The Making of ‘Fragile,’ the Birth of Prog and More with Yes Guitarist Steve Howe
“Too twiddly didn’t really exist to us, in our minds,” guitar legend Steve Howe of Yes says in the new episode of Rolling Stone Music Now, explaining the musical mission of his band — and of prog-rock itself. “There wasn’t really such a thing. If you could play it, then it obviously isn’t too twiddly — because, hang on, you’re playing it! We wanted to sparkle, we wanted a surprise… We were taking untold risks and gambles and playing about with things.”
A new ultra-deluxe box set Yes’ 1971 classic, Fragile, is out now, and Howe took the opportunity to look back at the making of that album, the early days of the band, why he loves Rush, and much more in our new interview. Some highlights follow; to hear the whole interview, go here for the podcast provider of your choice, listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, or just press play above.
Yes was a huge influence on Rush — and Howe is, in turn, a fan of that band. “We much admired them,” Howe says. “This was a very powerful trio. Trios are very rare, that you can do that. ELP, Cream, there’s a handful. So they had a incredible power to do that. And when your drummer is admired as much as he was, and the other guys build up their reputation, Alex [Lifeson] and Geddy [Lee] … and I love the guys very much, particularly Geddy, who I had a chance to spend some time with a little while back. So basically, this is a great band with its own story, but they came from the embryo, if you like, of what ELP and Genesis and Yes started doing in the Seventies. And I say bravo. [Just as] I love Dream Theater’s adventurousness. They took on some of our ideas, and I think it’s quite flattering, more than in any way It could ever be annoying.”
Psychedelic rock — and even taking psychedelics — led directly to prog-rock. “I noticed a lot of great things about music that I loved, during those periods where I took mild amounts of it,” Howe says. “Music was a central part of it. It took your breath away — ‘wow, listen to that!’ There was this other dimension. I think it was highly creative — but not recommendable. It’s too risky. It’s like anything. If you know it’s dangerous, don’t go there.”
Howe admires the amazing Dolby Atmos remix of Fragile by Steven Wilson on the new box set, but will always prefer the original. “There are different mixes and they all have their different values,” Howe says. “And maybe it’s the time I should confess that for me, the original mixes are the original mixes — It’s not possible to surpass them. They’re the end stop… I was there. I know the differences. They’re incredibly small, incredibly slight, but to my ear, I can tell.”
it’s a myth that former Yes lead singer Jon Anderson wrote songs without playing an instrument — in fact, he played some guitar. “Jon knew some chords, and he would vamp about. Jon was an inspirational musician to work with because he was free in his own mind to try lots of different things. The way he found those chords fascinated me because they often had nice twists in them.”
The Yes classic “Roundabout” started with a few simple chords. “I must have played that to Jon,” Howe recalls, “and he thought it was nice.” He’s particularly proud of the song’s intro, a ringing piano chord recorded backwards: “The backward piano, I believe, was my idea. It really gave it a kind of moment. That was a beautiful E minor… flipped on the tape and then lined up so that it would climax backwards with the attack of the chord.”
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