Best Steve Howe Solo [Archive] - Yesfans.com: Founded 4/01

dyingpoet

01-17-2002, 04:19 PM

What does everybody think the best Howe solo is from a YES album? (not including solo tracks, i.e. "Mood...")

I am torn between a few, but I am leaning toward the electric solo at the climax of Mind Drive, between the keyboard solo and the chorus. It has a great off-beat, "free-verse" feel to it and really brings the climax of the whole song to a burn. It even has a slight allusion to "Yours is No Disgrace" toward the end! It's a perfect fit for the song, and a fantastic showcase for the man's talent.

What do you think?

- d.p.

Original_Shifty

01-17-2002, 04:24 PM

I love Steve's solo (which seems to go on and on, which is good) in the middle of To Be Over.

Yours Is No Disgrace is pretty good too.

Angkor WHO??

01-17-2002, 04:39 PM

ALL GOOD PEOPLE!

New Language is pretty darn good too...

Spinbreath

01-17-2002, 05:06 PM

The middle solo on the version of Awaken from Keys To Ascension. It's played with such precision, yet it retains it's emotional qualities.
Aside from that I always loved Sketches in the Sun, from GTR and Asia in Asia. Just wonderful.

Plastic Man

01-17-2002, 05:08 PM

WURM!!

yesindeed

01-17-2002, 06:17 PM

WURM INDEED!!!

Purple Wolfhound

01-17-2002, 10:13 PM

Wow, this is so bizarre that this thread came up at this time. I was listening to Yessongs while I was exercising tonight and I was thinking that this album contains three of Steve's finest solos (and guitar playing, period): at the end of Perpetual Change, before Bill's drum solo; the segue between Long Distance Runaround and The Fish (this solo in particular sends shivers down my spine); and nearly all of Yours Is No Disgrace, but in particular the solo before the quiet break towards the end. One of these days I'm going to have to burn one cd with just these three tunes on it!

Peace,

Phil

seyyes 2

01-17-2002, 10:28 PM

...have to listen to Mind Drive again.....think I remember the solo...don"t listen as much now(guess it's the kids!)...ahhhh...but remember his work on Sound Chaser?..killer!!!....live solo in Yours is no Disgrace on Yessongs smokes,as well......

01-18-2002, 12:03 AM

Mine would have to be his solo on The Ancient. I remember when I first heard it--it seemed so shocking to me--so original, so cutting edge. And it still is.

seyyes 2

01-18-2002, 12:12 AM

Certainly the acoustic passage is magnificent.....the electric stuff just mind boggling..completely-------fill in the blanks...........indescribable........often wondered what visual images it evoked in listeners.....

01-18-2002, 12:24 AM

The question you posed seyyes2 makes me think of a story I saw on 60 minutes 2 this week. This story featured people who had a somewhat rare condition in which their senses were merged. For example there was a blind guy who saw music. They played a piece of music and he said what it looked like. There was an artist who saw colors for each letter of the alphabet so as she was reading she would experience colors too. There was another guy who would taste words. And another woman who would feel music. She said that when she went to a concert, after it was over she felt wiped out because it literally made physical contact with her body. They asked her--and a couple of the others--since it was such an overwhelming experience, would she/they like to not have that capability. All said, "Never". This phenomena is called synesthesia and they called the story, "The 6th sense". They said it's not that rare and they are doing studies on brains of those who have this.

I kept thinking what would happen if they heard some Yes or went to a Yes concert. They might not survive. But they would surely die happy.

BredYes

01-18-2002, 04:59 AM

Best electric solos:

Yessongs: Yours is no disgrace
Yessongs: Siberia Kathru (the end)
Relayer: To be over (in the middle)
Relayer: Sound chaser (very aggressive in the middle)

Best accoustics:
Tales: the ancient

Olias_01

01-18-2002, 06:11 AM

My favourite Howe piece has to be 'Soon'. If ever there was a piece of music that makes me close my eyes and float away on an intensely emotional journey, it is this. I have never heard anything remotely close to it in style or feel. It just goes to show that the music does not have to be highly technical or require lightening fingers to create the desired effect. Pure magic.

