Vindicatio Morse

Deep Purple and family
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Don’t worry the rest of this is not in Latin.

After witnessing Ritchie Blackmore play together with Mark McBride, I - as probably many of you - thought that Steve Morse should be afforded at least the same treatment. After all, Steve saved the band, gave them a new lease of life as a creative unit, and ran with it for almost 28 years - and even if nothing else, that’s several years longer than Ritchie.

Many of you can describe it better, but to me, what Steve brought to the band was an unprecedented level of joy and fun. With Blackmore on guitar, Purple were loud, dangerous, powerful, unpredictable, violent, precise, fast, majestic and pretty much any and all other adjectives you can pick, but they were very rarely fun. I did not catch the band in the last Morse years, so I can’t really say if this lasted until the very end, but at least on the Infinite tour, late 2017, the feeling was definitely still there.

As far as a reunion with Steve Morse goes, it should be equally fun again. Otherwise I am not interested. (Well, no, who am I kidding - I would go in a heartbeat just for the songs…)

Now Simon is an accomplished guitar player, and probably right for the Purple guys, since they want to play shows and make new music with him. But he’s not half the fun Steve was on stage, or even on record. Instead of instantly recognisable Morse licks we get someone who has studied the hard rock guitar, and while he has definitely done his homework, it’s just that: he is an A student, or graduate if you will. And if that is what keeps the group going, I’m all for it. But now it is not five guys having so much fun on stage that I’m all smiles even if they did just 1,5 hours of The Well Dressed Guitar and closed with Lazy.

I don’t know if I can explain this any better, but somebody tell me you understand what I am talking about? :slight_smile:

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I think I would use a different word, Zeno. It’s not as open, free, exploratory and adventurous as it was with Steve, adventure being the key word here. Simon is not an adventurous guitarist - he’s got drive, fire and guts, but he doesn’t stray too far from the beaten path like Steve did. I think this led to the sense of fun you describe, and I agree it si missing, although I will say I think the guys are having fun on stage with Simon.

I suspect though part of the problem is the new management - the boys are being pushed to write shorter, radio friendly songs by their management, producer and label. They are being forced to be very concise with their show time. This does not lead to any adventures of the musical sort, and the sort of fun the boys love to have. With Steve, they gave themselves permission to stretch out again like they had in the 70s with Jon and Ritchie.

I half wonder if part of the reason things fell apart with Steve is the pressures being put on them from management to be more commercial, which is not really Steve’s thing. They are riding high at the moment, but I wonder, at what cost? It seems they are having as much fun as they can in the limitations that have been imposed on them from outside - I wonder how long it will last. They may be older, but I suspect they won’t take it lying down forever. Time will tell!

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We can also say that just as Steve gave so much to the band, the band made him famous worldwide. Before that probably he was a niche artist.

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Yes, I think adventurous is a very good word! It is going on adventure, yet in a very familiar setting. (Meaning: it’s not like they were one minute Sun Ra Arkestra and Einstürdenze Neubauten the next.) I am willing to believe that the management, producer etc. is to bear some of the blame, but there must also be at least a quiet acquiscence to all of this within the band. If they are being pushed and shoved around to make radio music against their own will, by now there should be enough life experience and financial opportunity to, you know, just change the people who will let them have the adventurous kind of fun again. So with that in mind, I think they, or most of them, are perfectly happy with the way things are going, and, being Deep Purple, that is singularly theirs to evaluate and decide.

Curiously, I realize I am not that much of a fan of Steve Morse in other projects, but a fan of Steve Morse in Deep Purple. So in that sense their split is a loss-loss situation for me, and might be the reason I am so animate about this subject.

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I actually understand what you mean by “fun” and “adventurous”, and I think this is a pretty interesting way of looking at the different guitarists Purple have had.

As a big Blackmore fan, I would probably describe the difference a little bit different. What Ritchie brought to Purple was always this element of unpredictability. You never quite knew where he was going to take a solo, a rhythm part or sometimes even a whole section of a song. Sometimes it was brilliant, sometimes totally crazy, but that feeling of danger was a big part of the appeal for me.

Steve was adventurous in a different way. He could take the band into unexpected harmonic or rhythmic territory, but still make it feel playful and joyful. I think thats maybe what you mean by “fun”. It wasn’t just that Steve was technically fantastic, he seemed to really enjoy exploring while the band was playing.

That’s also why I wouldn’t really call Simon inferior to Steve. He is just a different kind of player. From what I’ve seen, Simon seems much more focused on serving the songs and the overall structure. He has plenty of fire and energy, but he doesn’t seem to have the same urge to wander off into completely unexpected territory like Steve did.

