Steve Howe - 2 Studio Albums (1975-1979) [Japanese Editions 2011]

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Steve Howe - 2 Studio Albums (1975-1979) [Japanese Editions 2011]

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Beginnings (1975). "Beginnings" is the debut solo studio album of Yes' guitarist Steve Howe. The album was one of the five solo efforts released in the same period of time by all Yes' members during a hiatus of time by the band, after the release of their studio album "Relayer", in 1974. "Beginnings" also features some Yes’ members, Alan White and Patrick Moraz, and the ex-Yes' member Bill Bruford. There are also members of the progressive rock band Gryphon, Graeme Taylor, Malcolm Bennett and Dave Oberlé on one of the songs, besides other guest musicians.
"Beginnings" sounded overall most like a folkier version of Yes' sound with less emphasis on the keyboards. The material on the album is decent and varied. However, the problems here are the vocals of Howe himself. His voice fitted well into the vocal harmonies in Yes, but it reveals itself as very thin and helpless when it stands alone. And this means that good songs like "Doors Of Sleep" and "Australia" unfortunately never reaches the heights they could have with a good singer. "Pleasure Stole The Night" is a track in the same rural style and sound as the two earlier mentioned songs, while "Lost Symphony" benefits from a cool sax riff. "Will O’ The Wisp" is the most typical progressive rock track here, with an atmospheric mellotron break in the middle. "Break Away From It All" is the most rocking moment on the whole album, when Howe demonstrates some of his excellent and very distinctive playing here. There’s also three instrumental numbers here, including the complex and orchestrated title track and the ultra typical, Howe-like "Ram". "Nature Of The Sea" is maybe the best showcase on the album for his guitar playing. So, all in all, we can say that "Beginnings" is a listenable album, but it would have been better if Howe had got someone else to do the vocals’ work.

The Steve Howe Album (1979). Steve Howe's second solo effort is his most essential recording. The Steve Howe Album contains many of Howe's strongest and most original compositions. Whereas some of his albums can be associated with the sound of the bands in which he's played, this release is unique. Howe places himself in a country/bluegrass setting on most of the compositions, and that is what makes this project so appealing - he's a rock veteran venturing outside of his field. And with Graham Preskett playing violin on "The Continental," Howe turns in what sounds like a real hoedown. The first track, "Pennants," is a gem for the more rock-oriented fan. The cut opens with the sweet, resonant, rocking sounds of Howe's Fender Telecaster; he then adds mandolin and a pervasive twin-neck steel, while drummer Alan White keeps it all rhythmic. Half of the tracks are played by Howe alone, most notably "Surface Tension," his composition for solo Spanish guitar. Other cuts feature former Yes-mates White, Bill Bruford, and Patrick Moraz (all of whom participated on Howe's first solo album), and Claire Hamill, who sings beautifully on "Look Over Your Shoulder." Only one other cut includes vocals: "All's a Chord," on which Howe's singing is awkward but appealing. The song, comprised of several movements and musical styles (including classical), features Howe on eight different stringed instruments, including bass, pedal steel, sitar, banjo, mandolin, and his trademark deep-bodied electric-acoustic Gibson ES 175 D. The final two pieces are set apart from the rest of the recordings. On both compositions, equipped only with his Gibson Les Paul, Howe is accompanied by a string ensemble on his interpretation of Vivaldi's Concerto in D, Second Movement, and by a 59-piece orchestra on "Double Rondo." Andrew Jackman (who served as orchestrator and conductor on Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water several years earlier) conducts. The Steve Howe Album is a culmination of everything Howe represents, every genre of music he loves so dearly, exquisitely played and arranged. The inside cover colorfully depicts all the stringed instruments Howe used on the recordings, and Roger Dean's cover painting makes the package complete.

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Steve Howe - 2 Studio Albums (1975-1979) [Japanese Editions 2011]

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Steve Howe - 2 Studio Albums (1975-1979) [Japanese Editions 2011]

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