In April, Sony Legacy released Shapeshifting, the 17th studio album from Joe Satriani. As we note in a Relix feature on the making of the record, which appears in our latest issue, it “follows an unusual two-year period, during which the notoriously progressive musician spent as much time looking forward as he did looking back.” The results are audacious and venturesome as some songs evoke the spirit of Satriani’s initial band, The Squares, while others build on the guitarist’s melodic leads that can feel dialed in from the future.

On Shapeshifting Satriani worked with producer Jim Scott (Foo Fighters, Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers, Tedeschi Trucks Band) and he tells Relix, “It was a good thing I took a chance on a new location and a new team. I play guitar for a living, but Jim makes albums for a living. It was good that I let go. Everything from recording to serving lunch—Jim did a lot of things right. Every day, I was at ease, yet wonderfully bombarded with the love of music and record-making.”

Today we offer the premiere of “When Trees Walked The Earth” a bonus track from the sessions. Satriani explains the origins of the tune, noting that he had asked himself “What music would giant, walking Redwoods be listening to when they would pick and move up and down the West Coast in search of a new home? That’s what got me started on the song ‘When Trees Walked The Earth.’ It’s the soundtrack to an eco-sci-fi film idea.”

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