JOE SATRIANI Says SIMON MCBRIDE's Addition To DEEP PURPLE Is 'A Great Call'

Joe Satriani has praised DEEP PURPLE for hiring fill-in guitarist Simon McBride to step in for Steve Morse, calling the Irish player's recruitment "a great call" by the band. Satriani made his comments while speaking to Eonmusic about new album "The Elephants Of Mars", which is due for release on April 8.

Morse's temporary hiatus from the classic rock icons was announced on Thursday (March 31). In a statement, he said that his wife Janine is battling cancer and added that he hopes he can rejoin PURPLE on tour "after she gets a clean bill of health."

Speaking to Eonmusic, Satriani applauded PURPLE for choosing McBride to fill in for Morse.

"Simon is a great call for that, so that's really great," he said; "I mean, the band is close to Simon, and Simon's a great guitarist."

Satriani was drafted into DEEP PURPLE to complete Japanese dates in December 1993, and stayed on for a European summer tour in 1994 following the abrupt departure of founder Ritchie Blackmore. However, he admitted that reprising his role wasn't an option. "I think we all know, we're on the same label now — earMUSIC — and they know quite well I'm in the middle of releasing a new album," he told Eonmusic.

Finally, Joe wished his best to Janine Morse. "I saw that earlier this morning, and yeah, felt so sorry that Janine has to go through that," Satriani said. He added: "We're sending her all of our best wishes and hope she has a quick recovery."

Eonmusic's interview with Joe Satriani, where he talks about "The Elephants Of Mars", working with Alice Cooper on "Hey Stoopid" and the fate of his prototype Ibanez Blackdog JS guitar, will be released next week.

Morse effectively took over Blackmore's DEEP PURPLE slot in 1994 and has since been in the group longer than Ritchie.

In a 1997 interview, Blackmore stated about Morse: "I'm just glad they [DEEP PURPLE] found a guitar player to carry on because I thought I was going to be shackled to this band for the rest of my life. It was like a ball-and-chain thing, and luckily, they said, 'Well, we found someone.' 'Thank God, I can get out!'

"I haven't listened much [to DEEP PURPLE's recent recordings]. I just know that Steve Morse [is a] brilliant player. I remember Steve Morse with the DIXIE DREGS; they're fantastic."

DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Turning To Crime", came out in November via earMUSIC. The LP contains DEEP PURPLE's versions of great rock classics and musical jewels — including songs originally recorded by Bob Dylan, FLEETWOOD MAC, Bob Seger, CREAM and THE YARDBIRDS — carefully chosen by each member of the band.