The Extremist

"Friends"
The Extremist
Studio album by Joe Satriani
Released	July 21, 1992
Recorded	1990–92 at Bearsville Studios in Bearsville, New York; Coast Recorders and Alpha & Omega Recording in San Francisco; Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood; Record One Studios in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles; Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, California
Genre	Instrumental rock
Length	47:53
Label	Relativity
Producer	Joe Satriani, Andy Johns, John Cuniberti
Joe Satriani chronology
Singles from The Extremist
	"Friends"; Released: 1992; "Summer Song"; Released: 1992; "Cryin'"; Released: 1992; "The Extremist"; Released: 1992;

The Extremist is the fourth studio album by guitarist Joe Satriani, released on July 21, 1992 through Relativity Records^[1] The album is one of Satriani's most popular releases and his highest-charting to date, reaching No. 22 on the U.S. Billboard 200^[8] and remaining on that chart for 28 weeks,^[9] as well as reaching the top 50 in six other countries.^[10] Three singles reached Billboard's Mainstream Rock chart: "Summer Song" at No. 5, "Friends" at No. 12 and "Cryin'" at No. 24.^[8] The Extremist was certified Gold on December 22, 1992.^[1] and received a nomination for Best Rock Instrumental Performance at the 1993 Grammy Awards;^[11] this being Satriani's fourth such nomination.

Overview

"Rubina's Blue Sky Happiness" is dedicated to Satriani's wife Rubina, and is the second song named after her. "Summer Song" has endured as one of Satriani's best-known songs and is a mainstay at his concerts; it was used by Sony in a commercial for the Walkman^[12] and was later included on the soundtrack to two of Sony's console video games: Formula 1 (1996) for the PlayStation and Gran Turismo 4 (2004) for the PlayStation 2. Two B-sides from The Extremist's recording sessions, "Crazy" and "Banana Mango II", together with the outtakes "Thinking of You", "Speed of Light" and "Baroque", were later released on Satriani's 1993 double compilation album Time Machine.^[2]