By '98, Joe was at a creative crossroads and felt the need to shake things up. The meticulous planner and arranger threw caution to the wind and came up with his most spontaneous effort to date.

Joe Satriani says:

“I didn’t make traditional demos for this CD. With a metronome and a note pad, I would sit in my studio, guitar in hand, and compose each song, unconcerned about production, or, what my bandmates’ parts would be.

"We rehearsed before we went into the studio - that was a first - and we recorded as a live band (also a first for me), with melodies and solos being recorded live on most tracks.

"I arranged the song sequence so that each track started in a higher key. It was a crazy idea I had, that ascending keys would promote continued listening, in sequence, so the album could be experienced as a whole conceptual piece."