As I mentioned in an earlier Steve Morse Band live concert review, I have been a Steve Morse fan since the early 80's. I always loved the depth and complexity of his writing, and his gargantuan guitar chops. He is a formidable player who studied jazz, and classical, and plays rock and country as well as anyone. He won the 'Best Overall Guitarist' poll in Guitar Player magazine so many times, that they banned him from the contest.
As I also mentioned in that review, some of the songs that he played live, from his new record, gave me hope that he was going back to his more layered, textural style with strong counterpoint, and eschewing the warmed-over Led Zepp riffs that he's been busting out on his last two or three Steve Morse Band albums, but sadly, I was mostly wrong. Songs like 'Here And Now And Then' and 'Unnamed Sources' bring me back to the Southern Steel era of his writing, and others bring me back to the Stressfest and Structural Damage eras, but none have the strength of his earlier records like The Introduction, Stand Up, and High Tension Wires. Many of the riffs on the record sound like things that belong more on a Jerry Cantrell record, than a Steve Morse Band record. They're pretty good riffs, as far as rock riffs go, but Steve is, and always has been capable of so much more. I want to hear music that guys like Jerry Cantrell simply are not capable of writing. Did Steve forget that there are fans who still remember, and appreciate the Dixie Dregs days, and his earlier Steve Morse Band records?
On this record, and like on most of his records, he has a kind-of formula for the styles and types of songs that are on them. In other words, his records (both Steve Morse Band and The Dregs) have lots of compositions written for the entire ensemble, but there is always one country-style song, and one duet for either nylon-string guitar, and bass guitar, or nylon-string, and violin. The nylon-string compositions are always strong, and tend to be very influenced by baroque music, and the piece on this record is good, but I will always prefer the nylon-string/violin duets from the Dregs records. In my opinion those compositions were a bit stronger, and I think the combination of nylon-string and violin is more classic. The country-style songs never disappoint, and the offering on this record entitled 'John Deere Letter' is no exception. They are always filled with lots of blazing flat-picking, and sound diabolically difficult to play.
It pains me to have to say this, but my favorite record that Steve produced over the last ten years, is not really a traditional Steve Morse Band record, at all, but instead, the first one of his Major Impacts releases. That record is filled with strong compositions, in the flavor and style of many of the artists that influenced him growing up. Many of Steve's fans, like me, are musicians, and I often call the kind of music that he plays, Players Music, but the great thing about the first Major Impacts release, is that I think he transcended that, and released a record that any music fan would enjoy, musician or not.
As an audio engineer, I am disappointed by the limp quality of the drum sounds on this record. The snare has no crack, and the kick drum doesn't crush my ribcage, like a good rock-and-roll kick drum, should. I think the drums need to be louder in the overall mix, as well. For the most part, the guitars are pointy and searing, as they should be, and the bass guitar has meat and definition. A few of the guitar-tone choices don't appeal to me, but that's the art of it. Those tones apparently did appeal to them on the day they recorded them, and that's fine.
I think on the whole, this is a pretty good rock-and-roll record, and if you aren't that familiar with Steve Morse, and haven't already been spoiled by his monstrous talents as a songwriter, you will probably be happy. But for those like me, who crave the more complex stuff, this record is a bit of a disappointment.
As I also mentioned in that review, some of the songs that he played live, from his new record, gave me hope that he was going back to his more layered, textural style with strong counterpoint, and eschewing the warmed-over Led Zepp riffs that he's been busting out on his last two or three Steve Morse Band albums, but sadly, I was mostly wrong. Songs like 'Here And Now And Then' and 'Unnamed Sources' bring me back to the Southern Steel era of his writing, and others bring me back to the Stressfest and Structural Damage eras, but none have the strength of his earlier records like The Introduction, Stand Up, and High Tension Wires. Many of the riffs on the record sound like things that belong more on a Jerry Cantrell record, than a Steve Morse Band record. They're pretty good riffs, as far as rock riffs go, but Steve is, and always has been capable of so much more. I want to hear music that guys like Jerry Cantrell simply are not capable of writing. Did Steve forget that there are fans who still remember, and appreciate the Dixie Dregs days, and his earlier Steve Morse Band records?
On this record, and like on most of his records, he has a kind-of formula for the styles and types of songs that are on them. In other words, his records (both Steve Morse Band and The Dregs) have lots of compositions written for the entire ensemble, but there is always one country-style song, and one duet for either nylon-string guitar, and bass guitar, or nylon-string, and violin. The nylon-string compositions are always strong, and tend to be very influenced by baroque music, and the piece on this record is good, but I will always prefer the nylon-string/violin duets from the Dregs records. In my opinion those compositions were a bit stronger, and I think the combination of nylon-string and violin is more classic. The country-style songs never disappoint, and the offering on this record entitled 'John Deere Letter' is no exception. They are always filled with lots of blazing flat-picking, and sound diabolically difficult to play.
It pains me to have to say this, but my favorite record that Steve produced over the last ten years, is not really a traditional Steve Morse Band record, at all, but instead, the first one of his Major Impacts releases. That record is filled with strong compositions, in the flavor and style of many of the artists that influenced him growing up. Many of Steve's fans, like me, are musicians, and I often call the kind of music that he plays, Players Music, but the great thing about the first Major Impacts release, is that I think he transcended that, and released a record that any music fan would enjoy, musician or not.
As an audio engineer, I am disappointed by the limp quality of the drum sounds on this record. The snare has no crack, and the kick drum doesn't crush my ribcage, like a good rock-and-roll kick drum, should. I think the drums need to be louder in the overall mix, as well. For the most part, the guitars are pointy and searing, as they should be, and the bass guitar has meat and definition. A few of the guitar-tone choices don't appeal to me, but that's the art of it. Those tones apparently did appeal to them on the day they recorded them, and that's fine.
I think on the whole, this is a pretty good rock-and-roll record, and if you aren't that familiar with Steve Morse, and haven't already been spoiled by his monstrous talents as a songwriter, you will probably be happy. But for those like me, who crave the more complex stuff, this record is a bit of a disappointment.
