Joe Satriani's 15-disc box set is one serious batch o' Satch

The Joe Satriani show at the Vogue last year was one of my fave gigs of 2013, no surprise since Satch has been consistently blowing me away ever since I first heard Surfing With the Alien back in the Eighties.

Similarly minded guitar freaks who don't already own all of Satriani's albums—or who are rich enough to afford doubles—should know that today Sony's Legacy Recordings announced the release, on April 22, of Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings.

Here's some of the promotional bumph:

All 14 of Joe Satriani's landmark studio albums, from Not of This Earth (his 1986 debut) through Unstoppable Momentum (2013's masterpiece), are included in the new collection alongside "Added Creations and Bonus Tracks," a newly-curated anthology disc of rare compositions and performances falling outside the purview of Satriani's official album canon, and Surfing with the Alien, 1987's platinum-selling breakout.

"When the good people at Legacy approached me with the idea of a comprehensive box set featuring my studio recordings in their entirety, plus bonus tracks, all re-mastered, I answered with a resounding, 'YES!,'" said Joe Satriani.  "The only person who could pull this all together logistically and sonically was mastering engineer John Cuniberti. John and I have recorded quite a bit of music together going way back to the early '80's. I've made more records with John engineering and co-producing than anyone else, so, who better to help me put this box set together the right way? His attention to detail has made this project exciting, illuminating and ultimately awesome sounding. "

Joe Satriani: The Complete Studio Recordings presents brand-new digital masters, overseen by Joe Satriani, with each CD packaged in a replica cardboard jacket.  The library collection is housed in a specially designed clamshell box with a booklet filled with photos and memorabilia from across the decades.

Whoa, man. Fifteen Satch albums. That's a lotta notes!