Author’s note: I’d like to state from the outset that what follows in this essay is speculation and opinion. No one (I don’t care who they are or who they talked to) has the authority to make any kind of announcement online or anywhere else regarding this project save Trevor himself. So let’s all keep that in mind, shall we?
Primarily I think John McLaughlin’s been a major influence. Funny enough some time back he was doing a Shakti tour, and some people had told him about me, or something, I’d just moved to LA…and I can’t remember exactly the story, the management phoned up because…I think it was, uh, Al DiMeola couldn’t make it at the time, or something. So there was a…they asked if I would be interested in doing it and I said ‘Well of course, you know, it’s a silly question.’ But I couldn’t do it contractually, I wasn’t allowed to do it.
-Trevor Rabin, interviewed for the Behind-the-Scenes footage of Yesyears, April 1991
I wanted to start off this essay with that anecdote - wherein Trevor recounts how he missed out on a particular dream job - for a reason which will become obvious in further reading. But I wished to verify that the gig was not with McLaughlin’s ensemble Shakti, but rather The Guitar Trio, which means now the world will never know how John McLaughlin, Paco De Lucia, and Trevor Rabin would have sounded in all-acoustic splendor. I for one am gutted to consider it. But life must go on…
Loyal Rabinites have been aware of the next solo album project as a topic of discussion in interviews and exchanges with Trevor for about a decade; as he first made mention in 2002 of having enough material for “half an album at least.” So hints and glimmers of possibility have been teasing us for what might seem an eternity. But anyone who’s been actively awaiting a solo project possesses multiple reserves of patience…especially anyone who’s been waiting for a release in the style of Trevor’s previous incarnation of AOR guitar god.
For me, when the hints began regarding what kind of album it would be, starting around 2004, then things got interesting. Because knowing Trevor is a fan of music of many stripes, his comments regarding moving beyond expectations into something more “eclectic” were exciting. Over the course of his entire career, Trevor has written and played in numerous styles and idioms and possessed what could be referred to as a “catholic” taste in regards to music as a whole – both a product of his particular upbringing, his musical education and experience, and his personal preferences. His versatility as a writer, arranger, and musician means he can apply himself to any style and create engaging music. This has been borne out by fifteen years worth of film scores which represent myriad genres: rock, bluegrass, techno, orchestral, jazz, world music, chorale…whatever the emotional requirements of the imagery, Trevor is there to provide the soundtrack. His musical identity as a whole made him a perfect fit for this particular profession from the outset…and beyond that his work in popular music for twenty years prior.
And interest was further peaked when Trevor's website was given a revamp in 2008 and visitors were greeted by a piece of fleet fretwork entiled "Barney IIa," which definitely displayed more of a jazz feel than just about anything we'd ever heard from him, and rightly so - as the title and style seem to indicate it was a tribute of sorts to Barney Kessel, a jazz guitarist whom Trevor has named as one of his favorites.
As I like to state in fandom discussions, why would we seek to put someone so insanely talented into a box? Why would we desire to limit him with our expectations if we truly appreciate his entire talent? For me, this project seemed – by virtue of Trevor’s comments about it – to be a way to finally throw away the box once and for all: an album wherein he possessed the freedom to express himself in any style of his choosing, and because it would be an instrumental record, without the limitations of the typical pop/rock song structure. A soundtrack for the movie in your mind, as it were (or his, possibly) but again without expectation – without any guidance but his own as the auteur.
Like anyone else, I have my prejudices and preferences and so they were rewarded when I began to read particular comments regarding the classification, but in particular Trevor’s comment in the March 2010 issue of Classic Rock Presents:Prog interview:
It’s a jazz-rock labour of love.
(And when I read that quote I had the whole fist-pump “YES!” moment.)
Because I’m a big fusion fan, a good chunk of my music collection is dedicated to what I believe was the golden era of jazz fusion: the mid-to-late 1970s, with albums by Miles Davis (who is acknowledged as inventing the genre), Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, Weather Report, Bill Bruford, Larry Coryell…and one of Trevor’s musical heroes, John McLaughlin, both solo and with such collaborations as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Shakti, Carlos Santana, and the one-off dream team called Trio Of Doom.
