Steve Morse Band
Southern Steel

I was familiar with Steve Morse for the meticulous artistry expressed alongside the equally excellent Michael Manring. So, I approached "Southern Steel" with a positive mindset and high expectations. Although the musical environment of this album is very different from the fantastic delirious and alienated approach of certain Manring, I was not disappointed: Morse proves to fully deserve the fame and respect he enjoys among industry insiders, nor is the rest of the band any less.

The strength of the eclectic guitarist is essentially a 360-degree technique, with his instrument in particular and with music in general. In "Southern Steel," not a single note appears "by chance" and the parts of the instrumentalists intersect with vigorous grace and commendable mutual integration. The harmonic contact between the parts is impeccable, uncontrolled dissonances never appear. The concept underlying much rock praised well beyond its real artistic merit ("here's a harmonic progression, let's improvise!") is absent here, the whole is evidently studied in minute detail, nor is there room for the approximation typical of that music where improvisation and spur-of-the-moment creativity prevail. Let's be clear, there are brief moments of greater "freedom" here and there, but their role in the context of the composition is clearly and deliberately defined, carefully rationed onto a carefully planned and solidly cerebral structure.

The described approach allows the group to showcase rhythmic and harmonic inlays that flow with an all-proof naturalness, almost without letting the listener perceive the implicit work in virtuosity present from the act of composition but never vainly flaunted. The effect is at times kaleidoscopic, with intriguing asymmetries that distort some of the common 4/4 on which practically the entire album is based. This gives rise to oddities that, far from confusing the listener, involve them in a game of "interpretation" of which they cannot help but become an indispensable active part. Significant in this sense are "Simple Simon" and "Sleaze Factor".

Another strength of "Southern Steel" is the attention to timbral quality, both from the point of view of touch and from the mix stage. The instruments, always few and clearly distinct, generally retain their individuality while contributing to a clear, compact, and coherent sound ensemble where not a single note is lost.

If a flaw is to be found, it is the perhaps excessive concession to some stylistic features typical of the time of creation, but it is a very slight defect: just as we cannot reproach Mozart for not rewarding us with the sounds of Machault or Prokofiev, it would be equally absurd to reproach Steve Morse for denying us the sounds of Delirium or Opeth. This too is part of art which, for better or worse, is always the result of a place and an era.

As in every album "worthy of respect," there are some barren tracks that Morse & Co. could have omitted without too much hesitation. But this, since music as well as art is also a commodity (which is to say, always) is part of the game.