Adopting a moniker like “Satchafunkilus” for an album persona invites expectations of intense wallowing related to the funk persuasion. While guitar maestro Joe Satriani immerses himself in deep grooves aplenty on his latest studio creation, they narrate emotional instead of sonic depths.
But “Revelation,” a memorial to his late father, sounds just like what its title implies: a life-affirming celebration that aligns Satriani with the divine as he luxuriates in its spirited rhythmic bridge and impassioned, lofty solos. He fashions a different kind of enchantment for “Andalusia,” one of two homages to Turkish sax player Asik Vaysel, where Satch comfortably alternates from lilting Spanish guitar to roaring electric.
In between those poles stand the coaxing, gently seductive “Come On Baby” and uptempo “Out of the Sunrise,” which simulates that event’s gradual radiance before launching scat-happy “Diddle-Y-a-Doo-Dat” and “Asik Vaysel,” a hallmark Satriani cruising-speed track. –- Christa L. Titus
