Major Impacts

Silly me. It's wonderful. And unforgettable. I have to ration my listening to once a week otherwise I'd be humming these tracks all day long.

A brilliant effort and let's hope Magna Carta goes for "Major Impacts II".

My favorite cuts are probably the last two on the CD, "Free in the Park" and "Prognosis". The first lays down a nice bluesy Allman Brothers groove, and the second is an intricate Prog Rock sendup of (mostly) Yes and (a little) Kansas. Listen carefully, BeBop Deluxe fans, and you might hear one or two Bill Nelsonesque glissandos. Great stuff.

In fact, I wish Morse would have been a little more progressive on this album, he has progressive roots, and Magna Carta is a progressive label. For example, I'd like to see him play in the vein of Steve Hackett when he was with Genesis and wouldn't mind hearing him try something even less commerical, like Alan Holdsworth.

However, the biggest disappointment for me, and to keep it in perspective, it's only one out of eleven tracks, is the Byrds' influenced cut, "Migration". Morse has the jingle jangle rhythmic sound down, but I would have liked it more if he would have played lead in the style of Roger McGuinn when McGuinn was at his peak as a player. The lead in "Eight Miles High" is a good example, but there are plenty of others spread out all over the "Fifth Dimension" and "Younger than Yesterday" albums.

Oh, well, you can't have everything. Fans of good guitar playing and solid instrumental composition will like this one.