Steve Howe - solo

[RussMason]

This is pretty amazing. His guitar looks like a 000-45, light gauge strings. The playing is superb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KN2qvtosmM

[zmf]

Originally Posted by RussMason

This is pretty amazing. His guitar looks like a 000-45, light gauge strings. The playing is superb.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KN2qvtosmM

Thanks. Yet another great player that I needed to be made aware of.

[billgennaro]

this is the style of playing that really, really suits that size guitar. sounds wonderful, even for youtube! i'm a long time Steve Howe fan. thanks for posting.

bill

[BT Bob]

Steve Howe is one of the great underrated players IMO.

To this day, I can remember exactly where I was when I first heard Fragile. I've lost count of the number of times I played the album (and subseqently the CD & now on my iPod) since that first time. One of my all-time faves - it's one of those albums I always listen to beginning to end, never just pick one track.

Thanks for posting.

[GaryNull]

one more time :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kR1JSEv8Rg

and from the same concert:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOr_d0_IRdM

I remember watching Yessongs at the midnight showings at the Uniondale Mini Cinema on LI, NY (around 1977).

Watching Steve's fingers on the giant screen influenced me a lot. I would try and use all my fingers and do the crazy fret stretching things he would do.

Just check out the second video around 5:13. He does that crazy climbing the neck run from high string to low. That always stuck out with me. It's just insane.

The guitar soloing on that track and the rest of the Yessongs album is some of the best electric guitar soloing ever. To me, it is the best ever.

For some reason, the version of 'Yours Is No Disgrace' on the Yessongs Movie wasn't good. It looked like Steve was having an "off" moment during that solo and he was struggling through it.
But the version on the Yessongs Album is unbelievable and is one of my favorite solos.

[M19]

Originally Posted by BT Bob

Steve Howe is one of the great underrated players IMO.

Ummm...he was voted Best Overall Rock Guitarist five times (like Clapton and Page).

Aside from a few pieces, Yes' music is much less popular and less "accessible" than those above, and other "famous" guitarists, and so he is less visible. Not underrated by anyone that I've heard....except the editors and critics of Rolling Stone rag, who hates everything "Yes."

Steve has always been my guitar "idol." Get a copy of his "Natural Timbre" album for a wonderful tour of acoustic styles.

[steveh]

Many years ago, when a teenager, I thought "Mood for a Day" was the apogee of great guitar playing - way, way beyond my grasp.

35 years later I can play it, but not with his feel; inimitable.

Agree - very underrated player these days. His electric playing is very original - I was listening to Sound Chaser yesterday and (if you can ignore the lyrics which have dated very, very badly) it's great stuff.

Must try and learn the Clap!

Cheers,
Steve

[BT Bob]

Originally Posted by M19

Ummm...he was voted Best Overall Rock Guitarist five times (like Clapton and Page).

Aside from a few pieces, Yes' music is much less popular and less "accessible" than those above, and other "famous" guitarists, and so he is less visible. Not underrated by anyone that I've heard....except the editors and critics of Rolling Stone rag, who hates everything "Yes."

Yes, fair point - maybe my choise of words was poor. Less "obvious" than a Clapton, Beck or Page? Maybe more of a "guitarist's guitarist". Guitarists I know think he's a genius. Many non-guitarists I know probably wouldn't know who he was.

[bishopdm]

Wow, I haven't thought about that piece in about 30 years! A guitarist buddy asked me if I knew how to play "The Clap" and could I teach it to him. I told him I'd never heard of it. So he gave me a tape of it and I transcribed it and taught it to him. Now seeing Steve Howe play it the right way, it's nice to see that I wasn't far off! Of course, I've forgotten how to play it myself...

[Me&MyGuitar]

I am building "my cathedral" around this song since over 30 yrs, this is almost the best I reached (still working on it):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrWQMwu7xoE

[Kevin Bishop]

After reading several posts from the past 15 years on here, this is a great video of Bassist Chris Squire and Steve Howe going over all of the guitars used in their 2013 Tour. Very very informative. I tell ya, Chris is one humble person, uses scotch tape on his basses to remind him not to turn knobs. And Steve describes two guitars that he said were stolen. Who the F would steal Steve's guitars?

Anyhoot, enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGjl6kP0SI

[Bob Womack]

Originally Posted by M19

Ummm...he was voted Best Overall Rock Guitarist five times (like Clapton and Page).

And then they gave him the first "Lifetime Achievement Award" to clear the decks so that others could get a chance to wn the Best Overall. I love Steve's work. His style is so idiomatic that virtually no-one can get him right.

Bob

[TBman]

I played Mood and Clap everyday when I was a kid (late teens, early 20s). My favorite tunes. My guitar teacher had learned Clap by ear and taught it to me, but it wasn't exactly what Steve played, but close enough to be fun

I followed him a bit, but he didn't go off in the direction I had hoped (more acoustic) so I sort of faded away from his fandom after a while.

[DukeX]

Wonderful video by a great guitarist! Thanks for sharing.

[Brucebubs]

I saw Yes in Melbourne on their very last world tour with Chris Squire.
They played the Fragile and Close To The Edge albums in their entirety and correct song sequence.
Mood For A Day was a highlight - note perfect - I think Steve used a Santa Cruz guitar.