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Written by Derek Lauer Sunday, 09 September 2007 09:21

A rare opportunity to speak to one of the most important composers of our time, a huge influence on musicians the world over.

 

 

 

 

 

Steve Morse is one of the world's foremost guitar players. His mind-blowing recordings span 32 years. He was first famous for being a pioneer in electric jazz fusion, then later for his solo instrumental work. Most notable is his work with the Dixie Dregs and the Steve Morse Band. Others may know of him from his days with Kansas or currently with Deep Purple. He was voted best overall guitar player five years in a row by Guitar Player magazine.

There was an incredible synergy of brilliant musicians at the University of Miami in Florida in the early '70s, with people in the School of Music like Pat Metheny, Jaco Pastorius, Hiram Bullock, Andy West, Rod Morgenstein and Steve Morse. I once saw Pat Metheny give a clinic at Berklee College of Music talking about how he and Pastorius first got together and he said, "My first day on campus, I met Steve Morse and it scared the shit out of me." That ought to tell you something about Morse's playing, even as a student.

Morse has been the perfect choice to fill the shoes of the legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. The current lineup consists of three original members, left-handed drummer Ian Paice, Roger Glover rocking out on bass, and Ian Gillan still belting out the vocals. Jon Lord retired from the band in 2000 and was replaced by Don Airey. That's right, the same Don Airey who played the intro to "Mr. Crowley" and the classic piano part on Sabbath's "Changes," and has recorded and toured with people like Gary Moore, Jethro Tull, Whitsnake, ELO & Rainbow. They sound better now than they ever have. These are not some geezers out there trying to keep something going; they are hard-hitting and energetic and continually putting out new music that is constantly evolving.

This was a rare opportunity to speak to one of the most important composers of our time, a huge influence on musicians the world over.

 

How has it been going with Deep Purple? It seems that you've been touring for about three years straight over in Europe.

It's been about 14 years in Europe, it seems like! I've been with them for 14 years, and we play constantly in Europe. That's really the base of the band. And it's very unusual for us to finally play in the U.S. It's a difficult market, because Deep Purple is branded as a classic-rock band instead of as a current band.

So even though you're putting out new music, do you find that some of the rock stations are reluctant to play some of that because you're deemed a classic rock band?

No, some of them are not reluctant; all of them are reluctant. It's just not the format. Years ago the consultants decided what music...you would pick a brand or a style of radio station and the consultants would tell you what to play. And they would tell you to play one or two songs for each classic rock band. Which ones, they would tell you that.

Is there anything that you feel that the record company should be doing differently in terms of promoting you in the U.S.?

I could go on for ages. But it's not really my place, since the record company has different goals than I do. The record company that is most active is the one that owns the old catalog. And they don't really care about anything except that material; I mean, that's their main focus.

So what would you say your goals would be separate from the Deep Purple project - or is that what you're focusing on?

My goals? For me, having been, for decades, working in the music business, I think it would be valuable to pass some of that on. The guitar clinics I do are a good outlet for that. I'm still looking for a way to get that message through, so any interview I can do that allows me to talk about it is good. To tell young people the reality and debunk some of the myths about the music business and get people the straight story so that we can attract people that are suited for it and that really love it, as opposed to people that want to be rich or famous.

What work are you most proud of doing?

I'm proud of everything I did with the Dregs, but probably there [were] a few albums where it was just me doing the production and no one but my engineer working with me.

Do you feel that doing Deep Purple has allowed you to do other things because it's given you more financial stability?

I never worried too much about financial stability. It's weird; Purple has opened doors for me to do things, but I literally can't do them because of schedule. This band works more than any group I've ever been in.

I know that you are a big fan of piloting. What about the flying do you feel really inspires you?

People dedicate their lives to living in the mountains of Europe and Asia and the Himalayas, there's all kinds of history of people getting to a higher plane by just being up there looking down. And to me, being in an airplane is just like the same thing, except it's really immediate. No matter how bad life is or how stressed out you are, if you can just get that thing up off the ground, everything gets better. It takes you closer to God, and away from the rat race.

What tunes are you most excited about playing on now on the current tour? I'm sure you'll be playing a few things from the latest Deep Purple disc, Rapture of the Deep.

"Things I Never Said" is kind of a shuffle from the new album, and the title cut is also fun to play. Then they let me do a solo thing where I play a little bit of "Contact Lost" from the previous album, and also a short instrumental that I wrote called "The Well Dressed Guitar," very straight up classical rock-sounding. So the new stuff suit[s] me fine, of course; I wrote all of the guitar parts and riffs.

What is the next project you have on the horizon?

I've got a new album that I've finished, but I don't know what in the hell to do with it. It's kind of acoustic stuff that I wrote with this girl singer [Sarah Spencer] that is so good.

How did you end up getting selected for that?

She's just from my town. I knew her parents and they said, "You've got to hear my daughter" and I went, "Ohhh God!" [Laughs] I heard her, and she was really pretty good. So I listened to more stuff, and I said bring her over and let's see if we can write something together. We did, and that first take, just nailed it. This is something special; I have an opportunity to write stuff that I would like to listen to myself.

