He has blown my mind so many times with his originality. All of Yes did this to me. I was a teen and musician in the 70's and Relayer is my favorite album ever. It reaches heights of musical expression I have never found elsewhere. I get chills
Push comes to shove, there’s not a more influential guitarist alive. His contributions both with Yes and solo - covering jazz, classical, hard rock, pop and the avant- garde - are simply astonishing.
@greg hollis Everyone is entitled to their opinion Greg. Thanks for watching and for your input! Please feel free to Like, Share and Subscribe to our channel.
Steve Howe and page would be tops for me,...maybe, or maybe not as most influential but without argument the most well rounded and complete in different styles and instruments,...from electric, acoustic, 12 string, altered tunings, lap steel, mandolin, finger style, slide, b bender, etc.....I cannot think of anyone except Howe and page who have played, recorded and written good songs with all these instruments.....not in the 70-80’s and certainly not now
I saw Steve with Yes just a couple of weeks ago on their UK tour. Steve's playing is still as clear, fast, sharp and precise as it was when I last saw him in '75.
nah. sadly Howe has never played with the fire he had in the 70s. Last great playing he did is on Drama. In the 70s though he was in a class of his own. Did things nobody else has done before or since.
I saw Steve at the Newcastle City Hall, England, in about 14th February 1971, with Dada bottom of the bill and Iron Butterfly top of the bill. Yes we’re the outstanding best act on the bill; they were performing most, or all, of their ‘Yes Album’, which was released a few weeks later. That was the first time I saw them and was ‘very’ impressed, one of the best acts I ever saw. 👍👏👏👏
Was at the same concert in Glasgow during that tour. They blew Iron Butterfly off the stage. Everyone there couldn't believe how amazing this largely unknown band was. Their career took off right after that tour.
I was lucky to hang with the band YES on their Symphonic Tour in Stockholm and Amsterdam as video producer in November ‘01. Such a honor to see their brilliance on and off the stage. Hands down, my favorite gig ever! 😎
What a true artist. Not only is he a great guitarist, but one gets the feeling that he so single-heartedly loves playing that is governs the art of living for him. Because of that, he has a transcendental quality that transports others.
Steve Howe and Bill Bruford made me realize the symbiosis between guitar players and drummers which still exists with my current band and always has through the years. Steve Howe blew my ears wide open when I was an early player. thank you Steve....
When you consider Howe”s output from 70 to 80 it’s simply astonishing. 70. The Yes album 71. Fragile 72. Close to the edge and Yessongs 73. Tales 74. Relayer 75. Beginnings 77. Going for the one 78 Tornato 79 the Steve Howe album 80. Drama This run is unbelievable and and demonstrates his genius. Then, as if it weren’t enough, the simple fact that after Drama, he would start the Super group Asia and have massive success is astonishing. Lastly, when you couple in the fact the Howe won “Best overall guitarist’ from 77 to 82 & created The ‘ Gallery Of Greats’ category in Guitar Player Magazine,: It”s simply amazing.! He accomplished this feat when many of the greatest guitar players off all time where at their peaks. He also offered repertoire to several different guitar styles - such as country, ‘Clap’, Ragtime, ‘Ram’ and was the principle writer of what many consider the quintessential Prog album ever- Close the the Edge. These accomplishments separate him from any one else during this 12 year span.
This is a great interview done by Bob. Ask a couple of questions and then get out of the way while Steve runs with it. Lovely to hear and so wonderful to see Steve's boundless enthusiasm for music, for jazz and for the guitar in all of it's many forms. Very inspiring and informative at the same time. Thanks so much.
Fascinating interview--listened to it all. I was a teen in the mid 70s when Steve Howe was voted The Best Guitar Player by Guitar Player magazine several years in a row. I saw YES perform live three times with Steve Howe.
peter, my recollection - possibly inaccurate cuz it was a long time ago! - was 5 yrs in a row. when gp started the award, steve was the first to win - and he won the next 4. after his fifth win, gp retired him - so someone else could win.
Hey Steve, The way you feel about all these guys you mention, you're like that for me. First time I saw Steve was the Tales tour. I played guitar but was more like Stones, Grand Funk, etc. level. First voicings and pentatonic scales. I was actually more blown away by Wakeman because Steve's stuff was like a foreign language to me. And Rick is so melodic and HUGE, how can you not be impressed. Then I saw them and didn't have a clue about anything I saw Steve do all night. Absolutely convinced I had just seen the singular best guitarist in the world because I had never witnessed guitar playing like that. We're talking 1973, IIRC. Nobody was doing what he was doing. The acoustic, electric, steel, odd meters, inversions all over the neck, country licks, Classical, jazz... I had no clue what I had just heard. But I wanted to know. He opened my teenage eyes to a world of possibilities on the guitar. For me there will never be anyone else like him.
oh man i saw YES in zurich i was 20 ! hallenstadion ! 1977...steve was so good ...with his guitar tree! to me the greatest time ! " going for the one" ! the show was fabulous ! good memories ! hello steve !
I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Howe Pre Show upstairs at the Borgata in Atlantic City....It was a moment I will never forget...This man is a musical Genius.....
