Album of the Day

Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, & Steve Vai: G3 Live in Concert. This is an interesting disc, if only because it shows the wide gulf (in my mind) between Eric Johnson on the one hand and Satriani and Vai. In their 3-song individual sets, each player has his strengths. Satriani undoubtedly is a hell of a player, but the brief set obscures his lack of song-writing skill (based on the two albums of his I own). Johnson covers a broader stylistic ground and sounds more cool and in control of his abilities. Vai's songs are the most interesting, but his over the top Strat-abuse can only go so far. When the three play together on the closing jams, however, it gets really interesting. Johnson is the only one who really stands out and sounds unique. The fact that he's willing to not play a million miles a minute some times doesn't hurt either.