----------------------------------------------------- JANUARY 1, 1998 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Kuno http://kuno.senserdesign.com/shnews.php?id=15 Steve Howe, Quantum Guitar By Arne Schnitger To begin with, I would like to state the fact that Steve Howe most certainly will again confuse various people in the music industry with his latest release, as it is not only a pure instrumental album, but also stylistically very hard to pigeon-hole. Under today's marketing criteria this apparently does not seem very desired any longer. In the following I will not consider that aspect, but will concentrate on the substantial thing about "Quantum Guitar" -- the music itself! If you expect an interesting mixture of many different stylistic directions by looking at the cover and reading the inlay, you will not be disappointed right from track number 1. A flamenco guitar intro with some reasguedos followed by a driving rock beat and the singing rock guitar. The second song "The Collector" also reveals a new world of sounds with seeming Country influences -- filled with slide guitars which you will discover on tracks like "Country Viper" and "Sleep Mill" as well. The lively ride through the jungle of genres continues in the other compositions, which by the way were all written by Steve Howe, except for "Mill Don't Run" (Johnny Smith), "Light Walls" (with Keith West) and "Sleep Walk" (Farina, Farina and Farina). With "Paradox", a track full of tango rhythms, and "Main Country", which reveals its close relations to World music, Mr. Howe proves his vast variety. The individual styles however do not occur separately, but -- as in "Sovereigns" -- are harmoniously interconnected. The fact that the entire CD still sounds that harmonious may have its reason in the renunciation of complicated arrangements and time changes -- the trademarks of Steve's other band YES. Therefore nearly all pieces are under five minutes long, even the YES-like number "Southern Accent" adheres to this regularity. The individual songs do not lose any excitement, but gain an amazingly new depth this way. In unison with this pleasantly remarkable reduction, the production of the music leaves a lot of space to breathe and does not try to exhaust the entire technical capacities. Despite the multiplicity of music directions, Steve Howe gives every track its very own touch with his unique guitar style, so that at no time you get the impression that there is someone desperately trying to break new ground. After this analysis, I should be pointing out the most substantial thing about this record: It simply contains good music, and therefore I can only recommend everyone to give it a listen. Although this man is forgotten too often in the times of the guitar heroes, it must be stated that Steve Howe is one of the greatest exponents in the guitar world. Beside that, he also still proves to be able to make innovative music at an advanced age -- contrary to some other rolling stones. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com