----------------------------------------------------- MAY 20, 1998 ----------------------------------------------------- Source: Kuno http://kuno.senserdesign.com/shnews.php?id=22 Interview with Steve Howe By Sven Kardelke Originally, Steve Howe and I were supposed to talk about his new solo album "Portraits Of Bob Dylan." But sooner than later we came to explore the recent YES activities in detail. That took us about ninety-five per cent of the interview time, so actually this has become a YES interview. If you're interested in the Bob Dylan album, please have a look at our review section. There you will find the interview parts concerning this record along with -- of course -- the review. When you rejoined the classic line-up in 1995, the group wanted to create music in the traditional YES style. So we had epics like "That, That Is" and "Mind Drive" and after that we got an eighties -- and Trevor Rabin-like commercial album called "Open Your Eyes." What went wrong? Steve: It was a disaster, yes. A complete disaster. I tell you very encapsulated, very briefly why we did such a fundamental stylistic change. When we finished the "Keys To Ascension 2" project, we discovered that Rick really wasn't going to come on tour with us ever possibly. We felt that was disappointing. So we were looking for a new keyboard player. We found Igor Khoroshev, who toured with us and hardly performed on "Open Your Eyes." So we came to the stage where we had to rebuild the group. Chris raised the idea of Billy Sherwood as another writer. So Jon and I said, "Well, as long as we get Igor playing the keyboards..." Then something came up. We saw the touring plan and got a new management called Left Bank. They said to us, "How about getting out some current material?" We said, "We've got the tour booked. We've got ´Keys To Ascension 2´ coming out. Don't you think that's enough?" And they said, "No!" Chris has been recording with Billy and basically building up some tracks for a Chris Squire/Billy Sherwood album. What they said was, "We've got all this material." I said, "Yes, but it's not YES material!" And they said, "Yes, but it's material to work on." The management got very keen, because this was current material. So we went into that almost like a group blind-folded, because we started doing this. I kept saying, "No, it doesn't sound like YES." People said, "Yes, but we have to get it on radio!" I replied, "No, it's going to lose our fans!" So I was basically right. In fact, it's likely that only twenty per cent of all YES fans own a copy of "Open Your Eyes." If twenty per cent of all the YES fans like "Open Your Eyes," it is not a very satisfying result. That album isn't satisfying. It's a disaster. "Open Your Eyes" was written off, after we got out on tour and tried to put some of these songs on stage. They wouldn't work, and the group started falling apart, because we were playing that material. I said, "No, no! We play that material that YES with Rick Wakeman had planned to do." So Billy's and Chris´ material had to fall down. I can pretty much assure you that the only song that we ever play from this album again would be "Open Your Eyes." It's the only song that we actually collaborated on. On the other songs, Jon and I were squeezed, pushed, undermixed and not allowed to develop and change that music due to the time pressure. I knew that it was wrong -- and Jon knew it was wrong. Supposingly, other people didn't... So we've learned our lesson. We can't make any YES records ever again that aren't fully collaborated. The record we have just finished will be coming out in September. It's so opposite from "Open Your Eyes" that it is almost insane that we were able to do it. We went back to the original idea of not wanting to play anybody's songs. You bring a song in, we won't play it. We are not going to play your song, we are not going to play my song. We will play our song. So we pushed ideas in that were not complete songs. YES can work on that much better. So there is no excuse for "Open Your Eyes," which was not a true YES record. It was a hotspot for ideas that Chris and Billy put together. And Jon and I don't care for it. So is that the general opinion within the band now? Steve: We don't talk about "Open Your Eyes" that much, because playing that music on stage creates too many problems. It was just too commercial. The thinking was commercial. The opportunity for YES ever to be successful in the charts would be only, if there is an access that is completely unique. The only good thing about YES is the unique quality of it. The record that we've just finished with the late Bruce Fairbairn is not quite like any other YES record. It has some of the enormous extents that we think YES is known for. Large expense of instrumental sections, a lot of detailed originality in the songs. The voice of Jon Anderson is clear and not conflicted with Trevor Rabin singing leads or even Billy Sherwood singing leads. I play lead and Jon sings lead. I think that will give some people a little bit more confidence, because they listened to "Open Your Eyes" and wondered, "Who the hell is on that track?" Please tell us more about the new YES album, "The Ladder." Steve: Well, you said "The Ladder." It's a title that we like, so that has been our working title for some time. I am unhappy to talk about the title, but I am not unhappy to talk about the music. It's quite an original record in quite a few respects. We've done it just