As an old Yes fan, I obviously have Steve Howe high on the list of my favorite guitarists. Having said that, however, I have a slightly more ambivalent relationship with his solo albums.
That really goes for all the solo albums from both former and current members of Yes. The band is a good example where the sum is greater than its parts.
Nevertheless, there are flashes of greatness in Mr. Howe’s back catalog. The all-instrumental Turbulence from 1991 is great, and the sequel The Grand Scheme of Things is pretty good too. Unfortunately Howe insisted on singing on several of the songs on the latter album, which he has done on several of his records. And while Howe’s voice is good when he has to sing in harmony behind a lead vocalist, he is no lead vocalist. To quote Noddy Holder in Slade about Jim Lea: «There’s nothing like a good singer, and Jim is nothing like a good singer». And that’s a good summary of Howe too.
It’s therefore I’m happy to report that Guitarscape is an all instrumental album, with lots of guitar (naturally). Howe has called the album a declaration of his love for this instrument. Usually he puts the guitar to good use with Yes, but he has also played with Asia, a band which produced the biggest selling album of the year in the US back in 1982 and with Steve Hackett in GTR.
Guitarscape was made in collaboration with his son, Dylan, who plays drums and percussion. Steve Howe plays the rest: Acoustic and electric guitars, steel guitar and bass, as well as synth and keyboards. Howe is also the producer, and I think that another producer would have been able to put som more juice into some of the keyboard sounds. There are times when the tunes sound a bit demo-like.
Having said that, there is a lot of nice stuff here. And all the songs are short and to the point. It never gets dull or boring. Howe has always been good at coming up with strong melodies, proven by his track record of fine pop songs he has either written or collaborated on in his career. When you add some real intricate and fantastic guitar playing, they are usually very nice to listen to.
The album starts with Hail Storm which sounds like a mix of electronica and a jazz guitarist going crazy together with a DJ. Spring board has a lovely synth that seems to answer the David Gilmour-esque guitar melody lines, all backed with a lovely pop instrumental.
On Up stream we get an electronic soundscape with absolutely lovely ambient guitar playing on top. It’s the kind of playing makes that instantly lets you know that this is indeed Steve Howe playing. No one else plays like that. Passing Thoughts is an absolutely lovely affair where Howe shows that he is a brilliant acoustic guitar player as well. However, hed does this without being a poser who has to play lots of notes all at the same time. The guitar playing serves the music, something other solo guitarists releasing albums should take note of.
There are also a few slightly bland tunes here that doesn’t really seem to go anywhere, and a couple of them are dangerously close to being on a muzak playlist. Fortunately, the Yes-like Spring tide comes towards the end and reels it all in again.
A fine effort by Howe, and an album I’ve caught myself putting on almost as much as Turbulence.
Grade: 7/10.