Crystal Planet

Crystal Planet
Studio album by
Joe Satriani
ReleasedMarch 3, 1998 (1998-03-03)
Studio
GenreInstrumental rock
Length67:37
LabelEpic
Producer
Joe Satriani chronology
G3: Live in Concert
(1997) 		Crystal Planet
(1998) 		Engines of Creation
(2000)
Singles from Crystal Planet
  1. "Ceremony"
    Released: 1998[1]

Crystal Planet is the seventh studio album by the American guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 3, 1998, by Epic Records.[2] It was his first album to be released on Epic, whereas his previous six albums were released by Relativity Records. Crystal Planet reached No. 50 on the U.S. Billboard 200[3] and remained on that chart for eight weeks,[4] as well as reaching the top 100 in five other countries.[5] "Ceremony" was released as a single, reaching No. 28 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart[3] and featuring Satriani's first recorded use of a seven-string guitar, the Ibanez Universe. "A Train of Angels" was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1999 Grammy Awards,[6] Satriani's ninth nomination.

Reissues

Crystal Planet has been reissued twice. The first was on June 16, 2008, as part of the Original Album Classics box set,[7] and then again as part of The Complete Studio Recordings, released on April 22, 2014, by Legacy Recordings; this is a box set compilation containing remastered editions of every Satriani studio album from 1986 to 2013.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic awarded Crystal Planet four stars out five, calling it "an instrumental record with a difference" and Satriani's "finest all-instrumental effort since Surfing With the Alien". He praised Satriani for "taking more chances than ever" and further developing his technique, saying that it reaches "new, uncharted waters".[2]

Track listing

All music is composed by Joe Satriani, except where noted

No.TitleLength
1."Up in the Sky"4:09
2."House Full of Bullets"5:33
3."Crystal Planet"4:34
4."Love Thing"3:50
5."Trundrumbalind"5:13
6."Lights of Heaven"4:23
7."Raspberry Jam Delta-v"5:21
8."Ceremony"4:53
9."With Jupiter in Mind"5:46
10."Secret Prayer"4:27
11."A Train of Angels" (J. Satriani, Z.Z. Satriani)3:42
12."A Piece of Liquid" (J. Satriani, Z.Z. Satriani)3:04
13."Psycho Monkey" (J. Satriani, Z.Z. Satriani)4:36
14."Time"5:05
15."Z.Z.'s Song"3:01
Total length:67:37

Personnel

  • Joe Satriani – guitar, guitar synthesizer, keyboard (tracks 5, 7, 13, 14), bass (tracks 2, 13, 14), harmonica, clapping (track 7), mixing (tracks 14, 15), producer (tracks 13–15)
  • Eric Caudieux – keyboard (tracks 3, 7, 9, 12), programming, orchestration, editing
  • Eric Valentine – keyboard (track 14), drums (tracks 13, 14), percussion (tracks 13, 14), bass (track 14), engineering (tracks 13, 14), mixing (track 14), production (tracks 13, 14)
  • Jeff Campitelli – drums (tracks 1–12), percussion (tracks 1, 4, 6, 8–12), clapping (track 7)
  • Elk Thunder – percussion (track 8)
  • Rhoades Howe – percussion (track 14), engineering assistance (tracks 13, 14)
  • Stuart Hamm – bass (tracks 1, 3–12)
  • Mike Manning – clapping (track 7)
  • Mike Fraser – clapping (track 7), engineering (tracks 1–13), mixing (tracks 1–13), production (tracks 1–13)
  • John Cuniberti – engineering (tracks 14, 15), mixing (tracks 15), production (tracks 14, 15)
  • Kent Matcke – engineering assistance (tracks 1–10, 12)
  • Kevin Scott – engineering assistance (tracks 1–12), mixing assistance (track 14)
  • Stephen Hart – engineering assistance (track 15)
  • Judy Kirschner – engineering assistance
  • Zac Allentuck – mixing assistance (tracks 1–10, 12, 13)
  • George Marino – mastering

Chart performance

Album

Year Chart Position
1998 French albums chart 10[5]
Finnish albums chart 35[5]
Swiss albums chart 40[5]
Billboard 200 50[3]
Dutch albums chart 54[5]
German albums chart 73[5]

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United States — 202,416[9]

Awards

Event Title Award Result
1999 Grammys "A Train of Angels" Best Rock Instrumental Performance Nominated[6]

References

  1. ^ "Joe Satriani – Ceremony". Discogs. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c "Crystal Planet - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  4. ^ "Joe Satriani - Chart history". Billboard. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Joe Satriani - Crystal Planet (album)". Finnishcharts. Hung Medien. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  6. ^ a b "41st Grammy Awards - 1999". Rock On The Net. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  7. ^ "Original Album Classics - Joe Satriani". AllMusic. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  8. ^ Bosso, Joe (April 8, 2014). "Joe Satriani talks The Complete Studio Recordings album by album | Surfing With The Alien (1987)". MusicRadar. Future plc. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  9. ^ "Sludge Scan For December 1999". Metal Sludge. Archived from the original on August 19, 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2015.