Media Watch: near-miss

In the second installment of Ron Fair's column for American Songwriter magazine, he chronicles his discovery of Trevor's music...it's quite the story!  Long-time fans are aware that Trevor has frequently cited Fair as being the first record company executive to recognize the potential of "Owner" when he was originally attempting to obtain a recording contract after his development deal with Geffen went bust.

https://americansongwriter.com/ron-fair-the-true-crime-story-of-the-classic-hit-owner-of-a-lonely-heart/

The article contains a video of Fair's edit of Trevor's original demo for "Owner," the full version of which was included on the 90124 release in 2003.  Interestingly, the story of how Yes came into the picture - and Fair claims that (presumably) Phil Carson and Chris Squire had heard Trevor's demo of "Owner" at that time - is somewhat different to previous narratives (but let's remember Yes is a band which has numerous versions of their history in general).  I think it certainly makes for a more dramatic story for Trevor Horn to have "discovered" the potential of the song himself, but who knows?

A pleasant surprise!

Yesterday, Trevor announced that he would be releasing the demo version of "Fragile" - previously only available as a bonus track on the deluxe Rio release - to streaming services.

As stated in the social media post:

I’m particularly pleased with the space, in terms of production, and happy with the simplicity of the lyric. Life is harsh, fickle and Fragile. My intention regarding the guitar solo was for it to drip onto the “page” so to speak.

Given that he wrote this song to spec for Agent X's showrunner, I'm assuming that the lyrics at least somewhat reflect the narrative concerns of the series as a whole (or perhaps only the last episode).

Media Watch: PROG issue 144

Announced today on the official website for the publication, the new issue of PROG (Keith Emerson on the cover) contains another feature article on Trevor as part of promotion for Rio.

Trevor Rabin - Having just released his first vocal-led solo album in 34 years, Trevor Rabin looks back over his career as a solo artist, a member of Yes and beyond.

Track-by-track, part three

Up next in this series is Trevor's thoughts regarding "Paradise."

entering "Oklahoma"

Today marks the release of the third advance single from Rio, Trevor's reflection on the events of the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, a beautiful song which displays poignancy and grandeur in equal measure.

Exclusive interview (part one), Rio: a return to form

Photos by Hristo Shindov

For this, my third interview-length conversation with Trevor in eleven years, I wanted to focus the discussion on his new release as I had listened to it numerous times prior to our meeting (without the context of lyrics and liner notes) and had plenty of questions to ask about the songs.  Rio is a definite event in Trevor’s career, having not released a solo vocal album for over 30 years, but there are also some tangential threads to be found.  I always try to provide good conversational points for the Maestro and I can only hope he shares my opinion.

In part one, we discuss the newest member of the Rabin family, his son Ryan’s musical journey, Trevor’s relationship with his past and his heritage through the lens of South Africa, youthful hijinks, and a few of the wonderful and meaningful songs from Rio.

As always, many thanks to Trevor for being so generous with this time and an interesting and engaging conversationalist; with additional thanks to Henry Potts and Cee for technical support, and also the good people at Chipster PR & Consulting.

****

What I wanted to start with is the namesake of this album, who is going to be two at the end of the month, talk about time flying!  And she’s absolutely adorable.  So since you’ve created a piece of art which is her namesake - you know what kind of relationship you’re going to have with her, you know, as she grows up.  Have you thought about what kind of relationship you want for her to have with your art, given that you’ve now created a piece of art that is named for her?

Oh wow, that’s a good question.  To be quite honest I haven’t thought about it to that degree but obviously I hope she - when she gets married, you know - when she’s older she’ll look upon it and say “That was my grandfather, he made that for me!”  So beyond that I haven’t really thought about it.

I know family is very important to you - and to your entire family - that you all have really deep enduring bonds.  And so, you know, I’m just thinking about the continuum, from Ryan to Rio, and how I know that he is going to make sure that she realizes how important it is.  That she comes from an artistic family, she comes from a family that is very close and has a lot of traditions that are meant to endure, and I feel like this is another piece of that.  Of course it completely makes sense why you would name it for her, but also in the bigger picture it makes sense to me.  And I just thought it was such a wonderful gesture.

When I first thought about it, I thought, well I should speak to Ryan and Kyly about this and I said, “You know I think I’m gonna call the album Rio, what do you feel about it?”  And they were great with it, they said, “Oh fantastic!”  And I have to say, she doesn’t stop singing, she sings constantly.  And every time she sings I’m listening for it, as I did with Ryan, to see whether I could judge how musical.  But you know at two years old you could deviate from a melody just because you don’t have the capacity at that point to kind of intellectualize what it is or hear really what it is.  But I’ve been doing exactly the same thing I did with Ryan.  And I’m not sure what the conclusion is yet.

Well I imagine in a few years that she’ll be sort of led along the path of musical inclination to see how she feels about it; you had said in previous interviews that you and Shelley had never forced Ryan to take music lessons or to do anything like that, but just as a way of general enrichment and then of course he grew into it as something that he loves because I think he’s growing up inside of it.  It’s like oxygen, you’re living inside of this atmosphere.

