THE STEVE HOWE ALBUM

Steve howe truly shines on this record. Like Bryan, I picked it up at a vintage store for like 5 bucks (Canadian!), being a hardcore Yes fan I thought I'd get it. Part of the thing that drew me to the album, aside from having much respect for the man, is that the inside fold photo is of all the guitars played on the album! I got home with the record and put it on and was immediately engaged. "Pennants" is a great rock instrumental with a blazing keys solo; "Cactus Boogie" and "The Continental" are both southernish sounding tunes, the latter featuring some cool violin work; "All's A Chord" is a wonderful multi-movement song featuring some beautiful acoustic guitar fingerpicking work, and Steve's fairly high voice (which, in my humble opinion, should remain as a harmony singing voice only!); "Look Over Your Shoulder" is a dark, extremely late-70s sounding tune with the smokey voice of Claire Hamill further darkening the sound; "Surface Tension" is another neo-classical piece, which, if you don't dig the sound of a nylon stringed guitar, might lose you with it's breathy, suspended sound. To end off the album are two pieces featuring Andrew Jackman conducting a beautifully orchestrated ensemble, but these two songs could also lose you if you aren't into classical music. Overall, this album is a great addition to any prog rock library, and the vocal-lessness of the majority of the album is a nice breath of fresh air if you like the sound of Steve Howe's guitar minus Jon Anderson. Do check it out!