My second choice would be 'Madrigal'. Not that it is a solo but the interplay of the guitar with the Harpsichord is just so perfect the two instruments seem to play as one. The only other YES piece played in a similar style is found in ABWH on 'Quartet'. It would have been wonderful to hear more YES in tbis style.

Third choice would be 'America' Steve really rocks in this piece and manages to introduce so many different musical styles with none seeming out of place.

Please bear in mind that I cannot play a note on any instrument so my choices reflect only what my ears enjoy and bear no relation to technical ability.

Trooper1129

01-18-2002, 10:37 AM

Thank you Olias_01....As I was reading down through this thread I was thinking to myself.....HELLO? Why hasn't anyone entered in Soon? When I hear Gates live and it winds down to Soon, it's almost like everything just freeze frames and a curtain opens and you are instantly transported to a different world....very ethereal. The pedal steel sound just flips a switch in your brain and a calm just comes over you.

Jon even said after Gates at the Masterworks show last year in NJ, "At the end of that song, it felt like a different time, a different place." It is so true.

I do also love the Leaves of Green solo in The Ancient. Very nice indeed.

If you want to talk about a ripping, fast paced, frenzy of a solo, then I'd look towards the Wurm solo on KTA.

But whether it's fast paced and crazy or slow and dreamy, Steve still kicks butt.

Cool side topic Yessiree....Synesthesia has been documented for about 300 years now and it's not surprising that it's a common phenomenon for many composers, as colored hearing is the most common form of synesthesia.

The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) specifically sought to express his own synesthesia in his 1910 symphony Prometheus, The Poem of Fire, for orchestra, piano, organ, and choir. It also included a mute keyboard, a clavier a lumieres, which controlled the play of colored light in the form of beams, clouds, and other shapes, flooding the concert hall and culminating in a white light so strong as to be "painful to the eyes." (The very first concert light show!)

Vasilly Kandinsky (1866-1944) had perhaps the deepest sympathy for sensory fusion, both synesthetic and as an artistic idea. His own 1912 opera, Der Gelbe Klang ("The Yellow Sound"), specified a compound mixture of color, light, dance, and sound.

Sorry to bore you...I just love obscure stuff like this.

Trooper

bjm0rwo

01-18-2002, 11:17 AM

I've always liked Howe's solo in the Yessong's version of Perpetual Change which starts out with that Wes Montgomery feel before really letting loose. Also his solo in Sound Chaser and his nylon stringed classical guitar work on Turn of the Century.Speaking of colors translating to music,I have an interesting Mile Davis cd titled Aura in which a composer by the name of Palle Mikkelbourg had written compositions in relation to the colors he sees as representative of Miles Davis's personality.The keys and tempo of the songs are in relation to the particular colors named.Interesting.

capnkrk

01-18-2002, 02:08 PM

This is obviously a tough pick, but if I had to choose one it would have to be the unedited version of America. The guy blends rock, jazz, bluegrass effortlessly on this solo, and when I was just learning how to play guitar I would repeat this solo for hours! What a rush!

SilentlyFallingFish

01-19-2002, 12:19 AM

I agree with Original_Shifty. That solo in To Be Over is dreamy!

Also, Siberian Khatru...you know, the part where hammond accompanies him in that really heavy part?? Ouch!

01-19-2002, 01:18 AM

Originally posted by Trooper1129

The Russian composer Alexander Scriabin (1872-1915) specifically sought to express his own synesthesia in his 1910 symphony Prometheus, The Poem of Fire, for orchestra, piano, organ, and choir. It also included a mute keyboard, a clavier a lumieres, which controlled the play of colored light in the form of beams, clouds, and other shapes, flooding the concert hall and culminating in a white light so strong as to be "painful to the eyes." (The very first concert light show!)

Vasilly Kandinsky (1866-1944) had perhaps the deepest sympathy for sensory fusion, both synesthetic and as an artistic idea. His own 1912 opera, Der Gelbe Klang ("The Yellow Sound"), specified a compound mixture of color, light, dance, and sound.

Sorry to bore you...I just love obscure stuff like this.

Trooper

Not a bore at all. I wonder if any of the guys have a version of this. Their music is so powerful without any help from the "6th" sense, can you just imagine with?

gluified

01-19-2002, 12:04 PM

opening to CTTE, and awaken.

dyingpoet

01-20-2002, 06:58 AM

We've had some great posts, but I'm a little surprised no one has mentioned the original "Perpetual Change" solo at the transition. It's one of the smoothest sections of guitar work I've ever come across.

Also, Howe's work throughout "Turn of the Century" is worthy of consideration. It's surely one of the best arranged/performed tracks for him.

(It's also one of the very few songs that brings tears to my eyes every time, and the emotion coming from that accoustic is probably the main reason why.)

- d.p.

ANTIOCH

01-20-2002, 11:27 AM

Well , as I'm 'late to the party'; you've ALL picked the choices I would have made , but in reading all these fine 'solo' moments ; it's obvious that Steve Howe SHREADS !
Besides 'solo' spots , I also love how Steve Howe plays those little accompanying ( is that a word?)
riffs that illuminate passages in YES songs.
And as 'solo' work goes , I always go back to
"Double Rondo" from 'The Steve Howe Album'.

seyyes 2

01-23-2002, 11:36 PM

..."Synesthia"....new Yes title!!!!..Yes has to grab that....Gee,could we make some Yeswords out of that or what!!..Great stuff....I wish I saw the show(60 Min..)..The Ancient always evoked image of churning volcanic activity...beginning of time..and then...Leaves of Green...life.....and more

01-24-2002, 12:40 AM

What an idea seyyes2. It would be an intriguing title.

Rogo

02-04-2002, 06:54 AM

My choice for the most original, ground-breaking solo by Steve would have to be the electric solo from The Ancient.

Besides Skryabin, there's another composer who claimed to see colours when he heard music. His name is Olivier Messiaen. He deliberately composed in specific colours. For example, in his piece for orchestra "Des canyons aux etoiles", he claims to be describing very specifically the various shades of red, orange, gold, brown etc. of the great canyons in the US. He associates colour with all musical phenomena, not just notes, but chords, scales, progressions. The key of A major is a shade of blue etc.

It seems that synesthesia differs in nature from person to person. It's interesting that Messiaen's musical colours do not match those of Skryabin.

RobAdams

02-04-2002, 09:01 AM

THE ANCIENT was the first that came to my mind when I realized this thread means guitar solo in a Yes recording as opposed to Steve's solo work. THE ANCIENT is an awesome showcase for Steve with such a long time frame for him to paint guitar notes into. My second favorite Howe lead is in that part of SOUND CHASER where the band quiets down behind him and he lets loose those tasty riffs.....Third favorite, throughout AWAKEN, especially the studio version. 4th is on the YESSONGS version of YOURS IS NO DISGRACE. #5 is in SIBERIAN KHATRU, any version, but the live ones are best because it doesn't fade out!!!

My favorite Steve solo album is BEGINNINGS, but that's because I have only heard his first two. I must rectify this, but full band releases come first. I like beginnings because I love THE NATURE OF THE SEA, AUSTRALIA and DOORS OF SLEEP.

RobAdams

02-04-2002, 09:07 AM

Great YES title....Has the letters to spell Syn, Yes, and Then....If we can repeat any letter as often as needed we can also spell
Asia and That That Is.....

Trooper1129

02-04-2002, 12:17 PM

Ya know, I had never even thought to associate the the word with a Yes album title.

The correct spelling is Synesthesia, but yeah they can go with something like SynYesAsia, and many other variables.

Great idea sey yes 2.

Trooper

02-05-2002, 12:59 AM

Originally posted by i-and-i
THE ANCIENT was the first that came to my mind when I realized this thread means guitar solo in a Yes recording as opposed to Steve's solo work. THE ANCIENT is an awesome showcase for Steve with such a long time frame for him to paint guitar notes into. My favorite Steve solo album is BEGINNINGS, but that's because I have only heard his first two. .

Yes, even Steve cited The Ancient as his most experimental and inventive. I loved it from the first moment I heard it.

Yes you must get his Natural Timbre. It is VERY special.

haroldthebarrel

02-05-2002, 10:53 AM

I will have to say I like the middle break in Soundchaser. That is the solo where I first realized that Yes' guitar player was awesome.

PeterCologne

02-08-2002, 06:29 PM

I go for steves work on Gates of delirium, the yesshows -version and a version on a bootleg called "quasimystical vision" from Roosevelt-stadium, Jersy City, 6 June 1976. Nobody ever has played a better guitar-piece.

greetings
peter

andriessen

02-09-2002, 10:03 AM

I would agree with Purple Wolfhound, bjmOrwo and dyingpoet that the best Steve Howe solo is his incredible tale of life, universe and everything on the life version of Perpetual Change on Yessongs.

http://www.yesfans.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1483

Anybody know that feeling?

Thank you for that one Steve!

Yesclown

02-15-2002, 12:44 PM

Hello everybody, I really love this long and dry solo at the end of That, That Is. It almost seems that no one likes this track as much as I do, but this solo sends shivers down my spine, simply electrifying.

02-15-2002, 03:12 PM

Hey there Yesclown! What a great name. I'd have to play that track again to refresh my memory, so I will. Thanks. I wonder how it measures up to my favorite, The Ancient? That Steve, he surely is a wizard!

Oh, and I want to welcome you to the site. Glad to have you aboard and posting. Come back often.

dyingpoet

02-15-2002, 05:49 PM

"That That Is" is a fantastic track, and I love it too! The opening movement is as delicate and beautiful as YES ever gets, and it goes on to rock with great efficiency. (Including the solo to which you refer.)

- d.p.

Robert Shupe

02-20-2002, 08:55 PM

Wow, there are others who like the Yessongs version of Perpetual Change as much as I do. I love the way this flows so effortlessly. I can play this work in my head upon will. It is so exciting and I even love Rick's underlying enhancement. It took me six shows to finally see Perpetual Change live and it was oh so worth it.

1) Perpetual Change - Yessongs Version

2) Sketches In The Sand - from GTR has always moved me.

3) Yours Is No Disgrace - The 30th Anniversary tour version of this really sticks out in my memory.

Great picks everyone. Soon gives me wonderful chills and makes my hair stand on end.

Thank-You Mr. Howe.

Robert Shupe

WhiteKnight

02-21-2002, 01:47 AM

For me that should be The Ancient, too, or the slow solo from Ritual (the one that includes the CttE theme bit, and ends up in the first, epic "Nous Sommes du Soleil").

WK

RobAdams

02-21-2002, 05:23 AM

Unless I missed something, no one has mentioned Steve's great work on AMERICA. Both the original and the KEYS versions are fantastic.

I agree with Harold The Barrel...That solo in SOUND CHASER is some tasty tasty Howe.

What about GOING FOR THE ONE? Can Steve Rock & Roll or what?

The very first section of CLOSE TO THE EDGE is WAY up there on my list as well.

TURN OF THE CENTURY has got to be one of the prettiest showcase numbers for Steve's acoustic work. A Yes Fan Furby might say YUM, YUM, VERY GOOOOD. MAYBE AGAIN. HEE HEE HEE.

dyingpoet

02-21-2002, 06:25 AM

My furby would probably say:

"Nu-Jo kwaa...quay-mee, mmmm."

Which, when translated, means:

"This song kicks! Play it again, please!

- d.p.

sonofolias

02-23-2002, 01:27 AM

Here we go, some repetition, some not:

The beginning of That, That Is (Togetherness)..Classical classical guitar.

The beginning of Gates (the Overture as it were)...gentle harmonics and blistering runs; the middle of Gates...hammer-on fests, soaring runs, triumphal marches; The pedal steel intro to, and Soon....oh h___, All of Gates. It may have been Jon's idea, but it's Steve's song!

When the drum solo is over in Ritual, and Steve holds that searing high note, then moves into Nous Sommes du Soleil.

The last part of Wurm from KTA, after the pace doubles, he's running a scale up and down and up and down.

The twelve string on Nine Voices.

The Harrison-like wah in Time is Time.

I'll think of more later I'm sure!

02-23-2002, 01:30 AM

Hey there sonofolias (cool name by the way), welcome to the site! Good choices all. When you do think of some more, keep us posted!

The Fish

02-24-2002, 01:14 PM

The one on AMERICA is fantastic, but Würm, too.

I must say that Steve's best guitar work is in THE ANCIENT from TALES...

02-24-2002, 03:16 PM

Originally posted by The Fish
I must say that Steve's best guitar work is in THE ANCIENT from TALES...

See there, The Fish, I knew we had a lot in common! I agree completely!

The Fish

02-24-2002, 03:34 PM

It's just so beautiful. When I wait at the station in Amsterdam to go home, I always listen to that acoustic part. It's always the same moment and I love that.

Everytime I keep being confused how such beautiful songs they can write...

02-24-2002, 04:07 PM

It is pretty astounding, isn't it--how they do what they do. We are all so LUCKY and FORTUNATE to have them.

Steve St Thomas

05-30-2005, 12:30 AM

I gotta say SOUND CHASER! No matter how eww his guitar tone is on that solo, I think thats one of the best things he ever did.

Stevehoweworshipu!

06-02-2005, 06:22 PM

WURM!!, Sound Chaser , CTTE (opening) , Soon , AND AAAAAAAMERICA!!!!!
all EPIC! and all of Siberian Khatru

Vic Anderson

06-02-2005, 06:46 PM

i think the solo from

owner of a loken heart

steve was great on that one

Timmo

06-02-2005, 06:49 PM

To Be Over
On the Silent Wings of Freedom

Yes_Fan_4_Life26

06-02-2005, 06:50 PM

Howe could you fans forget about AND YOU AND I (imagine that a acoustic riff) thats like the best acoustic guitar performance ever (in Yes; forget about TotC) how this song.

Elektrikally, Howe's best electrric guitar solo was/is Sound Chaser its like he's playing a jazz guitar with a Fender lol

Tchau

Vic Anderson

06-02-2005, 06:57 PM

how about the solo in the more you live let go?

Vic Anderson

06-02-2005, 06:58 PM

i got a better one

steve's solo in the meeting

Altres

06-02-2005, 07:24 PM

Steve Howe sprays petrol over Awaken and ignites it with a plectrum. He burns like a thousand suns on that track.

Yescelt

06-03-2005, 05:34 AM

Heart of the Sunrise intro ALWAYS gets me, especially Live.

Regards, Brian

TNyesfan

06-03-2005, 06:49 AM

Steve Howe sprays petrol over Awaken and ignites it with a plectrum. He burns like a thousand suns on that track.
Ho yea.

Vic W.

06-03-2005, 06:02 PM

Matt Bellamy

06-09-2005, 06:31 AM

The ancient is perfect from start to finish. CTTE also burns.

Bodast

06-09-2005, 02:29 PM

Just to reiterate... WURM!

I once spent 6 hours walking around town, hungover, with that on repeat, including in the cinema for a whole film (it's ok, nobody else was in that showing, so I didn't disturb anyone) waiting, savouring, waiting and savouring that guitar solo.

And I just felt a sudden sadness because I don't know where the CD is...
But an immediate glee at remembering that I have it on vinyl!
Have to listen to it now... NOW...

Hawker

07-06-2005, 07:22 PM

Can't be done!

The guy is still the best.Always underrated.

allpurechance

07-25-2005, 02:04 AM

I'm not sure if I really want to pick one solo out of the dozens of outstanding candidates for Steve's "best", but I'm going to give a nod to his work on that Yessong's version of Perpetual Change. It expresses a warmth and humanity that is simply mind boggling. It's brought tears to my eyes many times.

Yep,Vic...once again you're spot on...!(Vic is another one those people around here who seem to type my own thoughts,or very nearly,so often.There are,happily,more than a few of these people,here--and thus do I love Yesfans all the more!Amongst these are Earl Grey,who expresses himself far better than I ever will or can;Scooty,who has caused my jaw to drop when I realized that's what I've always thought,too!JL,whose musical tastes are a guidepost to and for my own-if he likes it,then I must hear it!DJ Panurge-one of the site's musical authorities;Henry[bondezegou]-perhaps the ultimate authority!lol;Paul[paostby]-who has more musical knowledge in the 2nd knuckle of his left pinky finger than I have or will ever hope to possess,and so many others here which my sad mnemonic capabilities are unable to currently retrieve for me)--this solo,along with Yessongs / Yours Is No Disgrace and Keys / Siberian Khatru are the ones that "get to" me the most...!

Aside from the solos he's done right in front of my face,that is!

