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All My Yesterdays
Renowned guitarist Steve Howe tells his own story in his own words, often unflinchingly as he recounts times of triumph and torment amidst the cream of the UK's prog rock bands. Best known for his work with Yes, a group prone to sudden upheavals, and AOR supergroup Asia, Steve Howe's passage through these and other bands is a roller-coaster ride of constant touring, tense recording sessions, and frequent trips to all corners of the globe. A workaholic, he soon realised that the temptations of the rock 'n' roll lifestyle weren't for him and instead dedicated his life to excellence in musicianship. Born in North London in 1947, Steve got his first guitar at the age of 12 and thereafter devoted himself passionately to mastering its intricacies. After spells in psychedelic bands of the late sixties, he was invited to join Yes in 1970, thus finding himself in a spotlight that shines to this day. In the meantime he raised a family, adopted vegetarianism as a lifestyle, and watched as many of his peers succumbed to the impulses he managed to avoid. As well as Yes and Asia, Steve has led bands of his own, released numerous solo recordings in many different musical styles and amassed a legendary collection of priceless stringed instruments.
352 pages, Paperback
Published September 3, 2020
22 people are currently reading
54 people want to read
About the author
Steve Howe
25 books2 followersStephen James "Steve" Howe is an English musician and songwriter, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock group Yes. He has also been a member of The Syndicats, Bodast, Tomorrow, Asia, and GTR
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Ho...
Librarian Note:
There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 28 reviews
April 21, 2020
This book really is astonishing. It does give an insight into what Steve Howe is like, but gives very little away about his life or career. Almost every aspect of this book is quite incredibly bad, right down to the inside cover which proclaims that this is the first autobiography written by a member of Yes, even though Rick Wakeman wrote 'Say Yes' in 1995.
To be fair, Steve Howe's hatred of Rick Wakeman (his seething, bubbling, festering hatred) is quite apparent from the very first pages onwards. No opportunity is missed to tear him down. In fact, pretty much the only insight we get into the workings of Yes are all the complaints and criticisms that Steve Howe has for all the other members. I was left with the rather uncomfortable feeling that, with Chris Squire gone, Steve Howe is now finally living his dream of having complete control over every aspect of the band. In one chapter, he's slating Chris Squire for being a terrible man, then in the next he's paying tribute to what a wonderful, fun, playful figure he was.
There's an almost pantomime-like obliviousness to Howe's reflections on his life. Everywhere he goes, there are really unreasonable people who don't want to do things his way - the correct way - and so they must be removed. It's fascinating to compare his stories of 1) Kicking John Wetton out of Asia for making mistakes playing, and 2) Being kicked out of Asia by John Wetton for being an unbearable person. Steve Howe is never at fault and he never makes mistakes. Mistakes are things that other people make, and who has to clean up after them? Old muggins Howe.
As well as slagging off other musicians, Howe spends an excessive amount of time telling the reader how excellent his work really is. He literally described himself as playing 'ingeniously'.
Howe gives nothing away about the interesting facts of his life, instead spending page after page listing the different guitars and amps he's used, writing brief biographies of other guitarists, and promoting homeopathic medicine. It's utterly tedious and so very disappointing.
The writing itself leaves a lot to be desired, in so many ways. The sentences are clunky, there are words missing, and the whole thing is completely lifeless. In one truly mind-boggling moment, Steve Howe introduces his reflections on the 9/11 attacks with 'OMG!'. WTF?
His reflections on world events are shoehorned in with absolutely no feeling. It tends to go: 'This year, we set out on a big yes tour. Rehearsals took place in Spain and it was all going well. The 7/7 bombings in London were a shame. Can't we all live at peace? Our tour kicked off in China.' I found myself repeatedly gobsmacked by the sheer tastelessness of it.
He also throws in a healthy amount of disdain for fans who enjoy his music too much at his shows. I saw both Asia and Yes a few years back and this book ever so slightly tarnished those memories.
As if that wasn't all bad enough, the editing and presentation of this book is awful. Nobody seems to have proofread it. There's a random } in the middle of a sentence. The same facts and figures are given again and again and again.
