Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock is the twelfth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on April 1, 2008, through Epic Records.Lymangrover, Jason. "Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-13. The album reached No. 89 on the U.S. Billboard 200"Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock - Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-13. and remained on that chart for two weeks,[ "Joe Satriani - Chart History"]. Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-18. as well as reaching the top 100 in four other countries."Joe Satriani - Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-13.

Release and tour Recording for Professor Satchafunkilus began in October 2007Satriani, Joe (2007-10-29). "New Sessions in Progress". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05. and the title was announced on March 13, 2008.Webmaster (2008-03-13). "New Album and Podcast!". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05. Touring began in Europe from April to June with guitarist Paul Gilbert as the opening act,"2008 European Tour". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05. followed by Australia and New Zealand in July,"2008 Australia/NZ Tour". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05. Mexico and South America from late July to August,"2008 South America and Mexico Tour". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05. and concluding in North America from October to November."2008 US / Canada Tour". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-04-05.

Overview The album's title has two meanings: the first part is a homage to Satriani's nickname of "Satch", while "Musterion" is a Greco–Biblical word meaning "hidden thing", "secret", or "mystery".. StudyLight. Retrieved 2014-03-13. From the date of the album's release until April 11, 2008, Satriani began a special "Guitar Center Sessions" tour,""GC Sessions" Tour". satriani.com. Retrieved 2012-10-16. followed by a worldwide tour on April 30.

All tracks were composed in 2007, with the exception of "Come on Baby", which, as Satriani explains, was written in 1993 amid a snowstorm during a vacation in Lake Tahoe. His son ZZ later encouraged him to finish the piece, upon which it became the third song dedicated to his wife Rubina (after "Rubina" from Not of This Earth, and "Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" from The Extremist). It was later used by Canadian figure skater Vaughn Chipeur for his short program at the 2010 Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

"Revelation" was written about the death of fellow guitarist Steve Morse's father, as well as being a tribute of sorts to Morse's playing.Bosso, Joe (2008-09-25). "Joe Satriani: The Human Touch". Guitar World. NewBay Media. Retrieved 2014-03-13.

As with "One Robot's Dream" from Super Colossal (2006), Satriani continues with the theme of exploring the humanistic side of robots on "I Just Wanna Rock". On a podcast detailing the making of the album, he explained the track to be about a robot's experiences at a rock concert."Joe Satriani: Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock Podcast". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-03-13.

The final two tracks, "Asik Vaysel" and "Andalusia", were both inspired by the late Aşık Veysel, a critically acclaimed figure of Turkish folk literature."Joe Satriani Bio" . Myplay. Sony Music Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-03-13. "Andalusia" features a melody (from 1:40 to 1:53) which was previously played by Satriani on his 1993 video The Satch Tapes, during an acoustic guitar segment. On a podcast prior to the album's release, Satriani explained that a publishing error was the reason why Aşık Veysel's name was misspelled "Asik Vaysel" on the back cover, and that it would be corrected on subsequent pressings."Joe Satriani - Asik veysel Podcast" on YouTube. Retrieved 2016-01-12.

Critical reception

Jason Lymangrover at AllMusic gave Professor Satchafunkilus three stars out of five, saying that Satriani "shines in his ability to hold back and write tasteful verse/chorus songs with memorable hooks." The songs on the album were described as "technically impressive numbers that never go overboard with the showboating and rely on a sense of feeling rather than virtuoso technique." One song that was criticized as a low point was "I Just Wanna Rock", but highlights included "Overdriver", "Musterion", "Andalusia", "Asik Vaysel", and the title track.

Track listing

Personnel Joe Satriani – vocals, guitar, keyboard, piano, organ, bass (tracks 1, 4, 7), talk box, hand claps (track 4), engineering, mixing, production Jeff Campitelli – drums, percussion (tracks 2, 4, 9, 10), bongos, shaker, tambourine (track 3), cowbell, hand claps (tracks 4, 10) John Cuniberti – tambourine (tracks 6–8), hand claps (track 4), engineering, mixing, production Matt Bissonette – bass (tracks 2–6, 8–10) ZZ Satriani – saxophone Eric Caudieux – digital editing, sound design Mike Boden – hand claps (tracks 4, 10), digital editing, engineering assistance Bernie Grundman – mastering

Charts + Chart performance for Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock Chart (2008) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA) 64

References

External links In Review: Joe Satriani "Professor Satchafunkilus And The Musterion Of Rock" at Guitar Nine Records