Engines of Creation
A little cynicism is to be expected when a veteran guitar virtuoso jumps on the electronica bandwagon. But Joe Satriani, who takes that route withEngines of Creation, remains head and shoulders above most guitar gods through sheer good taste. Most ofEnginesis very good, and Satriani deserves credit at the very least for daring and inventiveness. However, its appeal will likely be largely limited to Satriani fans; it's difficult to imagine hardcore electronica heads getting down to this sort of thing, although the final two tracks consist of great chill music. Satriani makes effective use of the flexibility inherent in the genre's repetitiveness: often, he just lets the backing tracks play and solos over them, coming up with some truly otherworldly sonic exploration.--Genevieve Williams