Coldplay's been in the news after being accused by guitarist Joe Satriani of stealing a tune, for their Grammy-winning 'Viva La Vida.' In case you missed out on the news, go here and here and here.
The latest salvo comes from singer Cat Stevens, who is now known as Yusuf Islam. The Sunreports that the singer has said that 'Viva La Vida' has been ripped from his tune, 'Foreigner Suite.'
When searching for this on YouTube (I knew you would), look specifically for 'Foreigner Suite, Part II' and then go to about 5.15. The similarity's there if you look hard enough for it, let's put it that way.
Joe Satriani Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock 3.5/5 Sony BMG
In 1987, Joe Satriani’s sophomore effort, Surfing With The Alien broke into the Billboard Top 40, a place no instrumental album had gone so boldly before. Now, over twenty years later - and after having made instrumental guitar albums a lot less niche in the meanwhile – Satch has released his 12th studio album. Professor Satchfunkilus and the Musterion of Rock might be quite a mouthful when it comes to the name, but it’s an album that’s quite accessible to most fans of this genre of music. And that’s where the ‘problem’ might lie – many of the tracks on Professor Satchfunkilus… might sound like stuff you have heard on his earlier albums; which is not necessarily a bad thing. Just that one has come to expect the unexpected from Satch.
So ‘Musterion,’ and ‘Overdriver’ - both out and out rockers and brilliant ones at that - sound like tracks that could have found place on 1989’s Flying in a Blue Dream or 1992’s The Extremist. ‘I Just Wanna Rock’ is the quintessential stadium rocker, designed for the crowd to chant along with. But hey Joe, you already used that device in the rather unimaginatively-titled ‘Crowd Chant’ from 2006’s Super Colossal.
But give this CD a few spins and you will discover some absolute beauties on the album that will justify your putting hard-earned cash on the table. ‘Professor Satchafunkilus’ that kicks off with a fluttering saxophone part by Satriani’s son ZZ, has a nice and funky groove to it. ‘Diddle-Y-A-Doo-Dat’ is a quirky number that instantly reminds you of Satch’s once-student and now-friend, Steve Vai. Then there is the regulation ballad, ‘Come On Baby’, a paean of love for his wife Rubina. Despite the cheesy name, this is one helluva melody. As is ‘Out of the Sunrise’ with its soaring guitarlines. The best one of the lot, though, would have to be ‘Andalusia.’ It starts off with an acoustic six-string and hand claps. But as you go on to discover soon enough, the deceptive acoustic passage is tantalisingly short – just after the timer hits 2 minutes, Satch slips into a barrage of electric notes on his Ibanez. ‘Andalusia’ – one of the two tracks dedicated to Turkish saz player, Asik Veysel – is unique in that it’s not very often that Satriani picks up an acoustic guitar. In fact, I don’t remember the last time he did that on an album.
So what’s the verdict on the album? There should be no question about whether you really need to pick it up. You should. But lower your expectations just that wee bit. For just this once, hopefully.
You might remember Chickenfoot from a post on this blog a few months ago. Now, there is more news from this supergroup. Last week, Joe Satriani sent out this message to his mailing list.
Chickenfoot. Chickenfoot? Chickenfoot! Yes, the band Chickenfoot featuring Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith, Michael Anthony and yours truly, is about to release its first CD called, "Chickenfoot", of course. It was one year ago this last February that we first got together in Vegas for a little jam in front of a few thousand people, and decided to make a go of it. I'm glad we did.
Thinking back, it seemed kind of crazy to join a new band just as I was about to release "Professor Satchifunkilus..." and launch its world tour. All the hard work paid off though. Our "Live in Paris" DVD from that tour will be released this year in all its psychedelic glory, and the "Chickenfoot" CD should be out in about a month, or, two. As a new band, Chickenfoot will do a few CD release party gigs in May to kick things off, then it's off to Europe for a few weeks of Summer festivals. We are looking towards a headlining tour in the USA this fall. I'm so excited about bringing our new band and music to the stage. The energy this unit puts out is incredible, absolutely amazing. Chickenfoot Rocks!
The battle between Joe Satriani and Coldplay gets stranger. First Satriani sued Coldplay. Then Coldplay put out a statement on their website. And now, Coldplay's music label, EMI, has got YouTube to yank mashup videos of the two songs in question off the video-sharing site. Hmmm...
The weirdly named supergroup that sees Joe Satriani, Sammy Hagar, Chad Smith and Michael Anthony (from left) coming together has resumed work on its debut album. Ex-Van Halen bassist Anthony wrote on his blog last week, "Chad and I just got back this week from recording in the San Francisco area, and I am pleased to say that the basic tracks are finished and smokin'!! Right now, Joe is sprinkling some guitar magic on everything, and next week Sam will be doing vocals. Then I'll be back up there to slather some background vocals on everything. I can't wait for all of you to check it out!! Look out 2009!!!!"
After Joe Satriani went ahead and sued Coldplay last week for allegedly lifting parts of his song 'If I Could Fly' for their Grammy-nominated track, 'Viva la Vida,' the band yesterday put up a statement on their website. In the statement, Coldplay insist that the similarities are "entirely coincidental, and just as surprising to us as to him."
