Customer Reviews

Steve Howe Album

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I first heard the opening cut "Pennants" on the college radio station when I was working in the dorm cafeteria washing greasy pots and pans. The drums first caught my ear, and made me wander over to the wall-mounted speaker. "That's Alan White," I thought.

Being a drummer myself, I was naturally tuned to Alan's distinctive style of playing. But, I quickly figured out who was doing the guitar playing. "That's Steve Howe." I didn't know this album was pending (in those pre-internet days, one rarely got a heads-up about new releases; they often just joyously appeared).

When I was done with my work shift I ran to the local record store and bought the album.

The first thing that struck me was the balance. This album is quite varied, and Mr. Howe shows himself as comfortable as a calico cat in many genres. It is also notable in that over half the album is instrumental (and Steve thankfully only sings a couple of the vocal songs).

Some of the songs sound a bit dated today, but "Pennants" is always fun, and it always brings me back to that moment, up to my elbows in greasy pots and pans, when I realized there was another bit of that old Yes Magic on the prowl.

A spreadsheet accompanies this album: what guitar(s) out of 12 or so are played on a given track. Mr. Howe is really showcasing his fantastic abilities. A wide range of guitars is employed as well as a a very broad range of music from ragtime, to classical to Southern US Rock and Roll.

I like "Double Rhondo" the most. a solo electric Les Paul Fender is played like a solo instrument to a Mozart like Concerto that Howe composed and has a 59 piece symphony orchestra play. It is like someone went to the past to Wolfgang Mozart and showed him an electric guitar and Mozart showcased that instrument in a Concerto.

Good work on this album by Howe. he is truely an artist of the first order. His true place in life is with Yes, but this is his best solo work.

This, Howe's second solo effort, is a dramatic improvement to that of his debut recording. It is also a more diverse effort. There are some compelling progressive numbers, some moving classically influenced pieces, some country, ragtime blues, yet it all works. Sensibly, Howe only sings on one number and manages not to spoil things(as he did on his debut). A female vocalist is present on one other cut otherwise the rest are instrumental numbers. Moraz, Bruford, and White are all guests on this brilliantly executed eclectic set. Highly recommended...Simon

Except for the inside cover (which advertises Steve Howe's huge guitar collection), there is little immodesty associated with this CD, and consequently not much reason to get hostile at Steve for it. True, he does overreach himself when he tries to sing solo (only briefly, at the end of "All's a Chord") or write lyrics (on "Look Over Your Shoulder"), but he simply plays his guitars without a great deal of ostentatiousness on the rest of the tracks, and the results are more than listenable. Side one is the one that rocks more, especially "Pennants" (which sounds kind of like Yes-meets-the-Ventures) and the rest of "All's a Chord." "Cactus Boogie" is a pleasant little bluegrass tune that adds diversity. Side Two veers more to the classical side of things, with two of Steve's trademark Spanish acoustic-guitar numbers, much like the ones he contributed to Yes albums. "The Continental" is a folksy duet with violinist Graham Presket, and the last two tracks are an interesting experiment with an electric guitar and orchestra arrangement. The results are not wholly successful, but are still pleasant and worth a listen.

As mentioned, Howe only sings during the coda of "All's a Chord", and he employs another singer for "Look Over Your Shoulder." Other than those fairly decent vocal numbers, this is a fine instrumental album, with the solid "Pennants", the chirpily humorous numbers "Cactus Boogie" and "The Continental", the more romantic "Surface Tension" and the syncopated "Diary of a Man Who Vanished". There's a variety of instrumentation here that shouldn't be overlooked by any Yes fan or guitar enthusiast.

Steve Howe's second solo album was recorded around the time that Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman left Yes in 1979 and was released at the end of the year. The album opens with a rocking song called Pennants with Steve on guitars and bass, Alan White on drums and Ronnie Leahy (Stone The Crows, Jack Bruce among others) on keyboards. The next song, called Cactus Boogie, has a nice country flavor with Steve playing all the instruments except percussion, which is done by Clive Bunker (Jethro Tull). All's A Chord is next and features Steve joined by former Yes members Patrick Moraz and Bill Bruford as well as being the first of two songs with lyrics and the only one Steve sings. Diary Of A Man Who Vanished is a neat little guitar piece. The first half of the album ends with Look Over Your Shoulder with Steve, Alan and Ronnie while Claire Hamill handles the singing.

The second half begins with the nice ragtime piece called Meadow Rag. The Continental is next and features Steve playing with Graham Preskett on Violin. Surface Tension is another cool Steve solo piece. Double Rondo features Steve backed by a 59 Piece Orchestra Conducted and Orchestrated by Andrew Jackman (The Syn). The Orchestra also appears for Steve's cover of Antonio Vivaldi's Concerto In D (Second Movement). There isn't a bad moment on this album and the remaster sounds top notch. Not to be missed.

This album simply has a lot to offer. Lots of different styles. Great songwriting. I don't really pay attention to his playing skills. These are just great songs. The orchestration on the last couple songs is really fantastic. By the way, this album blows the doors off of "Beginnings". "Beginnings" is enjoyable but you really have to be a fan to appreciate that one. This on the other hand, is much more accessable.

Steve Howe's first solo album will be of great interest to fans of Yes' 70s work since it reveals how much a part of their musical fabric Howe's distinctive guitar work really was. The album has a warmth that sits well along things like "Topographic Oceans" even though these are shorter songs. Some are instrumentals and a few, like "Ram", continue the country flat-picking adventures started on "Clap" and which Howe has continued to explore ever since. More people than not are turned off by Steve's off-key, warbling singing, though again for Yes fans (who else is going to buy this?) it's interesting to hear part of the band's distinctive vocal harmony sound isolated. Howe worked on assembling *songs* for this album, mostly with a prog rock leaning and each featuring a full band lineup with himself on myriad guitars including electrics, acoustics, and pedal steel. The album also contains a few oddballs including the lengthy title track, a classical piece featuring a small chamber orchestra and one time Yes keyboard player Patrick Moraz. Yes fans will find something familiar and pleasant in almost every track, though the album unfortunately has its share of missteps. Howe would do better on the next one.

This album has a tendency to grow on you. "Look over your Shoulder" is spooky and wistful. "Cactus boogie" is upbeat and happy like "The Clap". But I've come to really like "All's a Chord" quite a lot. It seems like a huge variety of guitar sounds are in there. And I don't even mind Steve Howe's vocals. It's really beautiful. The last two songs (the classical ones) may be a bit boring for some depending on your mood. Hence the four stars.
These songs are special and unique and are worth having. The album deserves many careful listens.

I already wrote about other two albums of Steve Howe, but this is special. First of all because it''s one of the first lps that I won - recently I bought in cd. That gift wake up me for one of the largest bands of the World - Yes - but that is another history. I don't get tired of hearing that cd mainly for " Look over your Shoulder " or same " Cáctus Boogie ". I believe that Steve was never a great singer, 'his voice it is not enough strong for his music, or even of Yes, but it ends up being pleasant of hearing. In fact, he was blessed with other talent, his hands. I already heard many guitarists, different rhythms, different sounds, but anything nor nobody is compared with Steve. Hoiw I already said, I possess all his albums, except for Mothballs and together they form a wonderful universe of classic music, rock, and other styles that he explores so well. It is very different from Beginnings or even of Quantum Guitar (other pearl) but even so a great album, to hear and to like more and more.