STEVE HOWE TRACK BY TRACK
“THERE’S SOME SINGLE-LINE GUITAR WORK THAT I’M DOING ON MY LES PAUL JUNIOR — IT’S A ’55 OR A ’56, AND IT’S A REMARKABLE INSTRUMENT. I FEEL SO AT HOME ON THAT GUITAR THAT I CAN ROCK OUT ON IT”
WITH YES, STEVE HOWE’S LEGACY IS FIRMLY CEMENTED AS THE SIX-STRING force behind some of prog rock’s most indelible songs, from “Roundabout” and “Close to the Edge” to “Starship Trooper” and his classic acoustic instrumental, “Clap.”
Howe still tours and records with Yes — in fact, he’s the sole remaining member from the classic early Seventies Fragile- era lineup — but he has also kept up an active schedule over the years with other acts (among them Asia and Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe) as well as working as a guest musician and, of course, as a rather prolific solo artist. His latest solo effort is Love Is, and it presents 10 new Howe compositions, half of which are instrumental and half featuring his own vocals. Howe plays electric, acoustic and steel guitars on the album, as well as keyboards, percussion and bass, with help from current Yes singer Jon Davison on background vocals and bass and Howe’s son, Dylan, on drums.
And while the songs range from trademark bright-toned, nimble-fingered instrumentals like “Fulcrum” and “Sound
