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The Extremist
Studio album by Joe Satriani
Released	July 21, 1992 (1992-07-21)
Recorded	1990–92
Studio	Bearsville (Woodstock, New York) Coast Recorders (San Francisco) Alpha & Omega (San Francisco) Ocean Way (Hollywood) Record One (Los Angeles) Fantasy (Berkeley, California)
Genre	Instrumental rock
Length	47:53
Label	Relativity
Producer	Joe Satriani, Andy Johns, John Cuniberti
Joe Satriani chronology
Flying in a Blue Dream (1989) The Extremist (1992) The Beautiful Guitar (1993)
Singles from The Extremist
"Friends" Released: 1992 "Summer Song" Released: 1992 "Cryin'" Released: 1992 "The Extremist" Released: 1992

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, Satriani's fourth such nomination.

Overview

"Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" is dedicated to Satriani's wife Rubina, and is the second song named after her, following "Rubina" from Not of This Earth (1986). "Summer Song" has endured as one of Satriani's best-known songs and is a mainstay at his concerts; it was used by Sony in a commercial for the Walkman and was later included on the soundtrack to two of Sony's console video games: Formula 1 (1996) for the PlayStation and Gran Turismo 4 (2004) for the PlayStation 2. Two B-sides from The Extremist's recording sessions, "Crazy" and "Banana Mango II", together with the outtakes "Thinking of You", "Speed of Light" and "Baroque", were later released on Satriani's 1993 double album Time Machine.

Reissues

The Extremist has been reissued several times. The first was in 1997 through Epic Records and again on June 16, 2008, as part of the Original Album Classics box set. The most recent reissue was part of The Complete Studio Recordings, released on April 22, 2014, through Legacy Recordings; this is a box set compilation containing remastered editions of every Satriani studio album from 1986 to 2013.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

Phil Carter at AllMusic gave The Extremist four stars out of five, saying that the album lives up to its name. "Summer Song", "Friends", "Motorcycle Driver", and the title track were noted as highlights.

Track listing

All music is composed by Joe Satriani

Personnel

• Joe Satriani – guitar, Dobro, keyboard, synthesizer, banjo, mandolin, bass (tracks 8, 10), harmonica, arrangement, mixing, producer
• Phil Ashley – keyboard (track 6), synthesized strings, synthesized trumpet (track 10), squeezebox
• Gregg Bissonette – drums (tracks 1–6, 8, 9)
• Bongo Bob Smith – drums (track 8), percussion (track 8)
• Simon Phillips – drums (tracks 5, 10), tambourine
• Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 2–4, 6, 8, 9)
• Jeff Campitelli – cymbals (track 10)
• Andy Johns – organ (tracks 2, 9), arrangement (track 1), engineering (tracks 1–9), mixing, production (tracks 1–9)
• Brett Tuggle – organ (track 4)
• Matt Bissonette – bass (tracks 1–6, 9)
• Doug Wimbish – bass (track 5), spoken vocals

Technical

• John Cuniberti – engineering (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10), production (tracks 5, 6, 8, 10)
• Bart Stevens – engineering assistance
• Dan Bosworth – engineering assistance
• Michael Semanick – engineering assistance
• David Plank – engineering assistance
• Michael Reiter – engineering assistance
• Julie Last – engineering assistance
• Bernie Grundman – mastering
• Matt Mahurin – cover photography

Charts

Certifications

Awards

References

1. ^ "Gold & Platinum Searchable Database" Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine. RIAA. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
2. ^ Time Machine (booklet). Joe Satriani. U.S.: Relativity Records. 1993. 88561-1177-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
3. The Extremist (CD edition "EPC 471672 2").
4. "Joe Satriani – Friends". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
5. "Joe Satriani – Why". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
6. "Joe Satriani – Cryin'". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
7. "Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Discogs. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
8. ^ "The Extremist - Joe Satriani | Awards". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
9. "Joe Satriani - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
10. "Joe Satriani - The Extremist (album)". finnishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
11. ^ "35th Grammy Awards - 1993". Rock On The Net. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
12. "Joe Satriani's Chronology". satriani.com. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
13. "Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Discogs. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
14. "Original Album Classics - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
15. Bosso, Joe (2014-04-08). "Joe Satriani talks The Complete Studio Recordings album by album | Surfing With The Alien (1987)" Archived 2015-04-04 at the Wayback Machine. MusicRadar. Future Publishing. Retrieved 2015-03-18.
16. ^ Carter, Phil. "The Extremist - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 2014-03-20.
17. "Joe Satriani - The Extremist +1" Archived 2014-03-21 at archive.today. MusicStack. Retrieved 2014-03-21.
18. "Australiancharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
19. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 1924". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Joe Satriani – The Extremist" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
21. "European Top 100 Albums" (PDF). Music and Media. American Radio History Archive. 12 September 1992. p. 17. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
22. Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
23. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Joe Satriani from the menu, then press OK.
24. "Offiziellecharts.de – Joe Satriani – The Extremist" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
25. "Charts.nz – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
26. "Norwegiancharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
27. "Swedishcharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
28. "Swisscharts.com – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Hung Medien. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
29. "Joe Satriani | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
30. "Joe Satriani Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 7, 2023.
31. "French album certifications – Joe Satriani – The Extremist" (in French). InfoDisc. Retrieved 15 November 2021. Select JOE SATRIANI and click OK. 
32. "American album certifications – Joe Satriani – The Extremist". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

• The Extremist at satriani.com
• In Review: Joe Satriani "The Extremist" at Guitar Nine Records

• Joe Satriani albums
• 1992 albums
• Relativity Records albums
• Albums produced by Andy Johns
• Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance