Paul_UK wrote:Very true, but Howland just has no personality or power in his playing though compared to ANY of the past guitarists the band have had and IMHO weakens the band's over all sound.
I don't think he's been given the chance to really step up in the band. With so many accomplished musicians in the band... so many people who have something to contribute to the music... I think he got lost in the shuffle of this new album. The credits on it show that other guitarists "guested" on a lot of it, and I'm under the impression he only played on like 1/2 of it. I haven't read the liner notes for a few weeks, but I am not of the impression he had all that much of his songwriting on it.
I've been on Howland's website, and he has a few cds he's done on his own (there are samples there)where he really smokes on lead guitar. This guy has great guitar chops, and he has the ability to sing really well (I've heard his vocal version of IF YOU LEAVE ME NOW on the Live by Request DVD and it was pretty good), so he also has the talent to add a lot to the background vocals. His live playing is a bit restrained, but that's because he likes to remain faithful to the original songs. I'm glad he does that, because nobody wants to hear Yngwie Malmsteen-type shredding licks in this band.
In summary, we've only heard a fraction of what he's capable of in this band, and this may be because he chooses to be a team player.
In addition, to anybody that's interested, Howland did a notable guitar heavy track on their recent Christmas album that is worth seeking out!