Super Colossal


Super Colossal is the eleventh studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on March 14, 2006 through Epic Records. The album reached No. 86 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and remained on that chart for two weeks, as well as reaching the top 100 in three other countries. Super Colossal was nominated for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 2007 Grammy Awards; this being Satriani's thirteenth such nomination.

Release and touring

Recording for Super Colossal began around September 2005 and the title was announced on February 2, 2006. Touring began in North America in March–May 2006, followed by Europe in June–July.

Overview

Satriani provides detailed explanations of the story behind each track in the album's liner notes. "Crowd Chant" was originally going to be named "Party on the Enterprise" with sampled sounds of the Enterprise spacecraft from the Star Trek series. However, prior to the album's release, Satriani explained on a podcast that he was unable to acquire the legal rights to use the samples, choosing instead to replace them with his own sounds and rename the track. "Crowd Chant"'s ending theme was inspired by composer Gabriel Fauré's "Pavane in F-sharp minor, Op. 50".
"Crowd Chant" is used by various American football teams after touchdowns. It is also a popular goal song for ice hockey teams, most notably the Minnesota Wild and the New York Islanders of the NHL. It was later featured on the soundtrack to the 2009 video game NHL 2K10, while a cover version appears in Madden NFL 11. The MLB Network TV series Quick Pitch used the song as its opening theme but was replaced by Fitz and The Tantrums's song HandClap in 2017.

Critical reception

Rob Theakston at AllMusic gave Super Colossal 3.5 stars out of 5, saying that Satriani "doesn't pull any new tricks out of his bag, but lets his fingers do the talking throughout most of the record." The title track was described as "big and booming", with an instantly recognizable tone and delivery. "It's So Good" was likened to Flying in a Blue Dream and Steve Vai's 1990 album Passion and Warfare, while the final track, "Crowd Chant", was criticized as being "painfully out of place" despite its catchiness.

Track listing

Personnel

Awards