Over the last 30+ years, there’s been considerable debate regarding how good Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain was as a musician, and in a recent chat with Classic Rock magazine (for the January 2025 issue), iconic axman Joe Satriani shared why he thinks Cobain was truly a “great” guitarist.
Satriani on Cobain and Grunge
Speaking with the magazine in preparation for the upcoming G3 Reunion Live home release, Satriani clarified that he “was very happy with those Nirvana records” before adding that the iconic grunge frontman “was a great guitar player.”
He explains [via Classic Rock]:
You go back and look at Nirvana clips, and you realise this guy is playing everything he’s supposed to play. He’s not looking at what he’s playing, so obviously he really knows the instrument. And he’s playing with one of the greatest drummers of all time [Dave Grohl], so that wouldn’t have worked if he was not a good guitarist.
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Interestingly, Satriani also admits that he wasn’t fully aware of guitar solos dying alongside the rise of grunge: “I didn’t pay any attention to that, I guess.”
In fact, he reflects that 1992’s The Extremist – which followed 1987’s Surfing with the Alien and 1989’s Flying in a Blue Dream – was a “love letter to the classic rock era, so it was a throwback record anyway.” He adds: “[W]hen I emerged from the studio, I realised: ‘Oh, it’s all Nirvana and Soundgarden 1736121692.’”
Vai is certainly onto something, and we even included Cobain in our list of the “Big 4” of grunge guitarists.
Of course, you can read more about Satriani’s thoughts on grunge and his long-running G3 tour (including his experiences with multiple other guitarists) in the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine.
Likewise, G3 Reunion Live – which features Satriani, Steve Vai and Eric Johnson – is set to release on Jan. 31 via earMUSIC. Recorded across the United States in 2024, it’s “their first live album in over 25 years,” and it features “a full album-length set from” each of the trio alongside “additional jam material of the mighty guitar trinity.”
It also comes in a variety of formats, including “a 2CD set (+ photo booklet), a 4LP Gatefold in black and a deluxe edition that includes the 2CD, three colored artist vinyls, one further splattered jam vinyl and a 64-page photo book.”
You can see more information about it here and preorder it here.
Satriani + Vai Join Forces as SatchVai
Last month, Loudwire reported on Satriani and Via joining forces in another way this summer, when they’ll appear as the SatchVai Band for the Surfing with the Hydra tour. They also confirmed that another studio collaboration (following 2024’s “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1”) is planned as well. You can see the full list of dates (and grab your tickets) here.
So, do you agree with Vai’s opinion on Cobain’s playing? Or, do you think that he’s actually overrated as a guitarist? Let us know!
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Gallery Credit: Graham Hartmann, Loudwire