sitting there playing like YES. We believe that what we are doing is exploring YES. The tracks are various -- just like they used to. "And You And I" is nothing like "Siberian Khatru." There is no comparison that I see at all. Each track is like an event of its own. We've got two ten minute pieces on it, quite large, expansive, changing, key changing. On a few sections we jump on instrumental land. I am playing all the guitars on the record, all of the acoustics as well. So I am fully in control of what I want to do. The key to this record is the collective core of it. Without that there would have been too many battles about songs, especially after "Open Your Eyes." We will never go anywhere near that again. So we were very cautious not to go to California. We didn't try to sound like the old YES. That's not the idea. The idea was to make YES great. To make it great, there has to be something new. We want to play this album on stage, when we come to tour Europe in October, as the plans look now. Now we would be touring and we could be playing an album. We haven't done that for a long time as you know. When we did "Open Your Eyes," we only played one song [which isn't quite true. Ed.]. So finally you can show the critics that you are not a mere nostalgia act... Steve: That's good, yeah. And also we have a reason to put out different material from our past, not wanting to rely on all of the old classics. There are a lot old classics that don't get played. Like "Gates Of Delirium"? Steve: I won't say. That album is of interest to us. It has a lot of highly intensive music. Something of that album might be appropriate. Maybe Jon will sing something from "Drama." So we can play classics, we can play newer music. We can played unheard classics -- maybe not unheard, but less heard. I think that will excite some fans a lot. When I saw the YES show at the Hammersmith Apollo last year, you were looking slightly bored when it came to play "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" and "Rhythm Of Love." Was that impression right? Steve: Yes, I hope not to give it off too clearly. Jon put it right one day to me when he said: "The reason, I guess, we play ´Owner Of A Lonely Heart´ is because the beginning is going down so well. But when we finish, there is hardly any reaction." So that shows when we start that song, everybody goes "Oh, Owner Of A Lonely Heart," but at the end they think the same as I do: "Well, that was OK, but can we maybe have `And You And I´?" So when I play those songs I am not able to find the same heart, excitement and love as when we play "Turn Of The Century," obviously. And if it's obvious than it's something I can't control. I haven't the same enthusiasm and hunger to play eighties´ music by any means! Yeah, I admit that completely! There have been some rumours on the Internet that you would join the original ASIA line-up, if the next YES album is going to be a commercial failure. What's true about that? Steve: That's people putting two and two together and making five. But what you just said to me is true to some extent. I am very realistic. If YES flounders, I won't spend the rest of my life floundering with YES. If I leave YES anytime, then I am open to do anything I like. I don't think being in both groups is good for either group. I would think now with my sense of maturity that I if I am no longer in YES, I would more likely be investing into my solo career. For YES, I have some high regards, if not love, for what the group achieved for me, my family and the other guys in the band. ASIA is not like that. If I believe that playing with John Wetton was going to be fun, then I would want to work with ASIA just as much as with Keith West in TOMORROW or any other group I've been in. I'm not ashamed of going back to any band that I've ever been in -- and that would include ABWH and even GTR. Not necessary with the same line-up, but I am talking about the idea of working with Steve Hackett. Maybe there might be a time. Steve Hackett said to me recently that early GENESIS will be the classic music of tomorrow. Would you go that far and say that about YES music, too? Steve: There is certainly an encouraging interest in the progressive side of music. I guess that GENESIS and YES made records that won't be made again. GENESIS certainly couldn't, YES can't in a lot of ways, but we are getting very close to it, I hope. We have tried to keep that quality, but we've trashed it a few times. We trashed it with "Open Your Eyes" and also really with "90125." We were using bitter pop ingredients to get YES a bit further. But we believe we can still make some impression. What's your personal measure for the success of YES? I don't think you will reach the Top10 anymore... Steve: A successful album to me is a record that affects the way music is done after that. YES have done that. We made records that had an effect of how people think about music. That's true success, artistic success. Financial success is loads of money. The way YES could have financial success is to make a record that's brilliant. If we make brilliant records then we should expect very high results -- financially also. But mainly, YES is focused much more on the fan base. We are there to do it for them, for the YES people, because we are YES. Obviously, we need them and hopefully they need us. Close Window YesInThePress.com For site comments, problems, corrections, or additions, contact YesinthePress@aol.com