As he’s stated numerous times, the man who most influenced Trevor as a player is the aforementioned Johnny Mac: truly an amazing musician, a humble man, and a person who has never allowed himself to be confined by expectation or limitation. It can be said McLaughlin follows the spirit of the music wherever it may lead, and some of the destinations have been strange, but never boring. As a burgeoning guitar player it’s likely Trevor was wearing down the grooves of Mahavishnu Orchestra’s Apocalypse, which Trevor has listed as one of his all-time favorites; and it’s no surprise, considering Trevor’s love for orchestral power and form - the London Symphony Orchestra is a distinct presence on the recording.
Trevor’s professional career began before his own specific recognition as a recording artist, but once he became the mastermind of Rabbitt the influences flowed through him to be expressed in his own music: written, arranged, performed and co-produced to his own standards. One specific quotation of McLaughlin’s impression upon him can be heard on the track “I Sleep Alone” from Rabbitt’s second album A Croak and A Grunt in the Night. A dramatic and melodically lovely interlude, it features a classical turn from Trevor on nylon-string guitar against a swelling backdrop of strings and glockenspiel, followed by a plaintive vocal recounting the perils of heartbreak. Trevor already possessed a reputation as the best rock guitarist in South Africa, and Rabbitt’s popularity allowed the band and their production team to further illustrate their world-class status in more experimental and controversial material.
Perhaps the most well-known composition which points to the instrumental voice which might be heard on the new release is “Solly’s Beard,” Trevor’s acoustic tour de force named for the Rabin family dog, which he developed as a setpiece mere days before Yes was set to begin touring in 1983. Both lyrical and complex in its voicing, the piece evolved to where it was augmented with other motifs and parts of songs as it came to be performed on subsequent Yes tours and also on Trevor’s solo tour in 1989. As such it became an expression of a side of Trevor which fans unaware of his previous work or influences could appreciate in regards to his versatility.
But there is another piece which tends to be a tipping point among Rabinites, either in its originally-recorded form or live rendition. One either loves it or dislikes it (“hate” might be too strong of a term). First appearing as an interestingly-edited instrumental interlude on Trevor’s fourth solo album Can’t Look Away, “Sludge” (which Trevor joked was originally going to be called “Villians from the Swamp Beyond”) is a sly shifting montage of intricate chord sequencing and tricky time signatures. Those used to the singer/songwriter of catchy choruses and great hooks were no doubt slightly mystified. But when Trevor assembled a band to promote the record on a short club tour, the song was re-arranged and augmented to give all the musicians a chance to joyfully jam and individually shine (most notably Lou Molino III, who performed an epic drum solo before dropping right back into the groove as if he’d never left). The live version of “Sludge” is an incredible slab of fusion furor: full of fire and bravado and sheer mastery. There is a playful quality to their performance while at the same time displaying the inherent chemistry and professionalism of all participants. Trevor had a chance to display his guitar hero pyrotechnics on many songs in the setlist, but none as flat-out badass as “Sludge.”
And with first hearing the fusion-flavored version of “Sludge” I was firmly convinced of Trevor’s ascension to the ranks of those masters I have so loved over the course of my musical life. Whenever I’ve had occasion to provide proof of Trevor’s status as a guitar god, “Sludge” is the track I play first.
For me, jazz (and more specifically fusion) is a thrilling medium because the best of it involves great players playing together and going for broke, to get to a space where their collective greatness will merge and mesh and create something new and exciting. Often an impromptu and experimental form, it’s the sound of excellence striving for more.
Now if you apply that philosophy to our favorite musician? How could that not be amazing?
So the promise of jazz structures and bluegrass influences is a heady consideration, to imagine what kind of musical adventure Trevor is going to take us on.
And yet, fandom expectation means there will likely be disappointed or confused listeners, listeners who long for someone who existed twenty-five years ago. Listeners who desire to place Trevor back in the box they found him in. But the best of people – let alone musicians – are portraits of evolving artistic development and emotional epiphany.
It’s certainly not my job to convince anyone to embrace something they might be suspicious of, for whatever reason. All I can say is that I am beyond excited for this project when it is finally shared with all of us: excited for the prospect of hearing a love of music and acknowledgment of the legacy of the artistic forebearers who have inspired and astounded Trevor Rabin as a musician and an artist, to hear him go for it, whatever lies on his musical horizon.
To be who he is, for now and always. Because that is why I’m a fan.
