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Steve Howe - The Steve Howe Album Audio CD

A fair review of the Steve Howe "The Steve Howe Album" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Steve Howe reviews here, or go back to the Steve Howe tabs.

Steve Howe Band: Steve Howe
Title: The Steve Howe Album
Rating:
Release Date: 1994-05-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Pennants - Steve Howe, , Alan White 2: Cactus Boogie - Clive Bunker, Steve Howe 3: All's a Chord - Bill Bruford, Steve Howe, Patrick Moraz 4: Diary of a Man Who Vanished 5: Look Over Your Shoulder - Steve Howe, , Alan White 6: Meadow Rag 7: Continental - Steve Howe, Graham Preskett 8: Surface Tension 9: Double Rondo 10: Concerto in D, 2nd Movement

Many moments of guitar brilliance
"Look over your Shoulder" is spooky and wistful. This album has a tendency to grow on you. "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.


nice, crisp and clean
Furthermore, I am not a big fan of instrumental music. I didn't keep any of the Jon Anderson or Chris Squire albums that I tried and I think Fragile is Yes' best album and it's the only one I have. However, this is a fine, accessible album and I recommend it to non progressive music fans. The progressive music freaks undoubtedly already have it. I assume those of you who play guitar will appreciate this album even more. Impressive without being ostentatious.


Ambitious, though not without flaws.
The album has a warmth that sits well along things like "Topographic Oceans" even though these are shorter songs. 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. 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.


Steve looks over his shoulder and dosent look back

.
All's A Chord is another great song from Steve and a good vocal by the man
Double Rondo & Concerto In D (2nd Movement - Steve with an orchestra and mind blowing results, this guy has class and pulls it off, one of the top musicians of our era.


Varied and Satisfying
The drums first caught my ear, and made me wander over to the wall-mounted speaker. 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. "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.


You can see a complete list of all Steve Howe discography, or go back to the Steve Howe tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.

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