I'm sorry if I sound unreasonable but I was so excited to read this book. Rather than an interesting insight into Howe's career, it's simply a long list of him treating being badly and somehow coming out on top. It ends with an utterly, utterly, utterly bemusing chapter in which he talks about his favourite magazines (giving the reader an in depth run down of Private Eye), his favourite tv shows (giving the reader an in depth run down of Monty Python - Apparently 'Always Look On The Bright Side of Life is pretty good?) and much more.
Steve Howe is a musical genius. I really mean that. He has been involved in some of the most stunning music created in the last 100 years. I refuse to believe that anyone who had a hand in And You And I, The Remembering: High the Memory, To Be Over, and so many more beautiful pieces doesn't feel more empathy and compassion than this autobiography suggest. Perhaps he's just not a very good writer. This book is beneath him. He could and should do better.
I simply cannot comprehend this book. It is beyond my ability to process it. What is this book?
To be fair, Steve Howe's hatred of Rick Wakeman (his seething, bubbling, festering hatred) is quite apparent from the very first pages onwards. No opportunity is missed to tear him down. In fact, pretty much the only insight we get into the workings of Yes are all the complaints and criticisms that Steve Howe has for all the other members. I was left with the rather uncomfortable feeling that, with Chris Squire gone, Steve Howe is now finally living his dream of having complete control over every aspect of the band. In one chapter, he's slating Chris Squire for being a terrible man, then in the next he's paying tribute to what a wonderful, fun, playful figure he was.
There's an almost pantomime-like obliviousness to Howe's reflections on his life. Everywhere he goes, there are really unreasonable people who don't want to do things his way - the correct way - and so they must be removed. It's fascinating to compare his stories of 1) Kicking John Wetton out of Asia for making mistakes playing, and 2) Being kicked out of Asia by John Wetton for being an unbearable person. Steve Howe is never at fault and he never makes mistakes. Mistakes are things that other people make, and who has to clean up after them? Old muggins Howe.
As well as slagging off other musicians, Howe spends an excessive amount of time telling the reader how excellent his work really is. He literally described himself as playing 'ingeniously'.
Howe gives nothing away about the interesting facts of his life, instead spending page after page listing the different guitars and amps he's used, writing brief biographies of other guitarists, and promoting homeopathic medicine. It's utterly tedious and so very disappointing.
The writing itself leaves a lot to be desired, in so many ways. The sentences are clunky, there are words missing, and the whole thing is completely lifeless. In one truly mind-boggling moment, Steve Howe introduces his reflections on the 9/11 attacks with 'OMG!'. WTF?
His reflections on world events are shoehorned in with absolutely no feeling. It tends to go: 'This year, we set out on a big yes tour. Rehearsals took place in Spain and it was all going well. The 7/7 bombings in London were a shame. Can't we all live at peace? Our tour kicked off in China.' I found myself repeatedly gobsmacked by the sheer tastelessness of it.
He also throws in a healthy amount of disdain for fans who enjoy his music too much at his shows. I saw both Asia and Yes a few years back and this book ever so slightly tarnished those memories.
As if that wasn't all bad enough, the editing and presentation of this book is awful. Nobody seems to have proofread it. There's a random } in the middle of a sentence. The same facts and figures are given again and again and again.
I'm sorry if I sound unreasonable but I was so excited to read this book. Rather than an interesting insight into Howe's career, it's simply a long list of him treating being badly and somehow coming out on top. It ends with an utterly, utterly, utterly bemusing chapter in which he talks about his favourite magazines (giving the reader an in depth run down of Private Eye), his favourite tv shows (giving the reader an in depth run down of Monty Python - Apparently 'Always Look On The Bright Side of Life is pretty good?) and much more.
Steve Howe is a musical genius. I really mean that. He has been involved in some of the most stunning music created in the last 100 years. I refuse to believe that anyone who had a hand in And You And I, The Remembering: High the Memory, To Be Over, and so many more beautiful pieces doesn't feel more empathy and compassion than this autobiography suggest. Perhaps he's just not a very good writer. This book is beneath him. He could and should do better.
