and Media. American Radio History Archive. 29 August 1992. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
26. "Swedishcharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
27. "Swisscharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
28. "Joe Satriani | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
29. "Les Certifications (Albums) du SNEP". Info Disc. Retrieved 14 June 2015.
30. "American album certifications – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 

External links

• The Extremist at satriani.com
• In Review: Joe Satriani "The Extremist" at Guitar Nine Records