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Morse, Steve
Guitarist who started out playing in a band named "The Dixie Dregs". After this he moved onto releasing quite a few solo albums, and then joined rock gods "Deep Purple".
High Tension Wires (1989)
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 Rank: 3 guitars out of 5 Was ok |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
I was first introduced to Steve Morse when I was in year 12, because one of his songs, "Tumeni Notes", was on the list of songs for contemporary guitar. So I thought "cool, I know the name, I'll have to check out the tune". And what a bastard it is! I think it's a sick joke that they dared to include this impossible-to-play song. If there's any year 12 student out there who can play this whole track straight through - you deserve a freaking entrance into Berklee, not a good mark for a year 12 subject! Anyway, Steve Morse is currently pretty well known 'cos he plays in Deep Purple. However he has also released a whole batch of solo albums that are on par with Satriani and Vai. This album is his "first actual solo album", and many credit it as his finest. A lot of the music is acoustic, or if not acoustic, very quiet, laid back, non distorted tunes. There's a lot of Irish/Celtic influence, a bit of country, and a bit of rock. And it's really nice to listen to. Every song has lots of really beautiful melodies, guitar playing and instrumentation. Morse is great at arranging lots of different guitar parts, overdubbing them all, and making it all sound so simple. There are only a two heavy rockers on this track, "Third Power" and "Tumeni Notes", however the latter is such a stunning piece of 16th note triplet shredding that makes the CD worth the price alone. Another favourite of mine is "Leprechaun Promenade" - very complex melodies, crazy instrumentation and cool chords. My only gripe that that the lead guitar could have been mixed a bit louder! My ranking: 3 - Was ok |
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Southern Steel (1991)
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 Rank: 4 guitars out of 5 Really enjoyed it |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
The opening track "Cut To The Chase" is a great high-energy rocker that sets the tone for the rest of the album, however Steve does a live version of this track on his instructional video "Power Lines" which moshes all over the album version! Pity. It's still a great tune, but possibly with a bit too much production. The rest of the album rocks. Lots of cool tunes, great playing from Dave Larue, and some massive solos. My only gripe is that the album clocks in at an incredibly short 38 minutes! "Sleaze Factor" is a cool tune, but my favourite is definitely the funk based "Weekend Overdrive". My ranking: 4 - Really enjoyed it |
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Coast to Coast (1992)
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Rank: 4 guitars out of 5 Really enjoyed it |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
At 36 minutes, this is one short album! Pity, as the music rocks. This album is quite similar to the last, however the only difference that I can really hear is that it sounds more like a band now. There's a lot of cool bass and guitar interaction, doubling and solos. A very nice album once again from Mr Morse. My ranking: 4 - Really enjoyed it |
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Structural Damage (1995)
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Rank: 4 guitars out of 5 Really enjoyed it |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
Another classy release with some fantastic playing. It's all very enjoyable, and there's some brilliant bass playing by Dave LaRue. A lot of tracks have a fair amount of overdubs, which is not much of a problem. Nice to hear a really big sound coming from Steve. A great variety of music can be found here, from heavy rock, melodic acoustic playing, and everything in between. Morse proves once again that he more than capable of combining jaw-dropping playing with memorable tunes. Not an easy feat, but one that Steve makes sound easy. Title track "Structural Damage" contains some of the most frightening bass playing that I have ever heard. Beware. My ranking: 4 - Really enjoyed it |
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StressFest (1996)
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Rank: 4 guitars out of 5 Really enjoyed it |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
Alright! Steve has cranked up the distortion and written a bunch of heavy, complex and fun tunes. A wonderful stripped back raw three piece "power-trio" sound - from the opening jaw dropping title track "StressFest" you know you're going to be in for a treat. Possibly my favourite Morse release. The songs on this album are real killers. Heaps of fun, lots of shredding, and lots of great melodies. Definitely recommended. My ranking: 4 - Really enjoyed it |
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Power Lines (1989)
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 Rank: 5 guitars out of 5 Masterpiece! |
| Reviewer: lach (96) |
This instructional guitar video is a gold mine! Steve explains his entire approach to the guitar, his soloing technique, scales, tapping and wierd ideas. Fantastic if you want to learn how to shred, and how to play all of his amazing guitar lines. Of course he makes it all look so damn easy, but at least he shows you what he's doing, and you get a nice book with all the tab in it. As mentioned below, the opening of this video features Steve playing a killer version of "Cut To the chase" that completely rocks. He also slowly goes through the whole of "Tumeni Notes" which is fun and infuriating. My ranking: 5 - Masterpiece! |
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