Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards
2010 studio album by Joe Satriani
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards is the thirteenth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on October 5, 2010 through Epic Records.[1]
Studio 21 (San Francisco)
| Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | October 5, 2010 | |||
| Recorded | June–August 2010 | |||
| Studios | Skywalker Sound (Nicasio) Studio 21 (San Francisco) | |||
| Genres | Instrumental rock, progressive rock | |||
| Length | 53:12 | |||
| Label | Epic | |||
| Producers | Joe Satriani, Mike Fraser | |||
| Joe Satriani chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards | ||||
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Release and touring
Recording for Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards took place between June and August 2010[2][3] and the title was announced on August 20.[3] A podcast of each track was put up on Satriani's official Facebook profile and YouTube channel leading up to the album's release,[4] with "Light Years Away" being released as a free MP3 single download on September 7, 2010 in exchange for the customer advertising it in a Facebook post or Twitter tweet.[5] Two bonus tracks, "Heartbeats" and "Longing", were made available through Best Buy and Napster.[6]
Touring began in Europe from October to November, followed by North America in December to January 2011.[7]
Critical reception
Stephen Thomas Erlewine at AllMusic gave Black Swans and Wormhole Wizards three stars out of five, calling it "a mature work from one of the great rock guitarists" and "pure guitar prog, filled with compressed boogies, sci-fi synths, exotic flourishes, and all of Satch's phasers and flangers in full-tilt overdrive."[1]
The album reached No. 45 on the U.S. Billboard 200[8] and remained on that chart for two weeks,[9] as well as reaching the top 100 in ten other countries.[10]
Track listing
All music is composed by Joe Satriani.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Premonition" | 3:52 |
| 2. | "Dream Song" | 4:48 |
| 3. | "Pyrrhic Victoria" | 5:08 |
| 4. | "Light Years Away" | 6:11 |
| 5. | "Solitude" | 0:57 |
| 6. | "Littleworth Lane" | 3:46 |
| 7. | "The Golden Room" | 5:19 |
| 8. | "Two Sides to Every Story" | 4:10 |
| 9. | "Wormhole Wizards" | 6:27 |
| 10. | "Wind in the Trees" | 7:42 |
| 11. | "God Is Crying" | 4:52 |
| Total length: | 53:12 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Heartbeats" | 3:25 |
| 13. | "Longing" | 3:55 |
Personnel
- Joe Satriani – guitar, keyboard, bass, engineering, production
- Mike Keneally – keyboard
- Jeff Campitelli – drums, percussion
- Allen Whitman – bass
- Mike Fraser – engineering, mixing, production
- Mike Boden – engineering, digital editing
- Dann Michael Thompson – engineering assistance
- Judy Kirschner – engineering assistance
- Eric Mosher – additional editing, mixing
- George Marino – mastering
Charts
| Chart (2010) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 84 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] | 65 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] | 77 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] | 65 |
| Croatian International Albums (HDU)[15] | 32 |
| Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[16] | 33 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17] | 32 |
| French Albums (SNEP)[18] | 39 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[19] | 85 |
| Italian Albums (FIMI)[20] | 35 |
| Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[21] | 54 |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] | 34 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts)[23] | 62 |
| US Billboard 200[24] | 45 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[25] | 7 |
| US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[26] | 5 |
| US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[27] | 14 |
| US Indie Store Album Sales (Billboard)[28] | 23 |