And maybe that is exactly what Purple need now. They are not a young band anymore trying to find out where the music can go. They are an institution with a huge catalogue, and Simon seems very conscious of that.

As a Blackmore fan, I find it quite fascinating how much the guitarist can change the personality of the whole band. With Ritchie, Purple could feel dangerous and unpredictable. With Steve, they could feel adventurous and playful. With Simon, they seem more focused and disciplined.

None of that is necessarily better or worse. It just creates different versions of Deep Purple.

And for me that’s one of the interesting things about Purple after all these years. Change the guitarist and suddenly the whole chemistry of the band changes with him.

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I would use the adjective “adventurous” more with Purple with Ritchie who were also unpredictable and dangerous.

With Steve I would say creative, modern and stimulating.

com Simon renewed, solid and stable.

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Mike said that succinctly. Nothing suggests that Simon ever wanted to reinvent guitar playing, but he‘s versatile - just like his idol Steve Lukather - and has a good ear.

Steve (Morse) was the most sophisticated guitarist DP ever had, even more so than Satriani who as his work with Sammy Hagar shows can rock out with the best of them. That sophistication of Steve came with such athletic ability and effortless ease that it was smoothly-fun to listen to like watching a good basketballer do a slam-dunk. It wasn‘t THAT improvisational, Steve likes to be in perfect control of his playing.

Ritchie otoh was never as precise as his image, he was a maverick and daredevil on guitar. And always out to impress …

https://youtube.com/shorts/CutPeqtszK8?si=FEmUv2lh8NwQE21k

Yet for all his daring exploits, Ritchie liked to be in control of his playing too.

I actually think that Tommy Bolin was the most free and laissez-faire guitarist of Purple. With sometimes disastrous results, but free and musically naturally gifted nonetheless. I liked that about him. He wasn’t daring to impress like Ritchie, but because he was a carefree and naturally curious spirit.

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DP are fortunate to have had only stellar guitarists.

Could be said about the keyboardists as well (only two though).

Does this make IP the MVP in the band? (I cannot see anyone filling his shoes…)

I love SM’s contributions in DP!

RB is of course a legend, and as a founding member, and with all his tasteful riffs, licks and solos, there is no question (imo) that he is number one. Nonetheless,

TB is also a favorite - I love his work on You keep on moving, and CTTB i stellar overall.

To my ears, what Simon lacks, in spite of all his talents and skills, is that personal tone / sound. However, Splat! is a great album, and Simon’s playing is great!

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you don’t take into account that Simon is a young guitarist, from the penultimate generation, to my ears he has a surprisingly “old” sound for someone so young.

it’s also probably that he had to “age” his sound to adapt it to Deep Purple’s music.

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The thing is, if you transported Simon in a time machine to LA 1975 and dumped him into Pirate Sound to audition with a Ritchie-devoid Mk III, ROLLING STONE magazine would a few weeks later comment: “The new Deep Purple guitarist is surprisingly mature in age and wears his receding hair short, but the band have pulled the hat trick of getting someone technically even more accomplished than their former mercurial bad boy Ritchie B.”

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I can only disagree with you Uwe,
for the simple fact that Simon in 1975 would have a different technique and sound than he does now,
perhaps more similar to Ritchie or Jeff Back or Eddie
or more likely the Irish Gary Moore or Scott Gorham.

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Not with a time machine he wouldn’t, duh! Arguing that Ritchie 1975 was an all round more proficient guitarist than Simon is today is like saying a P-51 Mustang

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is the superior aircraft to an F-16 Fighting Falcon

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or that a 60s National Football Team could hold a candle to it athletic counterpart today. It just doesn’t withstand closer scrutiny.

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In that time-travel scenario, Simon would have been more of a Clem Clempson figure perhaps. Excellent guitarist but lacking the “star quality” the band needed to “project” in the American market…

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I saw Clempson with Colosseum just a few weeks ago and yes this man knows how to cut loose a 70ies rock guitar, his sound is really quite similiar to McBrides stage sound

Simon would have fitted in well in Bands like the legendary Humble Pie

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Exactly.

And of course it all ties in cosmically, as Colosseum II then had Simon’s biggest influence - Gary - on guitar plus Don on keys!!!

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I’ve been thinking about that a lot, what if they had hired Clempson in 1975? Granted, not as handsome or flamboyant as Tommy, but reliability and longevity? He didn’t have much songwriting credentials from his stint with Humble Pie, but if his writing contributions with the criminally underrated Rough Diamond are anything to go by, he would have done alright.

https://youtu.be/Dg9hvA_H2bk

Tommy was gifted, but he was also high risk and high maintenance.

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I see little point in comparing guitarists with fighter jets. Technical skills will only get you so far. Legacy is what’s of importance.

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