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Steve Howe - Pulling Strings Audio CD

A fair review of the Steve Howe "Pulling Strings" 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: Pulling Strings
Rating:
Release Date: 1999-03-23
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Sweet Thunder 2: Diary of a Man Who Vanished 3: Excerpts from ' Close to the Edge ' 4: Excerpts from 'Beginnings' 5: Pleasure Stole the Night 6: Sketches in the Sun 7: Rare Birds 8: Windy and Warm 9: Classical Gas 10: Excerpts from 'Turn of the Century' 11: Misty 12: Excerpts from 'All's a Chord' 13: Running the Human Race 14: Everytime You Look over Your Shoulder 15: Theme from 'The Gates of Delirium'/Soon 16: Blinded by Science 17: My White Bicycle

Steves best live album
I simply like the versions of the tunes here and the selection better. Ill take this live album over his others, personally. There are some real gems here. His playing in general is as good or better than it has been at any period in his career. The "sketches in the sun" is his best recorded live version as well his take on "classical gas". Steve uses backing tracks on some songs, to great effect. It enabled him to play songs in a one man show and even though I was worried about it, it works well here. The "turn of the century" is one of his best live performances. Im assuming since you are looking at this album that you realize that he isnt a great singer and that you can overlook that and appreciate it, unlike some other reviewers here who cant accept that the man likes to sing sometimes. If you like Steve Howe's work I cant imagine you not appreciating how good this album is. A must own for a SH fan.


Not Howe's best
He is also the worst singer of all time. Steve Howe is one of the finest guitar players there is. It is bad to such an unbelievable level that surely his producers, friends and fellow musicians have told him not to do it. And yet here again is a CD with about 8 or 9 tracks that are almost unlistenable because of his vocals. The other 8 or 9 tracks are instrumental and very good. While there is some singing (fortunately less than this CD)on "Not Necessarily Accoustic" , it is a much stronger collection of guitar work and is the live Steve Howe CD to have. "Quantum Guitar" is probably Howe's best studio work and, no surprise, has NO SINGING bogging down the great guitar playing. The Steve Howe Album is also excellent. The beauty of CD players is that you can program in the good songs to hear without having to listen to a whole album. On this CD you need to program in the instrumentals and leave out the cuts with Howe singing.


Howe Magnificent
Recorded in Chicago and Minneapolis during Steve Howe's tour of the same name, PULLING STRINGS is like NOT NECESSARILY ACOUSTIC, PART II, and therefore a must-have for any Howe/Yes fan. Even non-guitar afficianados would find this to be a great album. Here, Steve thrills with acoustic interpretations of Gates of Delerium and Close to the Edge on his trusty Martin guitar. He teases the crowd by quoting every song from GOING FOR THE ONE before launching into the poignant nylon-stringed sentimentality of Turn of the Century. Steve also revisits some of his best bits from BEGINNINGS and THE STEVE HOWE ALBUM, including Diary of a Man Who Vanished and Pleasure Stole the Night. His spin on Mason Williams' Classical Gas is simply fantastic. The finale, My White Bicycle, is a rare cut from Steve's early days with Tomorrow. You won't find this track anywhere else, really, save for Steve's MOTHBALLS disc.

Yes fans already know that Steve's voice isn't that great--but one doesn't listen to Yes or Howe for his singing abilities. His fretboard virtuosity is stunning and clean, and the few tunes which feature vocals aren't any worse off for it.

You should just order the album now and put it on heavy rotation in your CD player, along with NOT NECESSARILY ACOUSTIC. Both discs evidence that the multi-talented, genre-jumping Howe is amongst the best (if not THE best) living guitarists on this planet.


Wish I had seen the live show too!
I am a Yes fan and after listening to this CD, I had to play it again to be sure what I heard was really as good as I thought it was. If you like the music of Yes, the Clap and Mood for a Day in particular, you will like this CD. Excerpts from Close to the Edge and the Gates of Delerium were excellent guitar pieces. Mr. Howe's guitar prowess is evident in this Cd and if you are a guitarist and fan of Yes, you should love this CD.


Excellent follow-up to "Not Necessarily Acoustic"
The "Not Necessarily Acoustic" CD was a snapshot of the first tour and "Pulling Strings" documents what went on in the second tour. Steve Howe spent two years in the early/mid 90's touring as a solo act. The first album was universally hailed as a "must" for any guitar player. This album just echoes those feelings. The songs were taken from performances in Chicago & Minneapolis, and are flawless. In the liner notes, Steve gives "Special thanks to everyone who came to the 'Pulling Strings' and 'Not Necessarily Acoustic' tour dates, 1993-1995". My response is "YOU'RE WELCOME, STEVE! and Thank you for allowing those of us who attended to see a guitar legend up close and personal.


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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