Morse,Steve Sects,Dregs..

The coments about the need for high quality equipment is, I am afraid, total rubbish ... the sound on this DVD IS very poor.

I would LOVE to blame my equipment, my copy of the DVD ... anything but have to try to explain why Steve Morse, or those about him, put out such a poor product.

As others have said, the "semi unplugged" section is 'night and day' compared to the Dregs. For the first two numbers of that concert, I can hardly hear Steve at all, and for the rest of the concert, Jerry scratching away dominates everything. Alan ( no relation ) must have had a case on in ER, but I really wish he hadn't !

I have meddled with my set-up in every way possible, because it CAN'T be Steve putting out a poor product ... it just CAN'T !!

I have come to the conclusion, with a sad heart, that it is ... I have never seen him ( Not a great "Purple" fan ) and boy was I looking forward to this release, so it is even more painful because of that. The best bit is the interview with Steve ... if you need ANY reassurance of what a great bloke he is, that section was all it took.

"Sects,Drugs&RocknRoll" gives the viewer a chance to see the great Steve Morse in 2 different bands. The disc contains a concert of Morse with the Dixie Dregs as well as with his own band in an intimate setting. Steve Morse has received many accolades for his playing ability since he started the Dregs back in the 70's. His career includes many solo albums, as well as recordings and tours with Kansas and Deep Purple. His diversity is one of his strengths. Great compositional skills, onstage interplay, and an unreal amount of chops are other strengths that are on display on this DVD. In addition to the 2 concerts there is a picture gallery and a comprehensive interview with Morse that I found to be well worth a viewing. The concerts are both worthy of multiple viewings.
The Dixie Dregs were formed by Morse and some college cohorts of his in the mid 70's. They mixed ,from their jazz influences; chops,improvisational skills, compositional skills together with rock energy and a bluegrass/country sound to form one of the most distinctive sounds in fusion. The show features the Dixie Dregs combo that has been touring together for the last 5 years. Dave Larue on bass, Jerry Goodmand on violin along with original Dregs members Morse, T Lavitz(Keys) and Rod Morgenstein(Drums). The Dregs show is called "Official Bootleg" for a reason. It is obvious that this doesn't hold up to the latest and greatest DVD releases for sound and editing. However, the sound is fine and the footage doesn't miss anything. The important thing is that you aren't missing anything and the music is great. The concert contains 14 songs that include Dregs classics such as "The Bash", "Cruise Control", "Take it Off the Top", "Blood Sucking Leeches" and "Assembly Line". The performance is great. Telepathic interplay, virtuostic displays, and the distinctive Dregs sound are all there. There is even a cover of Mahavishnu Orchestra's "Dance of the Maya" which John Mclaughlin would be proud of. Despite the lack of top quality production values, the show doesn't lack anything and the music is top-notch. This is a must have for any Dregs fan. If this was the only thing on the DVD it would be worth it.
The Steve Morse Band concert is a quasi-Unplugged effort. Steve is joined by Dave Larue and T Lavitz for a set of Morse at his diverse best. Morse plays classical; Bach's "Jesu,Joy of Man's Desiring"(flawlessly I may add)his own quasi-classical compsitions;"Point Counterpoint" and "Flat Baroque"; Country/Folk "Rocky Top"; and in his own rock/fusion style; "Tumeni Notes" and "Country Colours" to name a few. There are 13 songs in all. Each one performed flawlessly by one of the most diverse guitarists walking the planet.
The bottom line is this. If you are a fan of Steve Morse's music then you must get this. The sound and footage for both concerts is above average and you won't miss a thing. Steve Morse isn't going to release any garbage. The man has too much integrity to do that. Don't let the negative reviews scare you, this is Morse at his best;TWICE! If you don't have any Morse; get this and you have an introduction to one of the most diverse and talented guitarists in any genre, as well as a concert of one of the essential to have Jazz/Rock/Fusion bands. Highly Recommmended.

I saw Steve give a seminar here in town in the late 80's. Although I'd never seen him perform live, I did go into the building fully aware of his talent. A new, first-hand impression that I left with was his almost hyper-sensitivity to quality and details. At one point, I remember him showing a slight degree of agitation, in front of us, towards the local sound guy's lack of knowledge regarding his set up and what should have been done before his talk with us - things that to me, as an amateur, seemed completely foreign. He stayed cool nonetheless. That's how he is, and we all know that. But a respectable, higher degree of professionalism and expectation than I'd not really seen before from another musician. He very clearly knew what he wanted.

I sat through this seminar, almost entirely in awe. I've heard all of the music. I've read all of the interviews and the clinics in the magazines. I know something of his biography, and ultimately consider myself a big fan.

Why Steve would put his name on this product and let it be put on the market is curious, to say the least. In a nutshell, for me anyway, it comes down to the sound on the Dregs portion of the DVD. In fact, it was sort of hard to get past that. The camera work and all of the other things that are mentioned in these reviews are valid points, but the sound in that one portion made me consider sending it back for a refund. And then there is that blurb in the back that sort of forewarns you that the weak quality on the Dregs sound is meant to give you that sense of a true live show. Ridiculous! Whoever determined what the "desired effect" should be certainly fell short. I actually think it serves as a rationalization for the weak result more than anything else. And if we need the better DVD equipment that the other reviewer mentions, they should forewarn us of that as well. Everyone should have access to his work, regardless of the equipment they own. What you hear are drums and bass. You'd be wise to have a good understanding of what these songs sound like before you see it, because you are going to need to use your imagination to fill in all of that dead space you come across in order to complete the picture for yourself.

In the end, I say three stars simply because it's Steve. If there were zero volume on this thing, and only footage of Jerry playing the fiddle, I'd probably still buy it simply because it's all about Steve. I also feel like I need to support the brother whenever I can because of the way he's stuck to his principles all of these years (with only a couple rare exceptions, like this one, for example). I'm eagerly looking forward to something better in the future.