Roxanne Howe Murphy

Carlos Santana seemed to kick off an early-21st century music industry craze – by combining a crusty classic rock veteran with other star-studded talent (as evidenced by Santana's highly commercial yet mega-hit Supernatural). On first glance, it appears as that longtime Yes guitarist Steve Howe also followed this guideline to a degree with his 2003 solo release, Light Walls…

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…

Before joining Yes, Steve Howe had nearly a decade's worth of experience with other groups under his belt. This is a first-rate 25-track compilation of his '60s work, with six previously unreleased cuts, starting in 1964 with the raw R&B/beat band the Syndicats, moving to soul-mod with the In Crowd, psychedelia with Tomorrow (six of the better tracks from their sole LP are included), and progressive rock with Bodast…

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…

To any rock music fan of the last 50 years, Steve Howe needs no introduction. Best known as the guitarist for progressive rock band Yes, he has enjoyed a prolific recording and performing career spanning five decades. In addition to his solo work, Steve has released more than 50 albums with bands such as Yes and Asia and guest appeared with the likes of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Lou Reed and Queen. Love Is is Howe’s 17th solo record, comprising ten songs: five with current Yes singer, Jon Davison, singing harmonies and playing bass guitar and five instrumental tracks rotating through the running order.

If there's one thing listeners have learned about the solo projects of Yes members (or former Yes members), it's that no one should expect their solo output to be a carbon copy of Close to the Edge or Fragile. That has been true of Chris Squire and Alan White; it is also true of Steve Howe, whose solo projects have ranged from Yes-minded to not so Yes-minded. This 2003 release finds a 56-year-old Howe leading a five-man group called Remedy, which unites the guitarist/singer with two of his sons (keyboardist Virgil Howe and drummer Dylan Howe) as well as saxophonist Gilad Atzmon and bassist Derrick Taylor…

Steve Howe's third solo venture, "Turbulence," is packed with strong, flawless playing; however, most of the compositions lack the excitement, eclecticism, and adventurousness that made his earlier solo projects so interesting and appealing…

This is more like it – a lithe, lively collection of material, sung in good voice (Howe is joined by his 1960s Tomorrow bandmate Keith West) and played with the kind of robust, cheerful verve that characterized the best moments of Yes's classic sound. There are also guitar breaks that recall the best moments of Yes's work, only they're a little quieter, which gives one the chance to appreciate Howe's virtuoso dexterity…

True believers in the prog rock gospel don't really need to know anything about this disc beyond the fact that it's a solo album by Yes, Asia, and GTR alumnus Steve Howe. Prog rock agnostics will be a bit more wary, but may take comfort from the power-trio instrumentation and from the presence of bassist Tony Levin, who is the very Buddha of taste and professionalism…