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1992 MCA Records |
1. User Friendly |
| Reviews Review by Eric Vandenberg: "Coast To Coast", which was recorded in two different locations in CA and FL ( hence the title ) starts in the typical energetic and uplifting Morse- manner with "User Friendly" and it's fast arpeggio- intro and wonderful melodies. Steve then gets tricky in "Collateral Damage" and demonstrates some nice tapping-tricks. The very lyrical "Get It In Writing" shows the calmer side of the SMB again. Then another song directly out of the "Head-movie"- category: "Morning Rush Hour". It starts with radiovoices, and goes into a fast riff with under- lying harmonics. The main-melody IMHO perfectly brings over the feeling and tension of a "morning rush hour". Another arpeggio workshop here, by the way... Waiting for the country-song of this record ? Well, here it comes..." Run- away Train". Fast, clean picking and an almost funny melody show Steve's Albert Lee- influence. Back to the quieter side of music with "Long Lost". Slow, wonderful melo- dies and Steve's trademark guitar-synth backups.... A word about the "rhythm section" ( and everyone who knows some music by the SMB knows, that this term only applies temporarily...): LaRue and Romaine show great interaction and very band-oriented playing, and support Steve's compositions perfectly. Next one is "The Oz". Another very uplifting track with several layers. This song and especially the lead-work of the song ignited quite a few discussions on our mailinglist. I agree that Steve sounds quite unusual towards the end of the solo, but the solo itself is very impressive and still absolutely "Smiley" =) Track 8..."Overeasy". A picking-workout, with some great basswork by LaRue. Again we see how accurate Steve's technique is, since his sound is clean during most of the song, and still he's not missing a note and gives perfect examples for the use of dynamics. "Cabin fever" is an interactive work-out between Steve and LaRue. A great showcase of the abilities and "fun- attitude" of this great band. The synth-sounds set a few great accents here ! And of course, we got an "electric chamber music"-composition on this one, too: "Flat Baroque". This one displays once more Steve's love for classical music and his very sophisticated technique in that area. Not to mention the composition itself.... This CD is another great document of one of the best ( maybe the best ) trios in instrumental rock. A lot of interaction, awesome technical show- cases and some of the best Steve Morse-compositions... Check it out ! |