Customer Reviews

Major Impacts

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With "Major Impacts," guitarist extraordinaire Steve Morse pays loving tribute to axemen of the past and present who have most influenced him and helped shape his own unique style. From Page to Clapton, from Hendrix to McLaughlin and then some, Morse crafts a song for each of his heroes that encapsulates the essence of each artist's contributions to rock music. Backed by his talented tandem of bassist Dave LaRue and drummer Van Romaine, Steve takes us on a wild and varied trip that includes songs featuring the anthemic Southern sound of the Allmans, the power rock of Leslie West, the crying slide of George Harrison, and the deft fingerpicking style of Jimmy Page. Also included are dead-on impressions of Keith Richards and Roger McGuinn, and snippets of Jeff Beck, Steve Howe, Kerry Livgren and Alex Lifeson. There is also a simply gorgeous tribute to John McLaughlin on which bassist Dave LaRue goes fretless in counterpoint to Steve's mellow lyrical foundation. Every time I listen to this disc, what I at that time consider my favorite track on the disc changes. How many discs do you own like that? I know I don't have many, if any. What's most amazing is that Morse writes in the liner notes that he hopes to pay tribute to other artists in the same fashion in the near future. Can't wait for more of this stuff.

Having been a Steve Morse fan for years, I can't say that his latest effort surprises me at all; everything this genius records is a masterpiece and Morse solidifies his reputation as a truly great guitarist on this disc. If you're familiar with his music at all, you'll instantly recognize his signature chops within the framework of the styles of the guitarists whom he has intentionally emulated on "Major Impacts." My personal favorite is "Truthola," which is a tribute to Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson and Alex Lifeson, although it leans heavily towards Johnson's style most. For anyone who happens across this review, I'd like to alert them to the total Steve Morse experience. Buy his stuff with the Dixie Dregs, buy his stuff with The Steve Morse Band, buy his stuff as a member of Deep Purple. Trust me, you won't be disappointed. Those who appreciate masterful guitar playing and equally masterful musical composition, will love all of Morse's music. The music-listening world needs to wake up and take notice of the unsurpassed genius of Steve Morse.

If you don't play or worship the guitar, don't consider buying this album. Simple as that. Then again, if you do one of those things, you are in for a treat.

Steve Morse (of Dixie Dregs, Kansas and Deep Purple fame) serves a cocktail of instrumental rock music in the compositional and guitar styles of his own idols: Derailleur Gears (Cream, Eric Clapton), Well, I have (Jimi Hendrix), TruthOla (Jeff Beck, but also Eric Johnson and even Alex Lifeson (Rush)), Migration (Roger McGuinn, Byrds), Led On (Led Zeppelin, Jimmy Page), The White Light (John McLaughlin), How does it feel? (Keith Richards, Rolling Stones), Bring it to me (Mountain, Leslie West), Something Gently Weeps (Beatles, George Harrison), Free In The Park (Allman Brothers Band, Duane Allman, Dickey Betts, BB King), Prognosis (Kansas, Kerry Livgren, Yes, Steve Howe).

I bought it, not as a fan of Morse particularly, but because of the guitarists he honours, and wasn't disappointed. A beautiful homage indeed.

The thing I like most about "Major Impacts" is that the songs stand up even if you don't know Morse is aping the sytles of other guitarists. Everyone knows Morse is a great technician when it comes to playing, but his compositional skill on these tracks is impressive, even when--as in the case of "Derailleur" and "Truth Ola"--I have trouble connecting the sound to Creem and Jeff Beck, respectively. It doesn't matter.

My favorite cuts are probably the last two on the CD, "Free in the Park" and "Prognosis". The first lays down a nice bluesy Allman Brothers groove, and the second is an intricate Prog Rock sendup of (mostly) Yes and (a little) Kansas. Listen carefully, BeBop Deluxe fans, and you might hear one or two Bill Nelsonesque glissandos. Great stuff.

In fact, I wish Morse would have been a little more progressive on this album, he has progressive roots, and Magna Carta is a progressive label. For example, I'd like to see him play in the vein of Steve Hackett when he was with Genesis and wouldn't mind hearing him try something even less commerical, like Alan Holdsworth.

