Steve
Morse
What is so special about him?
A perfectionist, uncomfortable with live albums unless the emphasis is clear that this was just what happened on one night and should not be taken as defining the band.
I've always liked the guitar but when I heard Steve play I realised I had been missing something vital until then. Shivers up the spine, the sudden lurch of the heart at certain passages, the hairs tingling on the arm, all that.
And that was what I experienced the first time I heard Child in Time off Made in Japan all those years ago. So add Steve to Deep Purple and I cannot begin to describe the effect their music has on me.
He never stops working which is why he gets better. A taxing life style but that is probably why he is such a brilliant guitarist. If you are going to be the best, first you have to have a talent, that indefinable something that sets you apart. But also you have to put in the hard work. Jimi Hendrix knew that and his guitar hardly left his fingers. Steve has a similar reputation. However you look at it, Steve is unusual for a guitar hero. He may have the long hair, apparently only cut when he was a commercial pilot. He plays loud rock guitar with all the riffs you want, wears sleeveless t shirts which show off well-defined muscles. The similarities to other lead guitar players end there. His colourful t shirts sport wolves and Native American art; he is modest, unassuming, quietly spoken, and even worse he smiles and is happy on stage. He is generous to the other band members on the stage; he does not seek to dominate it, though very often the spotlight falls on him.
And he must be the only professional guitar player in history to carry on with his wrist in a cast after breaking it skateboarding with his son.
Someone once said to me that if guitar players were emotions, Pete Townshend would be anger, Hendrix sensuality and Steve would be joy.
Steve said about his music, 'You just do what pleases you. I truly believe that if you're pleased, you have some energy to give back to the audience, so they can have fun too.'
That is certainly the feeling I get from listening to his music; that is the kind of energy he gives out. Get yourself some.
