blickstein@tle.DEC (Dave Blickstein) (10/15/85)
Album Review: "Stand Up" by the Steve Morse Band.
In the last few weeks, there has been a tongue-in-cheek (hopefully) debate in
net.music about who is the "best guitarist". While such a question obviously
can't be answered definitively, one undeniable contender is Steve Morse, the
former guitarist/composer/bandleader of the Dixie Dregs, now with his own
"Steve Morse Band".
Morse has dominated Guitar Player magazines annual poll for the last several
years winning (among other things) the BEST OVERALL GUITARIST for three
straight years! Considering that the people voting in this poll constitute 99%
of the serious guitarists in the world, this is an incredible achievement. An
achievement that has only been matched by one other guitarist (Steve Howe) in
the two decade history of the magazine. He is often touted as the guitarists
guitarist. He has also won the Grammy award in the "Best Instrumental album"
category.
Morse albums are eclectic in the extreme. Each album includes an incredible
variety of styles including hard rock, progressive rock, jazz, funk, Irish
folk, country, classical, and stuff that is just impossible to categorize.
All his tunes are tight, thoughtful Compositions (with a capital "C") that
display his knowledge of music, his incredible creativity, his virtuosity and
the virtuosity of the distinguished musicians with whom he plays.
To summarize, Morse is someone anyone with an interest in serious modern
music should check out.
His latest album, "Stand Up" is another superlative effort that is a must
for any Morse fan. This album incorporates some major stylistic changes from
the last album, "The Introduction". "Stand Up" is less guitaristic. Most of
the compositions feature complex intertwined layers which brings to mind
the old Dregs style, and is noticeably different from the basic trio sound
of the first album. Most astounding is the presence of vocals on 4 of the
albums 9 tracks. Although I prefer the instrumentals, the vocals tunes are done
with the unmistakable Morse touch and thus have solid compositional
underpinnings. No doubt, Morse would like to see more airplay than the
last vocal experiments received. So would I.
Morse has also expanded his use of guest artists and has an impressive array
of musicians on this album including Eric Johnson, T Lavitz, Albert Lee,
Peter Frampton, Alex Ligertwood and the incredible Mark O'Connor (3+ time winner
of the grand national fiddling championship). Once again, regular members
Jerry Peek (bass) and Rod Morgenstein (drums) put in excellent performances,
although Peek, disappointingly, is not displayed as prominently as he was
in the last album. No doubt a result of the overcrowding of guest talent.
Here's my impression of the tunes:
Book of Dreams - a vocal collaboration with Van Temple. This baroque-injected
rock tune features some classy guitar playing underneath the vocals.
English Rancher - my personal pick for best tune. This is one of those
typical Morse pieces that is hard to classify. It's a quasi-march
tune that goes through some wonderful changes. Morse uses an
incredible array of layered guitar sounds that makes one wonder
how he's ever gonna pull this one off in concert. This tune
also has one of the top solos of the album.
Rockin' Guitars - a collaboration with Albert Lee, who sings and plays
an incredible solo (followed by a mediocre solo by Morse). The
tune itself incorporates some great rhythm playing but doesn't
do much melodically. The solos are clearly the best part.
Distant Star - a collaboration with Eric Johnson, touted by many (including
Morse) as the best guitarist you've never heard of. The piece
is somewhat inconsistent but features excellent solos by both
guys and a great performance on bass by Peek. I love the tone
that Johnson gets on his guitar, although I felt the mix on his
vocals was substandard.
Pick Your Poison - a sizzling hot expanded country pickin and fiddlin jam with
Mark O'Connor on violin. Much like "Pride of the Farm" and
"Where's Dixie?". Lots of incredible unison and solo playing
by Morse and O'Connor.
Stand Up - another vocal tune with Alex Ligertwood on vocals and a guest
guitar solo from Peter Frampton. The tune is much like "Book of
Dreams" although less "Morsified" (expanded and twisted). Frampton
is a good guitarist, but I feel that Morse shamefully blows Framptons
solo away with a short but hot solo. I get the feeling that they
didn't have a lot of time for Framptons solo and the lack of balance
detracts from the song slightly. I don't actually think Morse
intended for the solos to be compared (after all this is not a
competition) but I think it stands out. In the past
Morse has always been successful at adding solos that complement those
of his guests.
Travels of Marco Polo - one of the best tracks. This tune is another one of
those Morse "things" that's impossible to describe. I particularly like
the the trumpet-like motif in the break. The song includes an
extended solo with Morse playing gracefully over changes.
Golden Quest - A fusion tune with an incredible array of guitar sounds
and a fast picked intro. Reminds me a little of "Road Expense".
The tune goes through some neat changes, but I felt the solo was
untypically empty of new ideas. (Of course, most guitarists would
give up limbs and offspring to be able to play even one like this.)
Unity Gain - features T Lavitz on keyboards. This is one of those Morse
pieces that builds to a solo that ends a side, much like "Hereafter"
and "Day 444".
Overall, I'd say that there are several Morse albums I prefer to "Stand Up".
But this album is FAR from disappointing. In fact, in a year that has been
exceedingly devoid of new good progressive music (I happen not to be able to
appreciate a certain much-loved English songstress), this album is a welcome
oasis and inspiration to keep the faith.
Dave Blickstein
P.S. The album is on the Elektra label. Most records stores are putting it
in the "Dregs" or "Dixie Dregs" (inferior stores file it under "D")
bin. In fact, I've yet to see it in any bin starting with the
letter "M".
(UUCP) {allegra|decvax|ihnp4|ucbvax}!decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-tle!blickstein
(ARPA) BLICKSTEIN%TLE.DEC@DECWRL.ARPAnessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (Doug Alan) (10/16/85)
> From: blickstein@tle.DEC (Dave Blickstein) > In fact, in a year that has been exceedingly devoid of new good > progressive music.... It has? Well, let's see.... Seems to me this year I've seen new albums by Suzanne Vega, Robyn Hitchcock, Birdsongs of The Mesozoic, Space Negroes, Mission of Burma, Jane Siberry, Peter Gabriel, Tuxedomoon, The Roches, Inner City Unit, etc.... > (I happen not to be able to appreciate a certain much-loved English > songstress) Well, who's problem is that? > this album is a welcome oasis and inspiration to keep the faith. I haven't heard it, so I dunno whether it's good or not, but it's certainly *no* oasis! "And I'll be two steps on the water" Doug Alan nessus@mit-eddie.UUCP (or ARPA)
rlr@pyuxd.UUCP (Rich Rosen) (10/19/85)
>> In fact, in a year that has been exceedingly devoid of new good >> progressive music.... [BLICKSTEIN] > It has? Well, let's see.... Seems to me this year I've seen new albums > by Suzanne Vega, Robyn Hitchcock, Birdsongs of The Mesozoic, Space > Negroes, Mission of Burma, Jane Siberry, Peter Gabriel, Tuxedomoon, The > Roches, Inner City Unit, etc.... [DOUG ALAN] The unfortunate thing is that some people's idea of "progressive music" is stuck in 1974. How can it still be called progressive if it's based on forms that were expended ten years ago? Real progressive music has passed some people by, and Doug has only scratched the surface of what's out there. -- "iY AHORA, INFORMACION INTERESANTE ACERCA DE... LA LLAMA!" Rich Rosen ihnp4!pyuxd!rlr