Steve Howe - (1999) Pulling String

(Review from amazon)

Recorded in Chicago and Minneapolis during Steve Howe's tour of the same name, "Pulling Strings" is similar to "Not Necessarily Acoustic".

The material that flies under his own flag covers a lot of musical territory, showing off the maestro's diversified tastes. One moment he may be doing rockabilly, the next flamenco, and then classical guitar solos. Add to that material that hearkens to the progressive stylings of Yes, new age work, and fusion, and it is apparent to see that this is a man who is hard to pigeonhole.

Here, Howe thrills with acoustic interpretations of "Gates of Delirium" and "Close to the Edge" on his trusty Martin guitar. He teases the crowd by quoting every song from "Going For The One" before launching into the poignant nylon-stringed sentimentality of Turn of the Century. He also revisits some of his best bits from his early solo albums, including "Diary of a Man Who Vanished" and "Pleasure Stole the Night". His spin on Mason Williams' "Classical Gas" is simply fantastic. The finale, "My White Bicycle", is a rare cut from his early days with the band Tomorrow.

Yes fans already know that Howe's voice isn't that great--but one doesn't listen to Yes or Howe for his singing abilities. His fretboard virtuosity is stunning and clean, and the few tunes which feature vocals aren't any worse off for it.

Track List :
01. Sweet Thunder (3:20)
02. Diary of a Man Who Vanished (2:27)
03. Excerpts from "Close to the Edge" (4:23)
04. Excerpts from "Beginnings" (3:19)
05. Pleasure Stole the Night (2:45)
06. Sketches in the Sun (3:10)
07. Rare Birds (3:11)
08. Windy and Warm (1:39)
09. Classical Gas (4:28)
10. Excerpts from "Turn of the Century" (4:47)
11. Misty (1:23)
12. Excerpts from "All's a Chord" (1:37)
13. Running the Human Race (4:02)
14. Everytime You Look over Your Shoulder (3:33)
15. Theme from "The Gates of Delirium"/Soon (6:47)
16. Blinded by Science (3:46)
17. My White Bicycle (3:17)

Line-up :
- Steve Howe / acoustic guitars, electric guitars, string pad, hi hat, lute, keyboards, bass, tambourine, drum machine
- Phil Spalding / bass on track 1
- Stuart Elliott / drums on track 1

GTR - (1986) GTR

GTR - (1986) GTR

I don't know what I was thinking back in 1986 when I purchased GTR's self-titled debut (and fortunately only studio release). It must have been that one song they kept playing on the radio, When the Heart Rules the Mind. I don't know what it was about that song. Maybe the catchy hooks? It couldn't have been the vocals, could it?

Now all these years later, I find that this album hasn't aged well at all. Instead of a fine wine, what we have here is a chunk of moldy cheese. In other words, it's not just a cheesy album, it's also pretty bad. GTR were known for their two guitarists, Steve Howe and Steve Hackett. What isn't widely known is that instead of using keyboards, they used those awful guitar-based synthesizers. This basically meant that the vibrations of their guitar strings were fed into a synthesizer trigger pickup which sent MIDI signals to a synthesizer. I've never been fond of the sounds these produced often causing me much irritation.

The other problem with this album is that once you get past the first track, their lone top 40 hit, When the Heart Rules the Mind, the rest of the album is quite a disappointment containing mostly arena rock-styled mediocrity. It almost sounds like a poor man's Asia, and maybe that's because Asia keyboardist Geoff Downes produced this album. I find it unbelievable that these two highly acclaimed guitarists made this stuff. It must have been a sign of the times and a clear indication of what was wrong with music in the 1980s.

GTR disbanded in 1987. And that's pretty much it.

Tracking List:
01. When The Heart Rules The Mind (5:28)
02. The Hunter (4:58)
03. Here I Wait (4:57)
04. Sketches In The Sun (2:33)
05. Jekyll And Hyde (4:45)
06. You Can Still Get Through (4:58)
07. Reach Out (Never Say No) (4:06)
08. Toe The Line (4:30)
09. Hackett To Bits (2:10)
10. Imagining (5:54)
Total Time: 44:25

Line-up/Musicians:
- Max Bacon / lead vocals
- Steve Hackett / guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Steve Howe / guitars, synthesizers, backing vocals
- Jonathan Mover / drums, percussion
- Phil Spalding / bass, backing vocals