I simply cannot comprehend this book. It is beyond my ability to process it. What is this book?
March 28, 2021
Steve Howe has been partly responsible for some of the very finest music I have heard in my life and a fixture in the field of adventurous rock music for fifty years and counting, but the person behind the guitar has always been a bit of an unknown entity to me. So I was happy to grab this book and start to make myself familiar with the man I’ve spent a lot of time listening to.
The strictly chronological story starts out fairly nicely with him recounting his early life and influences in music, and honing his craft in all the pre-Yes bands. When the call comes after making a name for himself in the underground scene the early Yes career is told in good detail and flow, even going into the creation of individual tracks. But as time ticks into the 80s and onward and Howe gets busier and busier with different projects, the book slowly collapses into a tedious catalogue of tour dates, family holidays, flight stopovers, studio sessions and whatnot with very little insight into the actual craft of making music. Essentially a private calendar with some embellishment, the interesting stories from Yes and Asia are quite few and far between, and usually comprised of negatives like the multi-part grievances on the making of Heaven & Earth and complaining about the drinking habits of the Late Chris Squire multiple times. What he most seems to enjoy is a comfortably low-key solo guitar career, traveling at his own pace with light tour production.
What little is revealed of the inner workings of Steve Howe displays a very passionate musician, a proud and pedantic man, but a storyteller he most definitely isn’t. And not entirely pleasant either, revealed for example by his casually quoting himself laying into an innocent hotel clerk as if it was their fault the whole city of Naples was engulfed in a chaos of uncollected garbage. Surprisingly he also goes into way more detail describing the monthly contents of Country Life magazine and various other entirely trivial matters than the life and impact of his tragically deceased son Virgil, also a musical collaborator. Maybe the wounds are still too fresh, but more probably he just wished to keep the spotlight away from his close ones while elaborating on magazines, food, cars, etc. Which is his right to do, of course, but doesn't make for a very captivating reading experience.
I ran into a few mistakes that I took for sloppy transcribing by a person with little understanding of for example the different parts of a guitar or some less famous groups related to the story, so it was a surprise when Howe remarked at the end that he did all the work by himself.
Even when binging on Yes and his solo material while reading, I was intensely bored towards the end of the book. A very disappointing experience. Let’s close with a rather accurate quote from the man himself from the final pages: ”Not all famous people have anything much to say, it has to be said.”
The strictly chronological story starts out fairly nicely with him recounting his early life and influences in music, and honing his craft in all the pre-Yes bands. When the call comes after making a name for himself in the underground scene the early Yes career is told in good detail and flow, even going into the creation of individual tracks. But as time ticks into the 80s and onward and Howe gets busier and busier with different projects, the book slowly collapses into a tedious catalogue of tour dates, family holidays, flight stopovers, studio sessions and whatnot with very little insight into the actual craft of making music. Essentially a private calendar with some embellishment, the interesting stories from Yes and Asia are quite few and far between, and usually comprised of negatives like the multi-part grievances on the making of Heaven & Earth and complaining about the drinking habits of the Late Chris Squire multiple times. What he most seems to enjoy is a comfortably low-key solo guitar career, traveling at his own pace with light tour production.
What little is revealed of the inner workings of Steve Howe displays a very passionate musician, a proud and pedantic man, but a storyteller he most definitely isn’t. And not entirely pleasant either, revealed for example by his casually quoting himself laying into an innocent hotel clerk as if it was their fault the whole city of Naples was engulfed in a chaos of uncollected garbage. Surprisingly he also goes into way more detail describing the monthly contents of Country Life magazine and various other entirely trivial matters than the life and impact of his tragically deceased son Virgil, also a musical collaborator. Maybe the wounds are still too fresh, but more probably he just wished to keep the spotlight away from his close ones while elaborating on magazines, food, cars, etc. Which is his right to do, of course, but doesn't make for a very captivating reading experience.
I ran into a few mistakes that I took for sloppy transcribing by a person with little understanding of for example the different parts of a guitar or some less famous groups related to the story, so it was a surprise when Howe remarked at the end that he did all the work by himself.
Even when binging on Yes and his solo material while reading, I was intensely bored towards the end of the book. A very disappointing experience. Let’s close with a rather accurate quote from the man himself from the final pages: ”Not all famous people have anything much to say, it has to be said.”
May 10, 2020
I used to be the gretaest Steve Howe fan back in the day. I handwrote, edited, photocopied and mailed out (20p postal order or coins and s.a.e.!), the first Yes fanzine, Sound Chaser back in 1979. I was even invited to Steve's house to do an interview around the time of Drama, and a graceful and amiable host he was. His guitar playing in the 70s was second to none and still sounds full of invention, fire and passion, so I pre-orderd this book the first I heard. His story is interesting, he's frank in places you might not expect, and paints a fascinating picture of the life of a working musician. I did feel he could have examined some of the interesting topics he touches on in greater depth, rather than talking us through his diary, but even this is a bit of an eye opener, and makes you realise just how hard a musician has to work to keep a career afloat. Thanks for the tome, Steve, and thanks for all the great music. One thing a book by a top musician always reveals is just how sensitive they are to great music - Bach, Les Paul, Django, Chet, Steve Morse, and Steve Howe is no exception.
May 10, 2020
This book isn't what I expected it to be. I admire Steve Howe's guitar and writing skills a lot, but this book becomes boring to read after some chapters. It is a dairy style of writing so its linear approach is okay but becomes tedious. The main problem, of course, is that the reader, like myself, expects more inner stories of how Steve's lyrics and music were born. What is the background of it, what were his emotions? A book about Yes only has still to be written and then with all the members involved. That is probably going to be a hard task having in mind how difficult it was already when they did put down their music as we can read in this book.
February 23, 2021
Seulement intéressant pour les fans de Yes et de Steve Howe. Factuellement assez riche, mais d'un ennui certain à lire, car de nombreux chapitres se limitent à faire la liste de concerts, d'instruments, de détails techniques assez répétitifs. On apprend des choses sur Steve Howe, mais l'on reste sur sa faim. Et l'auteur part du principe que l'on connait sur le bout des doigts sa discographie intégrale... Sur le plan humain, quelques piques bien acides envers certains membres de Yes, au lecteur de juger de leur acuité, ce qui est bien difficile. Ce n'est pas forcément le propos, mais l'absence d'humour et de recul sur soi par endroits est flagrante. Le style est d'une pauvreté affligeante, on peut comparer ce livre à celui de Bill Bruford, nettement mieux écrit et beaucoup plus enrichissant pour le lecteur. À noter également des erreurs, des fautes, comme si l'ouvrage n'avait pas été relu correctement avant impression. Une autobiographie qui ne fera pas date. Il faudrait qu'un auteur écrive une biographie de Steve Howe avec des recherches sérieuses et un point de vue personnel, et l'on aurait un ouvrage bien plus passionnant.
January 11, 2021
The theme is Steve Howe's book that I found most interesting was the rigors and rewards of a lifetime of dedication to rock music: record the tour, then do it again. His compulsive devotion to his guitar is stunning. His insider's view of not one, but two, successful bands is unique.
My issues with the book: First, a publication from a major publisher written by a self-professed perfectionist with multiple typos and grammatical errors. Second, pages of excruciating and repetitive details about his equipment, recording sessions, and travel.
My issues with the book: First, a publication from a major publisher written by a self-professed perfectionist with multiple typos and grammatical errors. Second, pages of excruciating and repetitive details about his equipment, recording sessions, and travel.
November 8, 2020
Hate to say it, but sadly lacking
I love Steve Howe, surely one of the best guitarist ever. However this book does not rise to the level of his playing. Sadly lacking in depth and insight. If you want a detailed chronology of Steve’s, Yes’ and Asia’s activities and releases, this is the book. If want insight into the personalities or read interesting stories of the many people in this circle, you will be disappointed.
I love Steve Howe, surely one of the best guitarist ever. However this book does not rise to the level of his playing. Sadly lacking in depth and insight. If you want a detailed chronology of Steve’s, Yes’ and Asia’s activities and releases, this is the book. If want insight into the personalities or read interesting stories of the many people in this circle, you will be disappointed.
