Search - Steve Howe :: Turbulence

Turbulence - magical rock guitar that stands the test of tim

Eddie Lancekick | Pacific Northwest | 08/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Steve Howe is a name that seems to fall through the cracks when people speak of the great rock guitarists. Names like Clapton, Hendrix, and then Eddie Van Halen and the like still are rightfully on their pedestals, but for some reason people seem to forget a guy named Steve Howe. Fans from his work on most of the YES albums first discovered Howe's work. The prog rock powerhouse stormed through the 70's and 80's with Howe's work helping support themes and sound with a hard work ethic and innovative imagination.



Steve Howe later went on to help form "supergroups" with other cast-offs from various bands. Projects like "Asia" and "GTR" have Howe in the liner notes as the lead guitarist. Howe is a self-taught guitarist, and unlike many who were mentored by a veteran great or attended an acclaimed music school, it was Howe's love for the instrument and his love for music that helped him forge and great beautiful sounds that were technically proficient as well as imaginative in overall virtuoso landscape. It also helped him stay focused in keeping an open mind in trying to learn and master a variety of string instruments.



Turbulence is Howe's third solo CD of the over thirteen in his solo discography alone. Released in 1991, We are blessed with a bevy of sharp, melodic tones and rhymes that really helped Howe prove that he could break away from the "YES" sound that he created so long ago and continue to grow as a musician. I won't cover every track on the album but touch on a few select ones.



Track one is the title track "Turbulence" and clocks in just less than five minutes. This song is interesting because it really starts off fast and has two guitars playing off one another. One is electrical and the other acoustic. Its really amazing how fast Steve can play an acoustic. The song has a fast tempo and choppy, short spurts that eventually lead into some pretty drawn out electrical ambience that doesn't get to dark. The overall sound of this track can sum it up for the entire album when I say that it's pretty atmospheric. What is also great is that though it breaks into some really great crescendo, almost reminiscent of prog, the acoustic part keeps it down to earth with some, shall we say, enchanted folk like sounds. Just when you think it could not get more diverse, Steve rips off a shredder of a solo piece that would make any metal head proud. Track four starts out with a heavy and blistering opening that is slow and heavy on the guitar and drums. A saxophone can be heard faintly in the background for a short time before Steve explodes into a rhythm that plays along with another layer of electrical guitar added in for effect. The song is called "The Inner Battle" and despite Steve's great work on this one, is also enjoyable from the various percussion pieces that seem to add a lot of power to it. I will say this song does have a touch of "Yes" in it, but why wouldn't it? Perhaps instead of referring to it as the "Yes" sound, we should start recognizing is as the "Howe" sound.



Track six is "Fine Line" and starts out with a plinky and melodic acoustic guitar before seamlessly breaking into a rollicking high-note hurrah that is wrought with power. It rolls along with some great synth in the background before gaining ground again to allow Steve to enter into another fine solo. This sound is not dark but really a sound that is something of prog wonder. Almost "Tolkien" like, shall we say? Beautiful solo work that again, stands the test of time. I don't think there's a bad track on the album, as every song is well executed, tight in arrangements, and uplifting in sound. Track eight is "Corkscrew" and is a fine track that is played in the lines of a Spanish guitar solo. Visions of desert and tumbleweeds rolling by cactuses come to mind as Steve strums and strives on with this great acoustic track! Track nine, my goodness. "While Rome's burning" is one of the best solo's I've heard in a long time. On "Rome", Steve plays a pretty simple intro but the chops are pretty atmospheric and the song quickly breaks into an arena type rocker that is one for the ages. Steve again mixes in some different guitars on this one but the main chorus coupled with the HEAVY pounding of the drums doesn't leave anything on the table. Sounds that really to me somehow make the listener think of something of the past, or even of the buildup of a suspenseful event from a movie. His guitar playing tells a story, it sings to us, and just when you think it's going to die down, it comes back again to give us another dose. Track ten starts us off for just over 2 minutes with another Spanish melody before spending the last bit of the track in a powerful electrical guitar piece that has some angelic keyboards and slow but steady drums to help it finish off the albums ten track song listing in style.



He may not be Clapton, Henrix, or Van Halen, but who cares? He's Steve Howe, one of the most acclaimed rock guitarists of the past 35 years that you've maybe not heard of, but should have."