https://www.loudersound.com/features/deep-purple-chemistry-magic-and-the-birth-of-perfect-strangers
Wherein Trevor gets the nod from another bona fide guitar hero - could he have imagined as he played "Highway Star" to the punters back in Jozi that one day he'd have The Man himself praise his own fiery fretwork?
You [Ritchie Blackmore] reportedly wanted Purple’s Perfect Strangers to be as good a comeback album as Yes’ 90125. Is there any truth in this?
Ritchie Blackmore: Well, who wouldn’t want to return with as strong an album as 90125? It’s a great record, it’s got a superb sound and I like Trevor Rabin; one of the best guitar solos I’ve heard in a long time is on "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
That actually moved me, it made a real change to hear someone actually doing something adventurous with a guitar instead of just running up and down the fingerboard and saying: ‘Wow, impressive, huh?’ The sound of that guitar synthesiser is also very exciting, so much so that I actually went out and bought one.
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And then rather serendipitously to both my recent interview with Trevor and this particular entry, a couple days ago on the Yesfans discussion board, forum member downbyariver posted a thread commenting that the John Parr song "Treat Me Like An Animal" - from his 1984 eponymous debut - possesses a rather strong resemblance to the aforementioned smash hit single. One wonders if the appropriation of "Owner" was embedded within the song itself, or as a result of its' arrangement once in the recording process. This song was also the b-side on a few single releases: "Magical" and "Love Grammar" in 1984 and "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)" in 1985.