Blog By James

My big brother Tom has a lot to do with much of the music I listen to today. There are a few albums that he loaned me in my early teens that set me on exciting musical paths. The top two are most definitely Frank Zappa’s “Zappa In New York” and 1984′s “The Introduction” by The Steve Morse Band.

As soon as I heard the first track, “Cruise Missile” with Rod Morgenstein’s unmistakable double bass shuffle, it was all over. I remember thinking “Now THIS is what I want to be playing. This is unbelievable!”. Since hearing Rod’s drumming for the first time here, I’ve followed his career and enjoyed everything he’s done to date very much, including The Jelly Jam, Winger and of course most of the Dixie Dregs‘ back catalog.

At the time I remember being into saxophone players quite a bit and it wasn’t until this record that I really got into guitar. Steve Morse is someone whose guitar playing is difficult to describe and simply must be heard to understand. His tone, precision and musicality is second to none. “The Introduction” is one of the few records from my youth that I can still listen to today, at 38 years old, and still have that same feeling of excitement and inspiration I originally had.

25 years later, The Steve Morse band release “Out Standing In Their Field” and I absolutely love it. On drums this time is Van Romaine and the fantastic Dave LaRue on bass. There aren’t many bass players that can keep up with Morse and Dave does it confidently. Steve has released many solo efforts throughout the years, all of which are strong in my opinion. But this is the first album since the debut that I’ve been equally as excited about.