“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 EL.