Member:
Sean
(Profile)
(All Album Reviews by Sean)
Date:
8/19/2003
Format:
CD (Album)
This was the first album I ever purchased by guitar whiz Steve Morse and remains a fave to this day. In the 70s he was the creative force behind one of the USA's top fusion outfits, the Dixie Dregs. In the 80s he created a trio, the Steve Morse Band and released a couple great albums; the all instrumental The Introduction and the lesser known, half vocal Stand Up. At the dawn of the 90s Morse released what he called his first true 'solo' album, High Tension Wires.
Now him calling it that is a bit odd at that stage in his career, anyone that knows his music can tell that he wrote 95% - 100% of all the Dixie Dregs and Steve Morse Band's music. How different could a solo album sound at this point when we have been hearing his musical vision all along???
The answer is not radically, if anything just a bit more mature and laid back, save for a track or two. This probably is not the album to enter his catalog with. It lacks a lot of the over the top shred factor that is the cornerstone of most of Morse's catalog, though a couple tracks are as fierce as anything he ever recorded. "Tumeni Notes" and "Highland Wedding" are two standout cuts that deliver on the shreddy promise Morse put forth in the Dregs. "Tumeni" is his answer to the neo-classical shred craze spawned by Yngwie Malmsteen. This is one demading piece of music to play, but a lot of fun to hear. "Highland" is has a great, ripping solo, one that emulates the phrasing of a bagpiper to a tee; and some really melodic, lush orchestrations via overdubbing.
Those two tracks alone though didn't really make me love this album at first. This was one I had to come back to after I got to know the Dregs and SMB albums. After that I could appreciate that Steve was indeed making an album that was a bit of a departure for him, it was a step forward in is growth as a composer and arranger.
Fans of the Dregs will find some tracks here that will sound familiar. "Leprechaun Promenade" in particular will as it is a remake of a tune that appeared on the Dixie Dregs album Night of the Living Dregs- featuring a full reunion of the original Dixie Dregs including Andy West on bass, and violinist Allen Sloan. This version is longer with more parts than the original. It is a cool reworking of a tune that I always thought was too short anyway. Dregs Rod Morgenstein on drums and T Lavitz on keys appear on most all tracks here. Bassist Jerry Peek appears on all cuts except "Leprechaun". A great, underrated bassist if ever I saw/met one.
This cd is a must if you are a Morse fan. It is probably his most personal work. High Tension Wires offers more diversity than just about any Morse recording outside the Dregs, with the exception of the Steve Morse Band's excellent Structural Damage. Neo classical shred, fusion, celtic tinged rockers, majestic acoustic works and more await. This is more than a typical guitar slinger album, it is quite a bit deeper compositionally and more varied, then again, Morse is no typical guitar slinger!
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