Question Where a new new Steve Morse fan should start

[Greg Suarez]

I love prog rock and metal, and Steve Morse is an artist I would love to explore and get to know his music. Where should I start? Does he have greatest hits albums, or are there a couple of his albums that are considered much better than others?

BTW, sorry if this is inappropriate for this forum. I have searched Google for Steve Morse message boards, but his official and unofficial sites do not have message boards. I do own a MM JP6 if that helps ease my punishment...

 

[ksandvik]

Hard to recommend any album as all his albums are great! And when you finished listening to those you have all the Dixie Dregs albums.

 

[Greg Suarez]

Hard to recommend any album as all his albums are great! And when you finished listening to those you have all the Dixie Dregs albums.

Umm... thank you?

That doesn't really help. Are any of his albums more representative of his best work?

 

[xjbebop]

any Dixie Dregs album -is- his best work...


of course, his solo work that follows is pretty dang close...

 

[savannah_sean]

it kind of depends...his discography is lengthy and with a career as long as his, you'd expect some stylistic changes over time, so your query is well founded, and not necessarily easy to answer, because it sort of depends on what youre looking for.

since you mentioned that you're coming from more of a metal/prog background, i would recommend starting with southern steel, coast to coast, or stressfest. to my ears, those are the albums with a higher proportion of high-gain, lots of alternate picking (ok, all his albums have that) uptempo badassery.

the early dixie dregs albums are also awesome, but they have more of a fusion feel and the production might be off- putting (at first) to someone who is used to dream theater and more modern sounding stuff. that doesnt mean they arent awesome albums though. "unsung heroes" is one of my all time favorite albums. however, for an intro to the dregs, i'd start with "bring em back alive" (the extended version of 'cruise control' on this record is absolutely mind blowing) or "full circle" which was recorded around 92 or 93 and has a more modern sound, and the tunes are incredible.

also, many (if not most, or maybe all) hardcore morse fans agree that "high tension wires" is steve's most important and best work. this is the album that has "tumeni notes" and "highland wedding" on it; look them up on youtube; there is footage of him and dave larue playing along with a drum machine, i think it was "live at the bottom line" from a show in NYC in the early 90s.

 

[Greg Suarez]

it kind of depends...his discography is lengthy and with a career as long as his, you'd expect some stylistic changes over time, so your query is well founded, and not necessarily easy to answer, because it sort of depends on what youre looking for.

since you mentioned that you're coming from more of a metal/prog background, i would recommend starting with southern steel, coast to coast, or stressfest. to my ears, those are the albums with a higher proportion of high-gain, lots of alternate picking (ok, all his albums have that) uptempo badassery.

the early dixie dregs albums are also awesome, but they have more of a fusion feel and the production might be off- putting (at first) to someone who is used to dream theater and more modern sounding stuff. that doesnt mean they arent awesome albums though. "unsung heroes" is one of my all time favorite albums. however, for an intro to the dregs, i'd start with "bring em back alive" (the extended version of 'cruise control' on this record is absolutely mind blowing) or "full circle" which was recorded around 92 or 93 and has a more modern sound, and the tunes are incredible.

also, many (if not most, or maybe all) hardcore morse fans agree that "high tension wires" is steve's most important and best work. this is the album that has "tumeni notes" and "highland wedding" on it; look them up on youtube; there is footage of him and dave larue playing along with a drum machine, i think it was "live at the bottom line" from a show in NYC in the early 90s.

Thanks. I'll start with High Tension Wires and go from there.

 

[beej]

For what it's worth, my first SM album was Southern Steel. That and Coast to Coast are still my faves.

 

[Greg Suarez]

I listened to samples of the songs on High Tension Wires on Amazon and really liked what I heard (if only 30 seconds at a time), but unfortunately the CD is no longer in production. I did find a remastered version released a couple of years ago on eBay (supposedly only 2000 of this version were pressed), and I might get that. I don't like buying music digitally. I prefer having an uncompressed master copy, plus I like to read the liner notes.

I will probably start with his solo stuff and then branch out into his Dixie Dregs releases if I'm intrigued.

 

[ksandvik]

You could sometimes get used CDs via Amazon of such albums, sometimes cheap, sometimes, especially if imports, very expensive.

I kind of gave up on the fidelity side as it's convenient to just purchase online music and in most cases I don't listen to it with a high-end system, anyway (unless I use my Event 20/30 studio reference monitors, most MP3s sound bad then.)

 

[Razzle]

I can't believe someone didn't mention "Flying Colors". They only have 1 recording, but have a DVD, and it's chock full of great songwriting and playing by Steve.

Regarding his solo work, I have all 9 of his solo recordings (are there more?) and love every one of them, and they each get better every time I listen to them!

 

[Greg Suarez]

Geez, doesn't this guy have a greatest hits album or compendium or something?

Can anyone tell me what these are; are they some form of greatest hits?

Amazon.com: Prime Cuts: Music

Amazon.com: Prime Cuts 2: Music

 

[roburado]

"Out Standing in Their Field" is a great one if you're into prog/metal.

 

[tommyindelaware]

there isn't a bad place to start !!!!!!

 

[bazxkr]

there isn't a bad place to start !!!!!!

Well that is 'telling it straight from the horses mouth' so to speak... Tommy must have watched Steve play as much as anyone...even Dave La Rue, so Tommy...own up...what/which is yr fave SM solo album ?

TBH altho Purple was a fantastic move for him & raised his profile hugely around the world I do think it has held him back on perhaps where his solo development could have gone...but who knows. What a monster player.
Flying Colors in London late 2012 was one of the best gigs I seen for years.
Cheers Baz

 

[Bravo Victor]

Although somewhat overlooked in the grand scheme of Steve's great body of work, do not miss Major Impacts 1 & 2. Steve writes and plays songs in the style of artists who were influences to his career. These are not covers, but more "in the spirit of" and are truly masterful. But you can't go wrong with anything Steve touches, and I'll second the Flying Colors recommendation. All of the early Dregs stuff is great but the latest DP album also has some great stuff.

Bravo Victor

 

[jbailes]

For what it's worth, my first SM album was Southern Steel. That and Coast to Coast are still my faves.

I agree with beej. While they may not be "definitive" Morse cds, they're full of just plain good, enjoyable music.