Joe,

from about 1993 onwards I started to listen to yours and Steve Vai's music whilst at the same time starting to learn to play guitar myself, just like you did when you first heard Hendrix. As I've worked my way through buying your music over the years I can see alot of changes in the way you write your songs. I think your playing is getting too fast in some ways. Alot of the material on earlier albums I hear more melodically and than for example your latest release. I'm not critisizing your music, I would never dream of as you have such a talent. Personally I prefer the slowed songs you have wrote, such as 'New Blues', 'Love Thing'. I think there is a tendancy these days to get too crazy on the guitar, and forget that melody/soul matters just as much as speed/technique

Sorry for getting quite deep on things, I just wanted to have a word to the great Joe Satriani!