Alternative to ‘alternative’
The Steve Morse Band delivers powerful punch, emotion that guitarist Joe Satriani can’t
i nere s probably a French word
for the feeling I have right now, but
certainly not an English one.
Remember about five years ago
when you and your friends were
the only ones who listened to “al
ternative" music, and you felt a
strange mixture of compassion and
contempt for the u n washed hordes
that only listened to corpora te rock?
Owners of Beta video equip
ment experienced this feeling as
they watched the inferior VHS for
mat become the de facto standard.
I’m feeling it right now because Joe
Satrianijsgetting airplay while Steve
Morse is not even easy to buy in
your local record store.
Courtesy of Relativity Records, Inc.
You ve probably ai least heard
of Joe Satriani. Chances are good
that you’ve heard "Summer Song,”
a track from his album, “The Ex
tremist,” which was released this
summer.
Chances are not so good that
you’ve heard of Steve Morse. If you
have, then chances are good that
you play theguitar. “Coast To Coast”
is his new musical offering, also
released this summer, and I’m here
to tell you how wonderful it is.
Hut first, Ed like to dispense
unpleasant childish disputes about
which guitarist has better chops.
. Theyarebothelectric-guitarvirtuo
" sos. To be honest, they’re both in
the same league, though Satriani is
the relatively new kid on the block.
Both were named Best Overall
Guitarist in Guitar Player reader’s
polls. Morse however, took the title
for five consecutive years after build
ing a solid reputation as the guitar
ist in the late ’70s/early ’80s jazz
fusion band, The Dixie Dregs. He
was then made ineligible, clearing
the way for Steve Vai andjoe Satriani
in later years.
But what about their music? Both
albums are entirely ihstrumental
rock ‘n’ roll. Both albums have a
few fast, aggressive tracks. Both
have a few slow, lyrical songs. Both
albums have one classical-guitar
piece, and one Celtic-influenced
piece. Both albums impress me.
But only “Coast To Coast” by
The Steve Morse Band moves me.
If my voice had the range of an
electric guitar, I would sing every
note of "Coast To Coast.” I try to
sing along, even without adequate,
vocal range, a fact to which my
roommates will openly attest.
“The Extremist” doesn’t make
mesingatall, and maybe this is the
key difference between the two.
You know how easy-listening in
strumental covers of familiar rock
‘n’ roll songs leave you feeling
empty? The melody without the
words isn’t interesting enough to
hold your attention.
Thai’s the way Satriani sounds.
With a couple of exceptions, his
songs sound like they should have
lyrics. “Summer Song” might have
had the lyrics “Thesong I’m playing
is called Summer Song,” and it
would have fit. Any 10-syllable
phrase would work, and it would
make the song bearable: “If this
song bores you, you can sing along. ”
The whole album is like that.
What makes it worse is that
Satriani spends a lot of time in
magazine interviews trying to con
vince the reader why a song of his
should conjure images implied by
it’s title. He likes to tell you why
“Friends” should make you think of
friendship, why “War” shouldevoke
thoughts of war, and why the song
“Why” shouldsound like it’s asking
a question.
Here’s my question: Who cares?
I don’t care if he was weeping
when he wrote "Cryin’.” I sure don’t
feel it.
Morse, on the other hand, deliv
ers passion without wearing it on
his sleeve. “Morning Rush Hour” is
filled with hurried desperation. The
Celtic-sounding “Get It In Writing”
sounds as if Morse is both asking
□
Courtesy of MCA Records, Inc.
and answering a question, and “Run
away Train” actually sounds like an
out-of-control Zephyr.
In short, Morse is a master of
melody, composition and rhythmic
surprise. He is also a master of
I— —
technique.
Satriani is only a master of tech
nique.
—Pohl Longs ine is a senior mathematics
and computer science major and Diver
sions contributor.
€fh '
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