Technique, Tone & Taste. Zero BS.
Back in September of 1984, I had just returned to Syracuse, NY for what would be my second year of average grades and intense partying at Music School. I bumped into a guy I knew on the street and we got into the usual “What’s new?” banter. He mentioned that he was going to see this guy “Steve Morse” at the local night club: “The Jabberwoky”, a place popular among students for their tendency to let anyone drink, regardless of age. “Hmmm, Steve Morse, I’ve definitely seen a few articles about this guy in some of my Guitar magazines….” Unfortunately though, at that point, I had never really taken the time to read any articles about guitarists that did not involve tales of debauchery or at least a few televisions going out of a hotel window.
I told the guy that although I had heard of him, I had never heard a single note he played and did not know much about him at all, just that he was some kind of “Fusion Monster”… (I still wasn’t sure what “Fusion” really meant, but I never told anyone). Knowing that I was a guitarist, they guy stared me strait in the face and said “Just go to the show tonight… trust me…“. So I went.
Innocently early, I bumped into one of my best buddies in the club which was almost empty. As the room started to fill up we were slowly shoved to the front of the stage simply by default. As we waited for the show to start, I waxed and waned to my buddy about how I was considering quitting music school and “getting into a good band…” He rolled his eyes. I persisted with an endless array of excuses regarding why learning theory and harmony was a waste of my time. Blah blah blah…and then more Blah Blah Blah….
Suddenly, three guys walked out on stage. I recognized the guy with the guitar and long straight hair. That was Steve Morse. I was literally standing about six inches away from the band. This stinky, smoke-filled club was about the size of a class room. It was like attending a concert in your basement. Before I really had a chance to prepare myself, the band launched into the first song. 2 hours later, with my face frozen in a permanent state of total shock and awe, my buddy turned to me, stuck his index finger firmly in my Adam’s apple, and said: “…that is why you should stay in music school. ”
Required Listening: “The Introduction” by The Steve Morse Band
1. Cruise Missile
To me, the real hook of this song is the bass line. With that controlled Entwistle tone, the low end is a swift river of snappy bass notes that stick together like hot Bavarian pretzels. I love this groove. Of course, it is not long before Steve Morse throws down. The juxtaposition of the airy Andy Summers like clean tones and the driving climb-riff are great. You are not far into the second verse before you realize that there are some serious moments of greatness that will surely ensue.
2. General Lee
I’ve always assumed that this song was a tribute to Albert Lee. I’ve yet to be proven wrong. If I am incorrect, then it is a tribute to someone who is a serious chicken picker. Switching gears from Rock to Country is embarrassingly easy for Steve here. The tone is genre-perfect and the classic finger pickin’ country chords and riffs are immaculately tasty, never going into “ok, now whatch this….” territory. The solo section starts with a trade off with the rhythm guitar track that is pretty mighty. The actual solo is spot on; technique way beyond what I was used to. What I also love about this song is that it is so well arranged. As will continue to be the case on this album, no song is a gratuitous excuse for a rippin’ solo, they are all well-crafted pieces of music.
3. The Introduction
Steve has a way of using contrast that always works effortlessly. The main riff of “The Introduction” is strait ahead rock with a feel-good flair. The “B” section involves the drummer and the clean guitar playing off each other rhythmically in a way that while pretty complex sounding, never comes across as too cerebral. The solo section takes a nice slightly left turn in tonality. Never afraid to use sound as a palate, Steve really weaves a nice one here without losing the feel-good rock vibe of the song.
4. V. H. F. (Vertical Hair Factor)
Is it possible to mix elements of early 80’s pop and rippin’ fusion guitar? Yes, it is. The overall sound of this song kind of reminds me of some new wave stuff of the time. I think it is mainly because of the harmonies. It feels like Depeche Mode meets Rush with Jimmy Page sitting in on guitar.
5. On the Pipe
A few months after seeing the show mentioned in the begging of this article, I snagged one of those $50 flights from People’s Airline and flew home for Christmas. I had an old Sony Walkman with a great 90-minute mix tape of only this album; just the same eight songs, over and over. The first track on the tape was “On the Pipe”. For the entire 45 minute flight, I just kept re-winding that song and listening to it again and again and again (“ahhh, just one more time…“). I’m serious. By the time I landed at JFK, my batteries were dead and I was addicted to that linear run kind of playing that is rampant in this song. Can you guess what I listened to for the rest of my Christmas vacation?
6. Whistle, The
Don’t ask me why, but as a guy who grew up mostly on Stones, the Who, Beck and Clapton, I was for some reason attending music school as a Classical Guitar major. While I often wrestled with the curriculum, I did however slowly gain an appreciation for classical music. When I heard “The Whistle”, it felt like I had been kicked in the gut a second time. Not only could this guy do things with a guitar that should only be done with a light saber, but he was a top-notch classical style player as well. Ouch.
7. Mountain Waltz
Shifting gears again…. I wish I had worn a helmet. Even at 19 years old, I could really appreciate how elegant and mature this song was. The arrangement involves pristine chord voicing that compliments the piano like two old friends having a great conversation. I’ve never heard a bad musician play a song like this. Uggghhh… how much more impressed can a young guy be?
8. Huron River Blues Medley: Dark Water / Water Under The Bridge / Toxic Shuffle
Answer to previous question: Very impressed. Man, this one is like a little three-penny opera for guitar. Starting out as a kind of Zepplin-ish mid-tempo blues groove, the guitar tone in “Dark Water” is raw as hell, but also insanely under-control. And that is really what makes Steve Morse such a stand out, he never loses control of his instrument, ever. Morphing with ease into”Water Under The Bridge” and then “Toxic Shuffle”, the band takes you on a roller-coaster ride through an amusement park of guitar stuff that reminds me of an air show. The notes keep on flying over head, criss-crossing, leaving smoke trails, doing spins, stalls, flips, loops and dive-bombs that in the end, leave you stunned… and with a sore neck.
Summary
25 years later, I am still great friends with the guy who poked his finger in my Adam’s apple that night at the Steve Morse show. We have talked about that evening many times and I always have to remind him of his prophetic gesture. I wasted a lot of time at first trying to play just like Steve Morse. Even at 19 I knew that this was not only an exorcise in futility, but also maybe not the most efficient use of my time. I have never learned much or gotten many gigs by sounding just like someone else. In fact, it is a skill that I am simply not blessed with.
What I have learned over the years, is that the most helpful thing about listening to great guitarists, or even just any great musician, is to take away the most important aspects of their “thing”. I use the word “thing” because it is not always how fast or how technical another musician is that I want to emulate, but that “thing” that they have, that “X-Factor”. In many cases, that certin quality they have is the result of years and years of hard work. In addition to this, I always ask myself: “What makes this guy / gal such a special musician?” I take my time to find the right answer, and then I set out trying to get some of that in my life, kind of like high-quality salad dressing. In the case of Steve Morse, it is technique, taste and tone. Zero BS. I’d get a big grin on may face if I ever heard someone describe me with only those three words. If you are not familliar with “The Introduction”, you should give it a good spin. Forget about emulating folks who throw TVs out the window, you could go do that right now if you wanted to. Steve Morse is the kind of musician that you simply cannot be influenced enough by. You don’t have to sound exactly like him, or much like him at all, but get some of his “Thing” into your playing, it will be time well spent.