April 9, 2022
Having gone to writing workshops and learning about how the beginning of a book needs to hook the reader, it was pretty smart to begin with the awkwardness of Yes' Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction. Howe's thoughts on the matter are what one would expect. The speech portion could have been handled better. After this, the narrative goes back in time to early on in Howe's life, and is pretty linear from there.
I was actually able to read this entire book within 24 hours. I did notice typos here and there: "I Could Have Waited Forever," Key Studio, In a Word Live, "You Could Fly from Here," and Fly from Here - Return Ticket. They are pretty far apart from each other, though. The book is generally competently written. I admit, it did sting a bit hearing Howe say the band hopes to play “Sound Chaser” and “To Be Over” again in the near future. The narrative does not go beyond mid 2017, but perhaps certain events would have been tough to delve into on the page, and it would’ve been odd speeding through them to get to the more recent stuff prior to the book’s publication.
Sure, the narrative could've delved deeper into the making of various songs. But for a book with the aim of summing up 70 years, it does the job. Howe even navigates through the tangled period from ABWH to Symphonic Music of Yes. I was surprised how concise the chapter about Howe's first solo album was, but there are still moments throughout the narrative that are a revealing. Some of it may not be so surprising, but can still be new information nevertheless. We all know Howe has his preferred method of working, and naturally he'd want bandmates to abide by the rule of not drinking before or during a show, and not yelling about a bandmate in the next room. Sounds reasonable to me. The comment about Jon Anderson demanding more money in 2008 is sure to draw the most attention from Yes fans. But as frank as Howe can be, he does still give credit to the people who have been huge parts of his life and career.
I was actually able to read this entire book within 24 hours. I did notice typos here and there: "I Could Have Waited Forever," Key Studio, In a Word Live, "You Could Fly from Here," and Fly from Here - Return Ticket. They are pretty far apart from each other, though. The book is generally competently written. I admit, it did sting a bit hearing Howe say the band hopes to play “Sound Chaser” and “To Be Over” again in the near future. The narrative does not go beyond mid 2017, but perhaps certain events would have been tough to delve into on the page, and it would’ve been odd speeding through them to get to the more recent stuff prior to the book’s publication.
Sure, the narrative could've delved deeper into the making of various songs. But for a book with the aim of summing up 70 years, it does the job. Howe even navigates through the tangled period from ABWH to Symphonic Music of Yes. I was surprised how concise the chapter about Howe's first solo album was, but there are still moments throughout the narrative that are a revealing. Some of it may not be so surprising, but can still be new information nevertheless. We all know Howe has his preferred method of working, and naturally he'd want bandmates to abide by the rule of not drinking before or during a show, and not yelling about a bandmate in the next room. Sounds reasonable to me. The comment about Jon Anderson demanding more money in 2008 is sure to draw the most attention from Yes fans. But as frank as Howe can be, he does still give credit to the people who have been huge parts of his life and career.
April 19, 2020
If I wasn't such a Howe fan, I would have only given this 2 stars. The writing appears to be little more than a dump from Howe's diary. Contains a lot of extraneous information that I could care less about: books that have influenced him, his philosophy regarding food, his favorite sport (snooker?). As far as any new information, there isn't much. Aynsley Dunbar wanting to join Yes after Bruford. Some arguments with Squire. Jon Anderson demanding a larger share of band proceeds because he's, well, Jon Anderson! It's just another record of a big band being torn apart by bad business decisions, excess, and egos.
December 4, 2022
I have followed Yes for many, many years and in doing so followed Steve Howe's career. What I didn't know was completely answered for me in this book. His different bands and collaborations was absolutely fascinating.
His guitars alone fill up a large part of this book, what they were, how he used them and the sound they created for this musical genius!
The albums, the music, I was enthralled!
What I really loved was the absence of the drama that happened in his life, especially with Yes, this book is purely about music and guitars and for me was everything that I wanted to read.
For guitar lovers and music lovers this is an absolute must read and re-read! Loved it!
His guitars alone fill up a large part of this book, what they were, how he used them and the sound they created for this musical genius!