However, the biggest disappointment for me, and to keep it in perspective, it's only one out of eleven tracks, is the Byrds' influenced cut, "Migration". Morse has the jingle jangle rhythmic sound down, but I would have liked it more if he would have played lead in the style of Roger McGuinn when McGuinn was at his peak as a player. The lead in "Eight Miles High" is a good example, but there are plenty of others spread out all over the "Fifth Dimension" and "Younger than Yesterday" albums.

Oh, well, you can't have everything. Fans of good guitar playing and solid instrumental composition will like this one.

Yet again, Steve Morse serves up a batch of sunny, hard rocking guitar tunes perfect for a cruise with the windows down. Yet again he's found a midway point between axe-fests for guitarists to drool over and brilliant songwriting for anyone to enjoy. Heck, if you look at my review for Stressfest you'll see I'm repeating myself trying to describe it. But if Steve's been showing some similarities among his solo albums, it's only because he's been doing things right all along.

The gimmick this time, as you undoubtedly read on this page before now, is that Steve gives each of his compositions here a different 'flavor' based on a guitarist that's influenced him. Not covers, not blatant rip-offs, but a blend of their style and his own that, in almost all cases, works wonderfully. I've even thought some of them would work as duets - some acoustic picking from John McLaughlin would be icing on the cake of "The White Light," while the only thing missing from "Truth-Ola" is Eric Johnson's sweet guitar tone that Steve doesn't (and shouldn't) exactly match. That song, by the way, to me is also the only one that doesn't quite fit the style of (one of) its influences; in this case, Jeff Beck. The Allman Brothers homage "Free in the Park" partly hits its target, but at first I guessed it was also a nod to David Gilmour's early work in Pink Floyd.

While other guitarists will find plenty of ripping note frenzies to appreciate (Check "Led On" for starters), don't be scared off by Major Impacts being a guitar-based album. It loses half a star from me - or would, if half-star ratings were allowed - just because of "Something Gently Weeps," and I can't give it quite the opinion of perfection I have for Structural Damage and High Tension Wires. However, it's a petty squabble comparing any of Steve's albums since I've never heard the man do anything less than brilliant. You can't really go wrong with any of them.

What a brilliant tribute Steve Morse pays to some of rock's legendary guitar players! The styles of such diverse guitarists as Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Steve Howe, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Leslie West, George Harrison, and Kerry Livgren (to name a few) are captured magnificently and transferred to original compositions that are eerily reminiscent of some of the more famous efforts of the original guitarists. Morse can be either brilliantly understated (as when capturing Roger McGuinn of the Byrds), or blazingly over the top (for the likes of Hendrix and West). This disc is also beautifully packaged and a terrific introduction to the talents of Steve Morse for the unfamiliar listener. Rush to purchase this CD - Steve Morse is an absolute genius.

Great,great album. For those who likes guitar, there is the funny game of trying to discover which guitar hero style is Steve Morse playing on each song, but also as always these are great original compositions from one of the best composers which casually plays guitar.
For those who just simply likes good music, this is probably the most easyly accesible album from Steve, but as I said, great guitars and compositions as always.
Great job also from Dave Larue, one bassist which should be more recognised.

Steve Morse does a fantastic job of emulating the various styles of his favorite guitarists while still maintaining enough originality to make it his own. The variety makes is very fun to listen to.

I think I own just about every recording the Dregs and the Steve Morse Band have ever made, even the one I don't much care for ("Southern Steel" being the rare disappointment). So when I heard about this project I knew I'd buy the recording but had doubts about the concept.

Silly me. It's wonderful. And unforgettable. I have to ration my listening to once a week otherwise I'd be humming these tracks all day long.

A brilliant effort and let's hope Magna Carta goes for "Major Impacts II".

I'm not sure if I'm qualified to review such an epic guitar work as this due to my lack of technical skills in the area of string wizardry. But I will say that these original pieces nail down perfectly the feel and sound of the artists that inspired them. "Well, I Have" is a classic sounding Hendrix tune with all the trademark suspended scalar runs and wah-wah touches you know and love about the man. "Bring It To Me" has a thick and raunchy sound that would make Leslie West of Mountain proud. Prognosis features an incredible overlay of picking and strumming melodies in irregular time signatures that are reminisent of Kansas and Yes. But these tracks are just extremely well-written tunes that stand alone regardless of whether or not you are familiar with the artists that inspired them. I prefer Major Impacts I to Major Impacts II simply because it is a heavier sounding rock n' roll album. But Major Impacts II features great Aerosmith and Ted Nugent tributes as well.