I Love Howes playing so much probably more than most Lol I've see Yes Live 20+ times, my best guess is 23 with my 1st Yes concert in 1972 during their "Close To The Edge" tour at 15' with my older brother at Hartford, CT Sept. 25th 1972' a day i'll never forget !! But Steve Howe is very much a different Yes guitarist than e was in the 1970s to 1990s !! Yes started slowing their songs down a bit on the 2000s and it's easy to tell if you put on Yessongs than listen to Live in Birmingham and Steve is playing much slower and many times leaving some notes out !! I'm sure it's an age thing and keeping your fingers moving the same is nearly impossible I'm sure. I still love it but it is a different Yes !!
They were slowing things down when the classic lineup was still going, i think it might have been Squire that was responsible for that! So glad they/he are still around and playing.
I was lucky and got to see Yes twice. Once in the 70's where they played in Buffalo at Rich Stadium with J. Geils, Donovan and Bob Seger during the day. They were awesome. Such great sound and so eclectic. I got to see them in my home town of London Ontario in the 2000's and they were even better!!! The singing and harmonizing blew me away. Also they did an acoustic instrument set with a small set of drums ..mini grand piano at the front of the stage. Very intimate. Was one of the best concerts I have ever seen. The band was so tight and every instrument and voice you could hear absolutely clearly.
Legend and Loved! I saw Steve, in 1972? on TV, in a solo performance, ah but, he added 3 guitars and split into 4 screens. Mind Blown at 14, never the same.. That was it, I was addicted to guitar, and fell in love with Steve's playing. Followed YES and ASIA, and all Steve's genius works over the last 50 plus yrs. So grateful and thankful - so much appreciated.
My son gifted me two tickets to see Jon Anderson in a small venue in Grover Beach California . Saw the Reunion and Talk shows in Dallas. Another show in Phoenix. YES always been number 1 band for me ✌️🖐️👍
This was great and a fun interview for someone like me a guitar player who loved Yes and Steve since I was a teen some 50 years ago. So thank you JGM! I always knew Steve was great and dabbled in Jazz, but when I watched him play at Les Paul's birthday I realized he was way better than I ever dreamed. I had a group of friends when I was a teen and we were all big Yes fans. We would travel from a small town in eastern Washington to go see Yes play when they came to Seattle. I think we saw them around 5 or 6 times at least maybe even 7. Love ya Steve !! :-)
Loved that first solo album, "Beginnings." Still have it on vinyl. "Fragile" is for me, a desert isle must-have. This was a super enjoyable conversation. Happy to see that Steve is still very inspired. That lights a fire under my own weekend-player ass. The enjoyment of creating music doesn't always need an audience.
Great interview! I feel so lucky that I got to see Steve play live in September 2006, when he reunited with the original members of ASIA. It is still one of the best concerts that I have ever attended . . . four master musicians doing what they do best.
Steve is my biggest inspiration. He autographed my 175 back in 1977. Unfortunately, it was stolen a couple years ago but you can never steal the memory of that moment in time.
Steve, I was sales manager at Silver Strings- we sold to practically every known rock star guitarist back in the 70's. Everybody knows your history, but few know how incredibly polite you are- what a gentleman. Especially in a time when rock stars were (band after band) were being not so nice. You would call when in town and ask "may I come into the store"? All of the great guitarists I know copied you.
Really enjoyed this interview. You knew how to ask interesting questions and then let Steve answer them. I think he really wnjoyed being interviewed in such a way. Congratulations!
I can’t think of a more versatile “rock” guitar player: Jazzy licks, classical, country, folk, and can tear your head off with a solo! A metal head friend of mine once said his guitar playing was underwhelming and didn’t do much for him. So I played Machine Messiah and the solo in Awaken for him and after completely melting his face, my friend became a Yes fan lol.
Steve you are a great guitar player. BRAZIL love yes... I love yes since Fragile album. My favorite is ( close to the Edge...) tanks for the life of you, John, Ricky, Cris, Bill and Alan... I wish the best for .walter from Brasil...🇧🇷🇧🇷🇧🇷💡💡💡
There are many extremely talented guitarists in the world since the instrument evolved into its present form. But I challenge whoever reads this to attentively listen to the "Yessongs" recordings of "Yours Is No Disgrace" and "Perpetual Change" and then suggest a finer example of guitar playing - ever. You won't be able to. Steve is a phenomenon in and of himself, and the greatest guitarist ever to live. I feel grateful to have been alive at the same time as Steve, and to have seen his genius live so many times.
@@jazzguitartoday Oh, as a result I downloaded the Kenny Burrell ‘At the Five Spot Cafe’, & yesterday heard the single handclap Steve mentioned! 😁 Have fun.
Hi Bob, maybe you can help clear up a rumor. It was said in the early '70s that Steve and the band were graduated composers of the London Symphony Orchestra, ask Steve if that's true if you can.
Interesting question Flynn...Perhaps down the line... Thanks for watching and for your input! Please feel free to Like, Share and Subscribe to our channel.
To me, the absolute most important thing in the best music is *composition*. Plain and simple. While the musicianship is impeccable, there are groups of people in tribute bands who can play the notes in the proper order. None of them (AFAIK) could write down the notes in the proper order. The musicianship enabled the composition and allowed the compositions to be better, but everything was in service to writing the best songs they could. Many bands today are loaded with virtuosity, but the song writing isn't on par. And, to me, Yes were the best composers, in a class of their own. IMO, two members of the next class are Queen and Mike "I've written more than Tubular Bells" Oldfield.
