A new career retrospective for prog-rock guitarist Steve Howe

Steve Howe was among my first interviews as a music journalist in the early '90s. Can't wait to hear this collection.

Legendary guitarist Steve Howe will add a second volume to his Anthology series this summer with an upcoming collection that highlights his key contributions to groups like Yes and Asia, while also rounding up his numerous collaborations with musicians like Paul Sutin and Oliver Wakeman.

On July 21, Rhino will release ANTHOLOGY 2: GROUPS AND COLLABORATIONS as a physical three-CD set designed by Roger Dean and digital equivalent. The collection spans more than 50 years of Howe's prolific career with 56 tracks that mix hits with a generous selection of unreleased recordings, including several with Keith West, who was Howe's bandmate in Tomorrow and The In Crowd.

Starting with his work in the mid-Sixties, the collection opens with songs that Howe recorded during brief tenures with bands like The Syndicats ("Maybellene," 1964), The In Crowd ("Blow Up," 1967), Tomorrow ("Revolution," 1968) and Bodast ("Nothing To Cry For," 1969).

As you would expect, ANTHOLOGY 2 is packed with many of Howe's memorable contributions to Yes and Asia, two of the world's most successful progressive-rock bands. Hits like Yes's "Roundabout" and Asia's "Heat Of The Moment" are featured along with rarities like "Montreux's Theme," a song Yes recorded during sessions for Going for the One (1977), and "Masquerade" a previously unreleased tune by Asia.

The collection also touches on Howe's stint in GTR, the supergroup he founded in 1986 with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Featured here is "When The Heart Rules The Mind," a song from GTR's only album to date. Also included is "Brother Of Mine," a song he recorded in 1989 with former Yes members: Jon Anderson, Bill Bruford and Rick Wakeman. The Steve Howe Trio, a jazz band he started with his son Dylan on drums, is represented by: "Kenny's Sound" and "Sweet Thunder."

The set's final disc explores some of Howe's many musical collaborations through the years, including songs he recorded with Fish of the band Marillion ("Time And A Word," 1993), keyboardist Oliver Wakeman ("The Forgotten King," 2001) and Paul Sutin ("Voyager," 1995). In addition, more than a dozen of Howe's unreleased collaborations will make their debut on ANTHOLOGY 2.