The albums, the music, I was enthralled!
What I really loved was the absence of the drama that happened in his life, especially with Yes, this book is purely about music and guitars and for me was everything that I wanted to read.
For guitar lovers and music lovers this is an absolute must read and re-read! Loved it!
August 22, 2020
A book where you wish the ratings allowed half-marks.
This is an enjoyable book which shows just how busy Steve has been and remains in his life. He's not into dishing the dirt but there's enough here to give a sense of the dynamics within Yes that leaves you to join all the dots you need to.
There's lots of geeky stuff about guitars and recording as well, which fits comfortably into my image of Steve.
He's obviously kept copious diaries over the years and the book occasionally drops into 'we did this, and then we did this, and then.....' mode.
This is an enjoyable book which shows just how busy Steve has been and remains in his life. He's not into dishing the dirt but there's enough here to give a sense of the dynamics within Yes that leaves you to join all the dots you need to.
There's lots of geeky stuff about guitars and recording as well, which fits comfortably into my image of Steve.
He's obviously kept copious diaries over the years and the book occasionally drops into 'we did this, and then we did this, and then.....' mode.
May 15, 2020
Overall, a good read, exploring Howe’s career in music. I would have liked it to go a bit deeper though. It felt like a lot of bigger pieces of ‘drama’ or issues, whether musical or personal, were skimmed over.
I got a good sense of Howe’s career, but not as much of the person. There were glimmers here and there of the personality, but not enough.
I would recommend this for fans of Howe/Yes/Asia, but i don’t think it’ll appeal much outside of that crowd.
I got a good sense of Howe’s career, but not as much of the person. There were glimmers here and there of the personality, but not enough.
I would recommend this for fans of Howe/Yes/Asia, but i don’t think it’ll appeal much outside of that crowd.
June 3, 2022
A great peek inside one of rock's most iconic bands. Steve Howe is a true guitar aficionado. I was surprised to learn that his main influence was actually Chet Atkins. The book gets a little tedious later on as it's almost a rundown of where he went on what tour or who was in what studio. To my surprise, The period after 2000 has actually been the busiest. of Steve Howe's life. Recommended for music fans.
November 5, 2022
2.75
Disclaimer: I'm a huge Steve Howe fan (1970-73 in particular).
The first half of this book is good, engaging, and enlightening. Sadly, the second half reads like someone reciting their weekly calendar schedule, with a short afterthought addendum regarding books and movies (As if some editor suggested it last minute; otherwise, why not sprinkle these suggestions and [seemingly] sources of inspiration throughout.) Disappointing.
Disclaimer: I'm a huge Steve Howe fan (1970-73 in particular).
The first half of this book is good, engaging, and enlightening. Sadly, the second half reads like someone reciting their weekly calendar schedule, with a short afterthought addendum regarding books and movies (As if some editor suggested it last minute; otherwise, why not sprinkle these suggestions and [seemingly] sources of inspiration throughout.) Disappointing.
October 12, 2020
As a Steve Howe Fan Fantastic
For fact as a guitarist myself I truly appreciate and understand Steve's playing, dedication to music and the Guitar. The book details allot of information some may find too much, I loved it. Steve has been a huge influence on my own guitar involvement and my songwriting of which is just my hobby. I shall read this again.
For fact as a guitarist myself I truly appreciate and understand Steve's playing, dedication to music and the Guitar. The book details allot of information some may find too much, I loved it. Steve has been a huge influence on my own guitar involvement and my songwriting of which is just my hobby. I shall read this again.
June 2, 2021
Not only is this poorly written but Steve Howe comes off as bitter. He focuses a lot on money and takes a lot of cheap shots at other band members. The second half of the book reads less like an autobiography and more just a summary of his calendar. He spends more time talking about random dates and places and very rarely gets into the “meat” of a good story.
August 22, 2022
As has been been mentioned in other reviews, this autobiography is really a diary, well over half is probably just noting venues and dates. I wish more time and introspection were given to his reflections on his bandmates and the work they produced. Still, if you're a diehard Yes fan, give it a read for the few nuggets that are there.
