This month Martin Cooper checks out the incredible riffs and soloing of Deep Purple’s, until recently, most longstanding guitarist.
Deep Purple maybe forever associated with their original rock star guitar player Ritchie Blackmore, who played with the band from the late 1960s on and off until 1992, but it is an American guitar hero Steve Morse who held down the fort with Deep Purple from 1995 until last year.
The Steve Morse years led to a rejuvenation in both Deep Purple’s sound and enjoyment of their craft, with the band featuring Ian Gillan on vocals, Roger Glover on bass, drummer Iain Paice and keyboard player Don Airey who replaced the sadly deceased Purple c0-founder, Jon Lord.
Steve Morse recorded six albums with Deep Purple, culminating in the 2022 covers project Turning To Crime, until he unfortunately had to leave the band permanently to take care of his wife who has been suffering with ill health for several years. Steve has since been replaced in Deep Purple by Irishman Simon McBride.
Morse’s playing style is a wonder to behold and his ferocious alternate picking of chromatic lines and authentic country playing set him apart from many of his rock star contemporaries. Many other guitar heroes cite Steve as an influence and this can be heard in John Petrucci’s playing, who has always been a huge Morse fan.
As well as his rock playing, Steve is an excellent classical guitarist, and has recorded a number of acoustic pieces on his solo albums over the years. Previous to Deep Purple, Morse was the founding member of the Dixie Dregs (later, The Dregs), the leader of the Steve Morse band and has recorded several albums with Neal Morse and Mike Portnoy in the Flying Colours.