 

In our current world of music overload where anyone and his brother can put out recordings, we have the record companies and radio stations shoving sub par music down out throats 24/7 until they brainwash enough people into thinking their latest crap is cool. Then they cite those sales as an argument for not supporting a wider range of musical expression. Everybody needs to wake up and realize that mass marketing of music is not merit-based and is not democratically representative of people's tastes. One could say that the music industry is capitalism at it finest. That may be true, but it has been bastardized by the privileged few to such an extent that true works of artistry, expression or expertise go unnoticed.

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Steve Morse Primer

Is it enough to play music for your own sense of self-satisfaction? It has to be - play because you love to make the sounds. Is it enough to listen to music just to be distracted for a few moments by the latest thing? It can be - but there is more to savor from life than well-financed ad campaigns. It takes a little more effort to expand your horizons, but no one else will, or can for matter.

So now you say to yourself, "I want to hear more of Steve Morse's playing, but I don't know any of his music from the radio; where do I start?" Well, here it is, your Steve Morse primer.

If you like hard rocking, kick-ass guitar playing with some serious shredding, then you should pick up any and all of the CDs by the Steve Morse Band. Start with Southern Steel, the first one of the five discs that they did during the '90s. It's like with the first album from Boston where every song on the disc is great; you can't go wrong. But it's not like Satriani where he just lays down a simple track then shreds over the whole song. These are true compositions. They are meaningful songs that happen to have great guitar playing. Each album has a stylistic range that includes along with the hard rock tunes, a country song, a classical piece, some ballads intertwined with the rich harmonies derived from jazz fusion. Some of my favorite highlights are "Vista Grande," "Battle Lines," and "Weekend Overdrive" from Southern Steel; "User Friendly," "Morning Rush Hour," and "Cabin Fever" from Coast to Coast; "Rally Cry," "Dreamland," and "Good to Go" from Structural Damage; "Brave New World," "Four Minutes to Live," and the title track from Stressfest; and "Marching Orders" from Split Decision. Those are just a few of the songs I feel should have been on the radio all along, and the world would be a better place.

Two of Morse's solo albums, Major Impacts I & II, are amazing examples of his writing skills. Both discs have him composing in the style of classic rock bands that influenced him, including the Allman Brothers, the Beatles, the Stones, Jeff Beck, Clapton, Yes, and many more. With each song he is able to capture the essence of each vocal based band with just an instrumental arrangement. Listen to the Zeppelin-influenced "Led On" and the Hendrix-styled "Well I Have" to get a feel for how masterfully he was able to so closely match the feel of each artist.

High Tension Wires is a unique masterpiece. It comes from a transitional point in Morse's career and contains a wide variety of musical ideas and influences, which makes it a great album for driving. I still wake up to "Ghostwind" every day on my alarm clock. There are some beautiful, subtle moments on this disc, but check out how he slowly builds an intense Celtic solo on "Highland Wedding" and the blistering neo-classical fusion riff of "Tumeni Notes."

If you are familiar with the work of the Dregs, then I need say no more. If you are not, then start with Bring 'Em Back Alive. This live album will give you a great retrospective of the legendary work of the Dixie Dregs staring back in '75, and their pioneering efforts to combine elements of jazz with rock, funk, classical, and country music using modern instrumentation along the lines of Al DiMeola's Return to Forever and John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra. A must-have Dregs album is Full Circle. It was done much later and with a different line up, so many Dregs fans may have missed this one, but I can't say enough about how cool this album is. It shows a competence and confidence of composition that is seldom seen.

I won't go into the solo albums from the era right after the Dregs, because Morse mentioned them in the interview as some of his favorite works. As for me, "Cruise Missile" and "On the Pipe" are the first two tunes I ever heard from Steve Morse, and they left a lasting impression.

If instrumental music is not your thing, then you're in luck, because everything that Steve Morse has done with Kansas and Deep Purple carries the same artistic integrity and innovative, creative guitar playing as his solo work. If you are a fan of the Ritchie Blackmore-era Deep Purple and love their famous tunes, then you should get the live disc Total Abandon from Australia in 1999. It has them breathing fresh life into the old classics and will give you a taste of the powerful new material written with Morse. My favorites are "Any Fule Know That," "Fingers to the Bone" and "BloodSucker" from Abandon, and "Ted the Mechanic" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" from Purpendicular. All of these could be hits on the radio today and seem as current as anything you hear.

Do not pass up a chance to get the Living Loud disc with Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake (from Ozzy's first two solo albums). This is an epic rock album; I have no idea why the radio didn't jump all over it. People already know and love the Ozzy tunes and are probably tired of hearing the originals from radio overplay. While I love their version of "Tonight," I like the new tunes they wrote even better, especially "Every Moment a Lifetime" and "Walk Away."

If you want to learn how to play like Morse, he is more than willing to help you out with a plethora of instructional videos, books, transcriptions, and articles from Guitar Player; all are available from his website; complete with up-close photos and descriptions of his stage gear. All of the DVDs are of the highest quality and give you a closer look at his beaming stage presence.

Well, there it is - go write your congressman, or whatever it takes. Spread the word. | Derek Lauer