September 6, 2020
The only way I would recommend you to read this book is if you were a big yes fan because there is a lot of information he left out "he just kind of skims over everything" but there were some good nuggets in it. I give it three and a half stars out of five for the book.
December 28, 2024
I am a big Yes fan, so I found it interesting. But biographies are so much better than autobiographies. But if you want to know the dates he played his different tours . . .
He was a hard working musician. But I imagine he drove his band mates crazy. As they did him.
He was a hard working musician. But I imagine he drove his band mates crazy. As they did him.
June 21, 2022
Or; the musings of an old curmudgeon. Not many revelations here. Just learned that I like Steve Howe less than I did before.
November 4, 2023
A very honest account of his life before, during and after Yes. Great stories about Asia as well.
April 29, 2024
So it turns out Steve Howe is a bellend. Shame.
November 19, 2025
Some good stories as I am a longtime fan. However a lot of passive aggressive and outright negative and selfish commentary here.
September 7, 2024
Steve Howe doesn't come across as very likable in his own book.
I love Yes, personally a top 5 band. But Steve presents himself as an extremely egotistical & arrogant person. The chest puffiness of his virtue signaling is ridiculous. He literally gives a shout out to Greta Thunburg towards the end of the book because. "We have 200 hundred years of bloody evidence." Get Out Of Here! I'm not reading a Steve Howe book to read about vegetarianism & Greta Thunburg.
Im interested in what happened when Bill Bruford left after recording Close To The Edge. I want to know how Tales of Topographic Oceans came to be with new drummer Alan White. Im interested in the recording of Relayer at Chris Squire's home studio, and what went into The Buggles joing Yes for the album Drama.
Most importantly, I want to know why Jon Anderson is not welcome in the band. It is addressed in the book, but it isn't fully explained. "He was going through medical issues, and it'd already been 3 years and it was now or never" isn't good enough. Why was it now or never? You are a classic rock casino band now. Who cares if you make it to the Muckleshoot Casino a few months late or not. Also, the singer you replaced him with left, Jon expressed wanting to come back, and you said, "Absolutely not." Why? I don't understand the issue, and I've heard Jon sing recently, and he still sounds great!
To conclude, Steve presents himself as a self obsessed liberal who writes himself as the hero:
Read as Steve gallantly fights and argues with underwhelming hotel employees, and follow as he courageously and fearlessly searches for his vegetarian food while on tour.
I have considerably less respect for Steve Howe as a man after reading this, but I really do love Yes, and found the book to be an interesting and quick read, even if walking away I think Howe is kind of a prick.
One last side note. I love Chris Squire, probably my favorite bass player of all time. I don't appreciate some of the ways Steve wrote about Chris with the latter unable to defend himself. It's fine if you're being accurate, but there's no way Steve was this perfect little angel while everyone else was the bad guy.
I love Yes, personally a top 5 band. But Steve presents himself as an extremely egotistical & arrogant person. The chest puffiness of his virtue signaling is ridiculous. He literally gives a shout out to Greta Thunburg towards the end of the book because. "We have 200 hundred years of bloody evidence." Get Out Of Here! I'm not reading a Steve Howe book to read about vegetarianism & Greta Thunburg.
Im interested in what happened when Bill Bruford left after recording Close To The Edge. I want to know how Tales of Topographic Oceans came to be with new drummer Alan White. Im interested in the recording of Relayer at Chris Squire's home studio, and what went into The Buggles joing Yes for the album Drama.
Most importantly, I want to know why Jon Anderson is not welcome in the band. It is addressed in the book, but it isn't fully explained. "He was going through medical issues, and it'd already been 3 years and it was now or never" isn't good enough. Why was it now or never? You are a classic rock casino band now. Who cares if you make it to the Muckleshoot Casino a few months late or not. Also, the singer you replaced him with left, Jon expressed wanting to come back, and you said, "Absolutely not." Why? I don't understand the issue, and I've heard Jon sing recently, and he still sounds great!
To conclude, Steve presents himself as a self obsessed liberal who writes himself as the hero:
Read as Steve gallantly fights and argues with underwhelming hotel employees, and follow as he courageously and fearlessly searches for his vegetarian food while on tour.
