Joe Satriani's recordings of late have boldly explored new musical ground: 2000's Engines of Creation saw extensive use of synthesizers and other elements of electronic music, Strange Beautiful Music (2002) featured a seven-string guitar and much less use of high-gain tones, and Is There Love in Space? (2004) featured even more sonic experimentation and Joe's first vocal tracks in over ten years. While not a total about-face, Super Colossal is a departure from the trend, blending elements of Joe's recent work with tones and melodies that would be at home on Joe Satriani or Crystal Planet.

The album opens up strongly with the huge-sounding title cut. Satriani commented that he thought of playing "from the vantage point of being very small and seeing a fifty-foot person walking down the street playing a guitar." He nailed it perfectly. The album continues with a slew of excellent, yet diverse, cuts such as "Redshift Riders," "Ten Words," "A Cool New Way" and "Theme for a Strange World" that feature some of the most refreshing work Satriani has done in years while breaking little to no new ground. Still, his recent knack for doing things differently is still alive and kicking: the closing cut, "Crowd Chant," features an impromptu chorus singing along in response to Joe's playing.

I'll put it bluntly: I love this album. I rank it among Satriani's best, with Crystal Planet and Engines of Creation. (I'm sure that most JS fans won't share that list; unlike many, I'm not a huge fan of his early work.) I do not hesitate to call this my favorite album of 2006 (so far).

Rating: 5/5