All My Yesterdays

The Autobiography of Steve Howe

By: Steve Howe

Narrated by: Simon Vance

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 realized 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 '60s, 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.

©2020 Omnibus Press (P)2021 Tantor

3 Claps 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Not a bad book, though I was hoping for more. Too much minutia, and not enough, in my opinion, of what I’m sure was a lot of the fun stuff during his career.

Long on Facts, Short on Feeling

I liked this book despite itself because I love Steve Howe and adore the music of YES. Yet I can’t deny that it’s a huge miss for us readers his emotional take on the big moments of his life. Sure it’s nice to to k ow about the new wah-wah pedal he used in June 1976 and details of how certain tracks we recorded on specific mics, but where is the musings on how songs emerged and the creative process.

Howe also teases juicy stories only to an abruptly pullback and say he can’t name names. On other occasions he’ll allude to such things like a profound series of events that was absurdly wild only then not to divulge anymore details. Why write a book when you can’t be candid and don’t open your heart at least a little bit.

A good read for die hard fans, but severely lacking in emotional details and song backgrounds, which leaves one wanting and feeling a bit letdown.

27 Concerts A Thousand Notes

My favorite Prog Rock group and their de facto leader will always be there to remember and enjoy.

Awesome stories, a bit long but more than worth it

Mind-boggling how many top musician Steve played with and was around and all the things he did and is doing. I really hope he comes to America again. Seen yes numerous times and one of my favorite bands and he is just so versatile from jazz to fusion to classical to acoustic, country happy inspiring… How can you not want to absorb insights into what his life was like even if there are a few long parts. After all, it’s his perspective that I was most interested in and I got that and more from this book. Some funny stories too like comparing the patterns of chicken feathers to fingerprints or something like that. Great sense of humor and positive energy. He is cosmic but super focused and professional. A true inspiration to get stuff done, and be a better person at the same time.

Gets bogged down

I love Steve's work but I gotta be honest. The years up to around 1997 are a great story. After that it REALLY gets bogged down with song by song breakdowns of what gear he used live and in studio, who played on them, what car he drove, each bit of each tour and when his wife and kids visited, who the team members handling the business side of things were, on and on. It's like unnecessary minutiae to add length instead of just focusing on the parts fans care about. I've read and listened to just about every Rock bio available and this one just flatlined 1/2 way through for me.

How deeply honest this autobiography was sharing many unknown truth to people until this autobiography came out.

There wasn’t anything I just liked about this. I would have liked it to have been read and Steve’s own voice, but Simon was spectacular. I truly love to learning so much about one of my absolute famous musicians who I have followed since 1971. Thank you Steve Howe for decades of so much wonderful music and for sharing your life story up to that point.

Well documented story of his entire career

For true Howe and Yes fans. We get a glimpse of his personality and some inside dirt about the other great musicians we worked with.

OMG, Steve Howe Thinks Rick Wakeman is...

...Not funny? I think? The book opens with the story of Yes's induction into the RnR HoF, and he mentions "funnyman" Rick Wakeman hogging time with an impromptu stand-up routine (which cut into Chris Squire's widow's time). He lets us know in no uncertain terms what he thought of this, and now I'm looking forward to the rest of the book with a mixture of glee and a bit of trepidation: uh-oh, here it comes, this is going to be HOT!!! I've been a huge Yes (and Howe) fan for 47 years, and I'm not sure I WANT to know everything that went on behind the scenes, but there ARE things that have been bothering me for many years, and I wanted to hear Howe's take on them.
Well, there was one dig at Wakeman somewhere in the following text (I THINK it was about Wakeman; it was something about someone who was very displeased with TFTO being too convoluted, only to go on to create many convoluted albums on his own). Chris Squire's famous tardiness and his overindulgences during touring in later years get a mention, but other then that - ooof...

He does talk about guitar players who have influenced his work, and mentions contemporaries of his whom he admires. There's a nice bit at the beginning about his childhood and teens, and interesting info about his coming up in British rock scene. But, once we get to Yes, things get markedly dryer. There's some info - not barely enough - about the making of the albums during their incredible run in the 70's, but there's very little information about his relationship with his fellow musicians. The book feels like a never-ending list of tours and guitars (and cars), but there's very little information regarding anything that really matters, Asia is formed, they record, they preform, john Wetton goes away, John Wetton comes back, John Wetton says he can't work with Steve, Steve says thank you very much and leaves... What? What happened? How did you feel about it? How did it feel when you got back together, many years later? Nothing.

Yes's split with Jon Anderson is something that is very important to many Yes fans; well, too bad if you wanted to learn Howe's take on this, because you won't get it. Jon had an accident, Jon was sick - whatever, here's Benoit! And it's all throughout the book, there isn't really any of Howe's perspective about people who've been a major part of his life for 50 years...! At the end of the books he thanks Roger Dean (whom he had mentioned very favorably throughout the book), mentioning the amazing work he had done, despite "some pratfalls"; again - WHAT? Why was there no mention of this anywhere in the book?!

Steve Howe is one of the greatest guitar players of all time, and Yes the greatest prog bands. They have been giving me immense pleasure over the years, and will surely continue to do this for many years to come. The one good thing about this book was that it reminded me to go back to The Steve Howe Album, which I hadn't listened to in decades. And, at the end of the day, it's really all about the music, right?

Also: F the RnR HoF.