Roxanne Howe Murphy

Guitarist Steve Howe keeps himself busier than ever in middle age with both recording and touring. In addition to his main job in Yes, he works occasionally with Asia and regularly releases solo albums. 2001's Natural Timbre is his first entirely acoustic studio project, and it's a rewarding blend of styles and influences…

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…

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…

Following in the footsteps of its preceding two editions, Steve Howe's Homebrew 3 collects previously unheard demos from the renowned guitarist of Yes, Asia, and GTR (not to mention Anderson-Bruford-Wakeman-Howe). As with the previous Homebrew releases, the tunes are primarily stripped down, and prominently feature Howe's guitar work…

For those expecting epic prog riff rockers à la "Heart of the Sunrise," Steve Howe's 2002 solo release, Skyline, may come as a surprise…