:O)

Frank

allpurechance

07-25-2005, 02:28 AM

Oh!...and...!...And...!...AND!...

As Vic has also pointed out---The Solid Time Of Change(which he correctly,imho,cited as one of Yes' finest moments...)/CTTE...

Steve and the entire band ripped right through this remarkable passage!

Faceintheplace

07-27-2005, 10:40 PM

Yessongs version of Yours is No Discrace for electric and Leaves of Green from the Ancient for acoustic.

new_sum_do_solve_ay

08-16-2005, 09:04 AM

I like that idea of acoustic and electric; this is such a huge question.

I may be going against the grain on this but I'm going to say Masquerade on Union for acoustic. It goes way beyond Mood for a Day or The Clap.

Electric? I will have to think about this!

Andersonic

08-16-2005, 11:39 AM

Yours Is No Disgrace - any live version - rocks!

Vic Anderson

08-16-2005, 02:10 PM

best quitar word of all time awaken 79

next

starship trooper 79

yours is no disgrace tsongas

be the one middle part

acoustic new languages

tommc

08-16-2005, 02:23 PM

To Be Over~gets me every time

08-16-2005, 02:25 PM

Yessongs versions of Starship Trooper and Perpetual Change.

Ryan

08-16-2005, 02:38 PM

i'd say siberian khatru. its not fast or flashy, but it just sounds so neat. part of it i think is the background stuff. you can't have a good solo without good people backin you up

08-16-2005, 02:58 PM

See this thread for Siberian solo info

http://www.yesfans.com/forum/showthread.php?t=11383

Timmo

08-16-2005, 03:59 PM

The instrumental ending of "Children of Light" is another one.

new_sum_do_solve_ay

09-06-2005, 12:02 PM

I've picked my favorite acoustic solo, now for best electric: Sound Chaser

Until I hear more live material, and I am waiting for the Yes Live Box Set, there's no question that is the hottest most difficult bit. All of Relayer howls and smokes, but Soundchaser is just so technically lofty.

pedro skychaser

09-08-2005, 06:25 AM

you're in for a treat new sum-soundchaser is highlight( with it's love) of twil.
great sinister support from moraz,a hyped up jon,squire+white tightly locked in jazz-mathrock!steve again sprays petrol and burns with his plectrum like a 1000 suns!(sic)this version just seems wilder and more human than the studio version-listen to a snarling jon spit out the cha cha chas!

new_sum_do_solve_ay

09-10-2005, 08:57 AM

lol I can't wait. I love how you guys say 'petrol.' That would be more $$ today than it was then that's for sure!!

Godfrey

09-14-2005, 04:12 PM

I think that the best Howe's solo is the acoustic passage in Starship Trooper from The Yes Album. But And you and I, the end of Perpetual change and Going for the One are good, as well.

sparky

09-14-2005, 04:31 PM

The end bit of Siberian on the Yessongs version is absolutely fantastic to my ears. To deliver that much raw energy and feeling on an opening song is something I´ve always thought of as quite unusual. Concert openers in general seems to be more of checking the water, whereas with steve in this particular song, he play´s as if it´s the last song of the gig, the tour, as if he wouldn´t ever play again..

I also love the solo in To Be Over. I love the way different solo parts take over from one another, complete with different sound, colour and energy. Then there´s his 12-string electric solo in Awaken where he´s just firing on all cylinders...

jaynote1

09-14-2005, 04:38 PM

the opening of Close to the Edge..........and the end of Turn of the Century(the glisses at the end are ridiculously phenomenal!)............

sparky

09-14-2005, 05:09 PM

the end of Turn of the Century(the glisses at the end are ridiculously phenomenal!)............
Love them!! It´s funny - I´ve had that album for so many years, but it wasn´t until fairly recent that I actually noticed them (and yet they aren´t particulary welll hidden or anything). And they´re SO Steve, aren´t they?

gleeman

09-16-2005, 01:22 PM

opening of CTTE---even hotter and more extreme on the QPR DVD

Siberian Khatru from Detroit 76 on TWIL--wow! For Howe, that qualifies as shredding

America, the studio version. Definitive Howe at his most articulate and accessible

But in the end, even though we all may be sick of it at this point, his finest most classic solo ever just might be in All Good People