Not Necessarily Acoustic
By Steve Howe
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Track listing
- 1 The Valley of Rocks 3:03
- 2 Heritage 2:32
- 3 Arada 1:08
- 4 Country Mix 2:57
- a. White Silver Sands
- b. Green Bay Polka
- c. Steel Guitar Rag
- d. Darling, je vous aiime beacoup
- e. Blue Steel Blues
- 5 Excerpts From Tales from Topographics Oceans 9:18
- 6 Bareback 2:42
- 7 Sketches in the Sun 2:58
- 8 Cactus Boogie 2:09
- 9 Second Initial 2:47
- 10 Corkscrew 3:45
- 11 The Glory of Love 1:14
- 12 Dorothy 2:09
- 13 Meadow Rag 2:26
- 14 Concerto in D 2nd Movement 2:34
- 15 Surface Tension 3:22
- 16 Masquerade 2:03
- 17 Mood for a Day 3:00
- 18 Swedish Rhapsody 0:53
- 19 Whispering 1:00
- 20 Roundabout 2:32
- 21 Ram 1:53
- 22 Clap 3:43
- Total length: 60:08
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2 Issues
5 Reviews
Enjoyable
Did Steve Howe never embark on a solo tour until 1993? Apparently so. Not Necessarily Acoustic was recorded on tour to promote Howe’s fourth album, The Grand Scheme of Things. All twenty-two pieces are performed by Howe alone, mostly on acoustic guitar.The song selection is very good; in addition to including Howe’s three best solo pieces (“Clap,” “Ram,” and “Masquerade”), Not Necessarily Acoustic has a cross-section of songs from Howe’s career to that point. Interestingly, three of Howe’s solo albums—Grand Scheme (1993), Turbulence (1991), and Beginnings (1975)—are represented here by just one song each. Four songs from The Steve Howe Album (1979) are also included.
The remaining fifteen songs fall into a variety of categories. Five are from Yes albums—his solo turns “Clap,” “Mood for a Day,” and “Masquerade,” plus “Roundabout” and “Excerpts from Tales from Topographic Oceans,” —and one, “Sketches in the Sun,” is from GTR. Four others are, as far as I know, previously-unreleased Howe compositions (“Second Initial,” “Heritage,” “Bareback,” and “Dorothy”). Finally, five tracks represent a total of nine songs from the 1920s through the 1950s: “Whispering,” a pop hit from 1920 revitalized in the early 1960s; “Swedish Rhapsody,” a Hugo Alfvén piece which had been arranged by Chet Atkins in the 1950s; “The Glory of Love,” a #1 pop hit for Benny Goodman in 1936 and a #1 R&B hit for the Five Keys in 1951; “Arada,” one of Federico Moreno Torrobaand’s earliest (1926) solo-guitar compositions; and the five-song medley “Country Mix.”
Howe’s guitar performances are superb, as is to be expected. Nonetheless, the adage about most live albums is true here: the studio versions (at least of the 13 tracks of which Howe had created studio versions) are better. That’s even true of the solo acoustic pieces like “Mood for a Day” and “Masquerade;” these seem rushed to me. Meanwhile, the previously unreleased songs don’t add much to the proceedings; a palpable sameness begins to creep in before the half-way mark. Since Howe’s vocals are always an item of discussion, I’ll add that he sings on just three songs (unless I’m forgetting one) and that the vocals aren’t great, but neither do they detract from the album as a whole.
The sound is very good, but a minor annoyance (to me, anyway) on Not Necessarily Acoustic is the crowd-noise editing. In several places the audience claps before the listener realizes the song is over. I realize that a performer’s silent cues can indicate when a song is over, and I’ve only been to one Howe solo concert, but the crowd responses seem too perfect, which, at least for me, is a distraction.
Anyway, Not Necessarily Acoustic is a good, enjoyable album, but nothing more. I’d recommend it to Howe fans or to fans of serious, though not classical, solo acoustic guitar.
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When this first came out, it was unique: a recording featuring choice live cuts from Howe's solo guitar shows. In retrospect it seems quite redundant, an overtly familiar entrée amidst a growing body of work. Still, it's Steve and he's always played a mean guitar. Here he chose to highlight four distinctive axes: the Scharpach SKD, a Martin 12-string, the Kohno Model 10 classical, and a Steinberger 6-string electric.
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I think this is Steve's best album. It may be only him and his guitar but thats all he needs. He shows off what made the guitar hero that he is.
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In the vein of the other acoustic work "Natural timbre", this one is suitable for the less busy moments...often tasteful, sometimes a bit boring, anyway it's his typical trademark!! Make your choice!!
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"An Evening Of Solo Guitar - Recorded Live" Most of these 19 songs are from Howe's solo career, along with a sprinkling of Yes. A highlight is the 9 minute "Excerpts From _Tales From Topographic Oceans_", with Howe on acoustic guitar and vocal.
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Catalog
18 Jul 2023
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1
The Valley of Rocks
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2
Heritage
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3
Arada
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4
Country Mix
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5
Excerpts From Tales from Topographics Oceans
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6
Bareback
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7
Sketches in the Sun
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8
Cactus Boogie
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9
Second Initial
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10
Corkscrew
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11
The Glory of Love
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12
Dorothy
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13
Meadow Rag
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14
Concerto in D 2nd Movement
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15
Surface Tension
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16
Masquerade
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17
Mood for a Day
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18
Swedish Rhapsody
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19
Whispering
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20
Roundabout
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21
Ram
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22
Clap
28 May 2023
17 May 2023
28 May 2022
2 Apr 2022
1 May 2021
30 Jun 2020
9 Apr 2020
24 Mar 2020
22 Mar 2020
13 Oct 2019
29 Jul 2019
25 Apr 2019
6 Nov 2018
2 Aug 2018