Reviewed by Ian Phillips.
Featuring Joe Satriani, Ear/MUSIC Sony Music Australia 2019.
This album is a wonderful curio.
It is the only album produced by guitar legend Joe Satriani’s first band and it has arrived 38 years after it was recorded.
Joe Satriani has had a long and acclaimed career as a solo artist and gun for hire and his awards and accolades from the industry and fans alike are unending.
He’s played with some of the biggest artists in rock history including Mick Jagger, Deep Purple, Steve Vai, Robert Fripp, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Morse and the super-group Chickenfoot, however in interviews Satriani has often talked about the musical trio that launched his career, The Squares.
They were formed in Berkeley USA in the late 70s and until now no recordings of the inception of the legendary Satriani sound were available.
Now we can experience the earliest work of one of the greatest guitarists of all time.
Squares was produced and mixed by John Cuniberti (the Squares’ then live sound engineer) from the original early 80’s demos. They have been restored and brought into the digital world.
The Squares line up was Satriani on guitar, Andy Milton on lead vocals and bass, and Jeff Campitelli on drums. All three contributed to backing vocals.
Satriani’s description of Squares sums up their sound. “We were part Van Halen and part Everly Brothers. A mix of heavy metal, rock’n’roll, punk, and new wave. We were hard to pin down and categorise, which is most likely why we never made it.”
On listening to this album I keep asking myself why the Squares weren’t a success.
If you transport yourself back to the early 80s and compare them to some of the “hit” artists of the time they certainly compare very well.
Maybe Satriani was right, they were just too eclectic, but I like variety.
There’s everything from power pop to hard rock and new wave on the album and the quality of the songs and performances is remarkably good.
And the album is loaded with melody and harmony.
What more could you ask for?
