BMG RecordsYes guitarist Steve Howe has pushed back the release of his latest solo album, Love Is, from this month to July 31.
The 10-track collection, which features five instrumentals and five songs with vocals, is Howe’s first album of original new material since 2011’s Time.
Steve handles lead vocals on the record, as well as playing electric, acoustic and steel guitars, keyboards, percussion and bass guitar. Current Yes frontman Jon Davison contributes backing vocals and bass to the songs that Steve sings. Howe’s son, Dylan, plays drums throughout the record, which Steve produced.
“I called the album Love Is because it hints at the central idea that that love is important but also love of the universe and the ecology of the world is very important,” explains Steve. “We are…destroying the planet and, I suppose, my songs show the yearning I have for the love of nature and how beauty, art and music all stem from nature. There is a theme about those things, love, beauty, ecology, nature and wonderful people.”
About collaborating with Davison, Howe says, “He’s been with Yes for seven or eight years and he’s a great guy, great performer and a great interpreter of Yes songs.”
Regarding taking on lead vocal duties on Love Is, Steve notes, “I’ve been singing for years, mainly in harmony but I’ve sung lead on lots of my own albums before and I feel that, as I’ve got older, I’ve got a grip on that and, hopefully, it’s improved over the years.”
You can pre-order Love Is now on CD and as a 180-gram vinyl LP. Both versions will come in a gatefold sleeve and feature liner notes penned by Steve and song lyrics.
Here’s the Love Is track list:
“Fulcrum”*
“See Me Through”
“Beyond the Call”*
“Love Is a River”
“Sound Picture”*
“It Ain’t Easy”
“Pause for Thought”*
“Imagination”
“The Headlands”*
“On the Balcony”
* = instrumental.
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