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

Five albums from Joe Satriani – picked seemingly at random but not unappealingly – are collected on this budget-priced 2013 box set. The albums here – Surfing with the Alien, Engines of Creation, Strange Beautiful Music, Is There Love in Space?, Super Colossal – arguably showcase Satriani at his best, even if they don't focus on any particular time…

Surfing with the Alien belongs to its era like Are You Experienced? belongs to its own – perhaps it doesn't transcend its time the way the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1967 debut does, but Joe Satriani's 1987 breakthrough can be seen as the gold standard for guitar playing of the mid- to late '80s, an album that captures everything that was good about the glory days of shred…

2008 five CD box. The Original Album Classics series, courtesy of Sony/BMG, packages together five classic albums from one of the most popular artists on the label's roster, housing them in an attractive slipcase. This set from the guitar hero features the albums Not Of This Earth (1986), Flying In A Blue Dream (1987), Extremist (1992), Joe Satriani (1995) and Crystal Planet (1998)…

Few "guitar shredders" of the late '80s were able to cross over into the upper reaches of the pop charts, but Joe Satriani proved to be an exception to the rule. And with over eight full-length studio albums in the shops by late 2003, Satch was ripe for a "best-of" collection – resulting in the release of the double-disc overview Electric Joe Satriani: An Anthology…

Recorded live at the Metropolis in Montreal, Quebec on December 12, 2010 and released as a double CD and 3-D Blu-ray, Satchurated was filmed live on the Wormhole Tour in support of Joe Satriani's 2010 album Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards…

With Crystal Planet, Joe Satriani made an effective return to his signature sound following the erratic blues-rock detour of Joe Satriani. For the follow-up to Crystal Planet, Satriani is once again exploring novel territory in an effort to keep his music fresh, and Engines of Creation is the biggest stylistic shift he's made yet – to electronic music…

Time Machine is an excellent double-CD set providing something for just about everyone who's interested in Joe Satriani's music. Disc one reprints four tracks from the 1984 Joe Satriani EP, while also showcasing nine new studio tracks and a loose jam session, and disc two is a collection of 14 of Satriani's best live performances…

Dreaming #11 is something of an oddity: a mini-disc released in 1988 with three live tracks and one new studio track. The live tracks, taken from the Surfing with the Alien tour and featuring the powerful duo of Stuart Hamm on bass and Jonathan Mover on drums, showcase Satriani's outstanding talents in a live atmosphere; however, they've been heard before ("Ice Nine" was on Surfing with the Alien and "Memories" and "Hordes of Locusts" came from Not of This Earth)…

Surfing with the Alien belongs to its era like Are You Experienced? belongs to its own – perhaps it doesn't transcend its time the way the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 1967 debut does, but Joe Satriani's 1987 breakthrough can be seen as the gold standard for guitar playing of the mid- to late '80s, an album that captures everything that was good about the glory days of shred…