I have considerably less respect for Steve Howe as a man after reading this, but I really do love Yes, and found the book to be an interesting and quick read, even if walking away I think Howe is kind of a prick.
One last side note. I love Chris Squire, probably my favorite bass player of all time. I don't appreciate some of the ways Steve wrote about Chris with the latter unable to defend himself. It's fine if you're being accurate, but there's no way Steve was this perfect little angel while everyone else was the bad guy.
February 21, 2021
Such a shame
Ive always appreciated Steve Howe's guitar playing and musical endeavours. Having literally just finished Steve Hackett's book I launched whole heartedly into what i presumed would be a much better book. Alas it was not to be, what we got was a never ending list of. Yes gigs and some nasty sniping at other members of Yes ( especially Rick who gets it at just about every opportunity) he even manages to get in a comment about Greg Lake's size!
Of course all the time during this sniping and listing we are led to believe that Mr Howe is perfect in every way, that he is left to clear up any mess and that general.y speaking most of the musicians he has worked with dont deserve to be graced with his presence let alone work with him!
There are times in this book that i actually gasped out loud at things that Howe had written ( he spends most of the book complaining in one way or another about Chris' chemical or alcohol intake then in the next breath after his passing he was a true giant among men!
The book is overall llightweight but a worthwhile read just to realise what a prima donna Howe must actually be!
I will never listen to a Yes album in the same light again .....
Ive always appreciated Steve Howe's guitar playing and musical endeavours. Having literally just finished Steve Hackett's book I launched whole heartedly into what i presumed would be a much better book. Alas it was not to be, what we got was a never ending list of. Yes gigs and some nasty sniping at other members of Yes ( especially Rick who gets it at just about every opportunity) he even manages to get in a comment about Greg Lake's size!
Of course all the time during this sniping and listing we are led to believe that Mr Howe is perfect in every way, that he is left to clear up any mess and that general.y speaking most of the musicians he has worked with dont deserve to be graced with his presence let alone work with him!
There are times in this book that i actually gasped out loud at things that Howe had written ( he spends most of the book complaining in one way or another about Chris' chemical or alcohol intake then in the next breath after his passing he was a true giant among men!
The book is overall llightweight but a worthwhile read just to realise what a prima donna Howe must actually be!
I will never listen to a Yes album in the same light again .....
August 15, 2020
This is a book for a special kind of Yes fan. If the first song you think when you think of Yes is "Owner of a lonely heart" skip this book as Steve Howe wasn't there. What this book has is a strong account of the recordings that Steve Howe participated in, a fair amount of touring commentary, very little about his guitars, and almost nothing about the problems he had with almost every member of the ever changing band that was Yes... As well, as members of Asia and GTR among others
Yes, there is an account of his solo career as well as Asia and GTR. At the end the impression is that of an ill-tempered old man looking back fondly at his family life and forgetting all the fights he had with almost anything.
Mention is made of Steve Howe ideas about inner life and nutrition and other "life philosophies". But without much detail.
Perhaps no more should be expected. Steve Howe has talked enough through his music and guitar playing... This book just fills the hole on the rest of his life.
Yes, there is an account of his solo career as well as Asia and GTR. At the end the impression is that of an ill-tempered old man looking back fondly at his family life and forgetting all the fights he had with almost anything.
Mention is made of Steve Howe ideas about inner life and nutrition and other "life philosophies". But without much detail.
Perhaps no more should be expected. Steve Howe has talked enough through his music and guitar playing... This book just fills the hole on the rest of his life.
December 26, 2020
Having read a number of autobiographies of rock musicians (Clapton, Townshend, John, Richards), Howe's book stands out as the most narratively organized, musically revealing, and least impacted by substance abuse. This is not a high bar to reach, but it is something. About half way through the book it seems Howe is just going through his calendar for the last 30 years and providing a travelogue. He is a great musician and certainly dedicated to his craft. The most valuable aspect of the book was the insight into Howe's dicsocography - which I will be enjoying more than his literary works.
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