Joe Satriani, the incomparable guitar aficionado, will release his 14th studio album, “Unstoppable Momentum”, on May 7 through Epic Records. You can now listen to the entire CDD before it is released, exclusively at MSN Music‘s Listening Booth, at this location.

Produced by Satriani and Mike Fraser (AC/DC), “Unstoppable Momentum” features an amazing array of talented players, including Vinnie Colauita (STING, JEFF BECK) on drums, Chris Chaney (JANE’S ADDICTION) on bass and on keyboards, Mike Keneally (DETHKLOK). All band members and Satriani are featured in various stages of the sessions.

Fans are encouraged to pre-order “Unstoppable Momentum” via Sony Music and Satriani‘s own website store. When pre-ordering through the Epic Records store, fans will be given the chance to bundle new signed copies of the album with exclusive t-shirts and guitar straps. At Satriani.com, fans will receive an exclusive, never-before-seen art book featuring years of drawings, doodles and sketches that Satriani has done over the years.

“Some of my drawings have made their way on to guitars, straps and picks, LP and CD booklets, t-shirts, hats, keychains, etc…and even my live stage productions,” explains Satriani. “This book represents my first effort to finally compile my oddly drawn friends into one place, a wildly colorful portfolio of sorts. A collection of drawings meant to inspire and entertain.”

After returning from the South American G3 tour last October, Satriani got down to writing new music over the next two months. As he recalls, “A very prolific and cathartic two months followed resulting in a bundle of new music I was very excited to get recorded!”

Eleven songs were selected to record, all “heading in different directions and touching on a variety of musical influences.” With that in mind, Satriani decided to assemble a new studio band. “The idea was to crank up the energy level of the sessions, and allow for more individual expression of the material from each player. The chemistry with Mike, Chris and Vinnie was fantastic and we blazed through all of the tracks with everyone laying down amazing performances.”

For two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star “G3” guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, CHICKENFOOT, featuring former VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar, former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS‘ drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at No. 9. In late 2010, music sensation Nicki Minaj sampled the classic Satriani track “Always With Me Always With You” in her song “Right Through Me” from her multi-platinum debut album. In 2011, Satriani recreated his national anthem performance for the opening day of the Oakland A‘s historic 2002 season in the Brad Pitt movie “Moneyball”.

“Unstoppable Momentum” track listing:

01. Unstoppable Momentum
02. Can’t Go Back
03. Lies And Truths
04. Three Sheets To The Wind
05. I’ll Put A Stone On Your Cairn
06. A Door Into Summer
07. Shine On American Dreamer
08. Jumpin’ In
09. Jumpin’ Out
10. The Weight Of The World
11. A Celebration

The “A Door Into Summer” video, conceived as a musical journey of sorts, was actually shot as Satriani and his band made their way to the legendary Skywalker Sound studio, on the famed Skywalker Ranch in the Bay Area. The clip features a behind-the-scenes look at the band arriving, setting up and starting the album recording process intercut with a collage of stills from the album cover photo shoot.

Source: www.blabbermouth.net