Anyway here we go .
Well here it is Legends number four of the series :smile: This time it is Steve Howe I know this may be a surprise to many of you as i may have hinted ina different direction as to who i was going to do but c'mon Yes basically the first Prog band one of the biggest influences on music it's only right we honour the axe slinger that is Steve Howe so read and enjoy :grin:
Biography
Steve Howe Born Stephen James Howe on the 8th of April 1947, in Holloway, North London, England. The youngest of four children, music was a constant from Steve's early age h marching to 78 RPM records of brass bands that he played on the family record player. As a teenager he discovered the legal and addictive drug that is of rock 'n' roll, which led to Steve acquiring his first guitar at age 12. Inspired by the current rock groups of the day people like Bill Haley and the Comets, Steve taught himself to play the guitar, eventually performing with friends first at youth clubs and later at local pubs and ballrooms.
As he grew older music continued to be a constant in Steve's life. Starting with his late teens there were featured stints with the Syndicats, performing Chuck Berry covers. This was later followed by the In Crowd, a band that evolved into the proto-psychedelic outfit, Tomorrow, whose hit "My White Bicycle" was a forebearer of the psychedelia currently back in vogue in the States and Europe. When Tomorrow split up Steve formed Bodast (whose LP would debut ten years after it was recorded), and while waiting for that group to break Steve went on tour with PP Arnold in support of Delaney, Bonnie & Friends. On that tour Steve found himself rubbing shoulders with guitar greats Eric Clapton, George Harrison, and Dave Mason, little realizing that he would soon make a move that would propel him into their ranks.
Bodast subsequently fell apart. Then in 1970, Steve Howe joined Yes, providing the needed fuel the last side to to the fire triangle that would launch the band to worldwide acclaim. The release of THE YES ALBUM in 1971 heralded the songwriting team of Howe and Jon Anderson - a team which would be responsible for for some of the band's best known material for nearly a decade, including the classic "Roundabout." Yes and Steve Howe would forever be linked in the hearts and minds of Yes fans around the world, as Howe's unique guitar stylings formed the very foundation of the "Classic Yes" sound which is still a huge influence in many Prog bands of today.
Where a lesser artist might feel dwarfed by the massive heights reached by Yes, Steve Howe is quite comfortable with his past. "So much of my styling went into Yes, and carried on after it," Steve told Yes Magazine in an interview many years ago. "When I'm playing 'Masquerade' or a piece like that on 12-string guitar, it's got part to do with Yes. You can't really escape the 'Yes' connection. And I don't really try to."
Through the seventies, Howe was consumed with Yes. Nonetheless, he released two solo albums, BEGINNINGS (1975) and THE STEVE HOWE ALBUM (1979). BEGINNINGS features a wide variety of the maestro's signature guitar stylings. From the gentle electric jazz-flavored guitar of "The Nature of the Sea," to the romping, foot-stomping hoedown, "Ram," to the mini-symphony which is the album's title track, Beginnings is about Steve Howe's tremendous range, and varied musical interests the albums showcase the man at the height of his career a must for a Howe fan.
THE STEVE HOWE ALBUM followed four years later. Taking over the production chores himself, Steve recorded an album brimming with such western flavored guitar numbers as "Cactus Boogie," "Diary of a Man Who Disappeared," and "Meadow Rag." The album ventures deeper into territory hinted at by "Clap," from his Yes debut in 1971. The album also featured Howe's classical leanings, with Vivaldi's "Concerto In D (Second Movement)," and the original composition, "Surface Tension." Again this is an album that really does show why he is/was such an influence on the music world .
As significant as Steve's achievements were in the seventies, he continued to redefine music into the eighties. With the closing of a chapter in Yes history, came the opening of another era. As a founding member of Asia, the first supergroup of the eighties, Steve once again rode the very top of the charts with a string of hits, including "Heat of the Moment" and "Only Time Will Tell."
From Asia, Howe leaped into yet another supergroup, GTR. The band was short lived, but was not without fruit. "When the Heart Rules the Mind" hit hard with rock radio, but more importantly, the album yielded "Sketches in the Sun," a dreamy electric solo piece which charted new territory for Steve it seemes as though Steve was conmfortabel playign any and every style is there no end to his versatility ?
Plans for a new solo album were delayed when Steve was reunited with former Yes mates in 1989 to form Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe. Together, they blasted through triumphant tours of America, Europe, and Japan, releasing one self-titled studio album, and one live album. The reformation of Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, and Howe led to a further expansion with the other members of Yes, and yielded the Union album in 1991. The album and world tour were a success, and Howe's solo acoustic "Masquerade" garnered a Grammy nomination for the band.
Steve's solo career continued to expand and be redefined into the eighties and nineties. In collaboration with Swiss keyboardist Paul Sutin, Steve explored his interest in New Age music. The duo released SERAPHIM, a beautifully melodic collection of instrumental tracks. The collaboration continues with Voyagers In A Blue Universe. 1991 saw the release of TURBULENCE. The album's title reflects some of the insights Steve has gathered on the road to his own self-knowledge. "Being aware of Turbulence, and therefore being able to appreciate the beauty of that turbulence," is an important lesson Steve has learned. "People are always going against the grain, always fighting it. In a way, turbulence is something very beautiful. It creates marvelous patterns in things that that are the stamp of life." The album's title summarizes a way in which Steve sees his place in the world. "I love to bring ideas into music, whether it is holistic, or naturalphatic, or macrobiotic, that aren't in the mainstream of thinking. I thought maybe it was possible to do something more positive, and that's what I'm trying to do with my albums. It is a long term plan in which I am going to explore this side of me on a regular basis." Howe released THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS in 1993 True to his word he was .
With THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS, Steve Howe once again displayed his wide range of emotive guitar stylings. From the epic title track, to the funky sand-blasted western funk of "Luck of the Draw," to the eastern-flavored New Age of "Road to One's Self," THE GRAND SCHEME OF THINGS further challenged Howe and his audience, as he explored his craft .
In 1993, Steve found yet another new challenge for himself, as he struck out on his own, taking to the road for his first completely solo tour. The "Not Necessarily Acoustic" concerts featured beautiful rearrangements of classic solo material and Yes favorites spanning his entire career. Howe's warm accessibility and his rapport with audiences made for some intimate, vibrant shows. 1994's NOT NECESSARILY ACOUSTIC, Steve's first live solo album captured highlights from the tour. A collection of "greatest hits" rearranged for solo guitar, and plenty of new material, NOT NECESSARILY ACOUSTIC delighted Howe fans everywhere. Steve continued to hone his one man show with the "Pulling Strings" tour in 1994, with a release of this material due late 1998.
HOMEBREW, Steve's latest release, is a collection of home demos and alternate takes of classic Howe tunes spanning several decades. The collection offers amazing insight into Steve Howe's songwriting craft. Many of the tunes found their way into classic Yes, ABWH, GTR and Asia tracks.
In 1995 Steve rejoined the classic Yes lineup, which also featured Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Alan White and Rick Wakeman the keyboard extraordinaire. The band recorded the performances in San Luis Obispo, California, on March 5-7, 1996, and these tracks appeared on KEYS TO ASCENSION Volumes 1 and 2. Though Rick Wakeman soon dropped out of the band Yes has continued to gain momentum. Billy Sherwood of World Trade was recruited into the band to contribute songwriting and guitar, resulting in the album OPEN YOUR EYES. Igor Khoroshev was brought aboard to handle keyboards on Yes' tours, which has been nonstop since Fall of 1997.
Yes' next album THE LADDER made its debut in late summer of 1999, with a world tour hot on its heels. Both the album and the performances demonstrate that Steve, and Yes, still have the creative fire and energy that brought them acclaim many years earlier and show why they are considered the greatest prog band ever.
Steve is fully committed to Yes, but the energetic guitarist has no intent of giving up his blossoming solo career, releasing the all-instrumental QUANTUM GUITAR in 1998. The following year was also no exception as Steve released another live solo album PULLING STRINGS as well as PORTRAITS OF BOB DYLAN, his tribute to the songwriting of the legendary musician. And Steve entered the cyber age with his full featured CD ROM release Steve Howe Interactive, a treasure trove of information on Steve's music and career.
Steve Howe is ever moving forward, redefining the role of the guitar in modern music. His unique style and devotion to the instrument create an endlessly diverse wealth of achievement. Steve Howe, true legend ,true guitar god inspiration .
Discography
For This Discography i will just list his work with yes .
Yes :1969
Time And A Word:1970
The Yes Album:1971
Fragile:1972
Close To The Edge:1972
Yessongs:1973
Tales From Topographic Oceans:1973
Relayer:1974
Yesterdays:1974
Going For The One:1977
Tormato:1978
Drama:1980
Yesshows:1980
Classic Yes:1981
90125:1983
9012 Live:The Solos:1985
Big Generator:1987
(ABWH)Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe:1989
Union:1991
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/union.gif[/img]
Yesyears:1991
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/yesyears.gif[/img]
Yesstory:1992
[img]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002JPU.01._PE_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]
Highlights-The Very Best Of Yes:1993
[img]http://images.amazon.com/images/P/B000002IWE.01._PE_SCMZZZZZZZ_.jpg[/img]
(ABWH)An Evening Of Yes Music Plus:1993
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/aeoyp.gif[/img]
Talk:1994
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/talk.gif[/img]
Keys To Ascension:1996
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/KTA.gif[/img]
Keys To Ascension 2:1997
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/KTA2.gif[/img]
Keys To Ascension Volume 1 and 2:1997
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/KTA.gif[/img][img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/KTA2.gif[/img]
Open Your Eyes:1997
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/OpenYourEyes.gif[/img]
Somethings Coming:1997
[img]http://www.ziplink.net/~mputzel/SomethingsComing.gif[/img]
If i missed any out don't hesitate to say :grin:.
And thats it this weeks legend has been names Mr Steve Howe the legend the inspiration the true guitar god :grin:
[img]http://www.sinfoniasideral.hpg.ig.com.br/images/howe.jpg[/img][img]http://www.scream.no/magazine/scr48/bilder48/steve_howe.gif[/img]
Look forward to next weeks one people it should be good and alos look forward to a special one in the summer by another GTU'r :grin:
Z :smile:
_________________
[img]http://home.no/xplizit/gtu/nmo_281.jpg[/img]
grzegorz_panek wrote:
Music is one thing and a circus trick is another one.
[ This Message was edited by: angusyoungfan on 2003-05-10 15:16 ]