Absolutely; I very consciously didn’t want to try and push Ryan into anything with regard to anything musical.  But other than doing what I did when I was five years old, although he started a little later than five - late bloomer, I think he was six-and-a-half - piano lessons, and I decided I didn’t want to do it myself, because I think an outside source might be a more healthy thing.  And I got a teacher, I can’t even remember who it was, but I used to sit in the living room while he had his lesson once a week and that was really the full extent of influencing him to become a musician.  And then halfway through these lessons, he was at school, and now he’s 12 years old, and he says, “Oh Dad, do you wanna come hear our band?”  I said, “What band?”  And he had a band, they were playing the lounge of the guitarist place and I said, “Okay, do you need a keyboard, or -?”  And he said, “No, I’m a drummer!” and I said, “You’re a drummer?” and it’s not like I wasn’t involved in him every second of the day kinda thing but this was just something he took upon himself and he went in, someone had a drum kit and it felt good and he enjoyed it.  Next thing, I bought him a drumkit and he became a drummer and when he went to USC he took a music course - and this was his idea by the way - he was already in a band and they were touring, and touring all over the country and he said, “I think I’m going to leave the band and go to college,” and he went to USC.  And, you know, did a music degree, and the initiative was all his, I must say.  And GROUPLOVE was all his although they lived here for two years while they did the album and they did it in the second studio we had here, well, a room that was a studio.

Right, your original studio.

Well no, not even my original studio, it was a room that first was a gym, and then a storage place, and we just put all the equipment in there, set up a recording situation and he recorded them there.  

Oh okay - I’d been thinking it was your original studio, you know, the one in the garage.

Yeah no - and that’s gone now, it’s on the same property but it’s a very different place now.  The garage has cars in it, thankfully.

Going forward, I really wanted to talk about “Thandi” and “Egoli” because I think those songs are very important, not only within the context of the album but within the context of your history.  And so “Thandi” - is it about poaching?

100% yes.  

Ah okay - see, because I’ve been listening without the context of lyrics and liner notes, so I’ve been very carefully trying to work it out.  And loving some of these lines, for example, the lines that open the song: Buried in shame/dust in my eyes/looking for ways to be there.

Right.

And to me that speaks of someone who is, you know, feeling horror and remorse at a situation where there isn’t really anything that you can do, or very little.

Isn’t that the hardest thing, it’s like watching someone being beaten or something and there’s nothing you can do to help because you’re shackled somewhere.  It is a helpless kind of feeling.  This is - the only thing I can do is just talk about it.  It’s horrific, and it’s been happening for decades obviously, probably centuries.  What was I watching the other day - it was about Ferdinand, the reason for the First World War.  He was such a hunter, I think it was something like 200,000 kills or something.  It’s like, how do you go to sleep at night?  If I stand on an ant I’m like, “Ah, I didn’t mean that,” but it’s not as bad as going out and killing this beautiful lion or elephant and holding it up like it’s a trophy.  I just don’t understand it.

I feel like a lot of Western culture is predicated on what I call “blood sacrifice.” 

Yeah.

Not only war, and conflict, but also, yeah, hunting.  And that people believe they’re enacting the primal impulses of our species but I think we’ve evolved far away from that.  I really feel the deep sadness of the song you’ve been able to express.  Now Thandi, it’s a name endemic to South Africa, but what is it meant to be the personification of in terms of the song?

Actually, if you look up Thandi the Rhino you’ll find a whole story about this particular rhino, but really that’s just the name and there’s a story about that but this is essentially purely about the poaching.  And the poachers, sometimes the rangers can get to them, but you know it’s a losing battle and the ivory just keeps moving, and these horrific murders I think they are.

Yeah, and strictly for greed.  It’s horrible.

100% greed.  And happily my piano has plastic keys, which is another thing that’s also dangerous to the earth but at least it’s not ivory.

Right.  So, at the beginning of the song there is a collage of sounds and things like that.  Is one of those sounds Rio, her voice?

No, that’s an actual rhino.

Okay, because I know there’s another animal growl as well.

Yes, all of those are the sounds of a rhino.  You know, different rhinos.

Oh I see, and so you did some pitch-shifting on them for texture?

Not so much pitch-shifting but reverb and placements are changed for reasons of Art.

I think it does create this atmosphere that’s really interesting.  I like the blending of the rock energy of the verses and then the more mbube style of the choruses and how it shifts really well.  It gives me a “Me and My Boy” vibe in terms of the energy, is that Ryan on drums?

That’s Lou Molino.

Because the energy of it, in terms of the drum track, was making me think of Ryan.  Because we know Ryan is a very high-energy player.

Right.  Actually, Lou played great on this album.

Oh yeah, absolutely!  I particularly love his playing on “Big Mistakes.”  The sounds that you got from it, all of that cracking on the snares and things like that.  To me, it’s like an absolute banger, feel-good hit of the summer kind of thing.  It even kind of makes me think of the Captain Cuts aesthetic, I know that you weren’t going for that necessarily, you’re working in an idiom that you’re thoroughly familiar with.

Right.

You’re a master of melodic rock.  But at the same time, you know, you’ve heard all their songs.  So you know that they’ve always got such a great hook and really big energy, like EDM or Emo or a combination of the two, and that their songs just reach out and grab you. And that’s what it made me think of.

Initially the idea of the song is I wanted to get this particular guitar sound which is when the song first comes in.  And once I had that sound, that allowed me to carry on, if you like.  And then Lou’s idea of how the drums were gonna sound, what they were gonna do, came in it just kind of flowed from there.  But really the essence of the song is just remembering early years and the mistakes we all make as teenagers and the curiosity that leads us to some unfortunate places. 

Because I was going to ask: are you willing to disclose one of these big mistakes?

No.

No. 

(mutual laughter)

It really is just a question of: I cannot believe I went through that and lived to tell the story. You know, it could just be the irresponsibility of having a fast car during Rabbitt, for example, and speeding with a dear friend of mine who just passed away who was the engineer on the Rabbitt albums.  Here’s something specific: we raced one Sunday and we were at least cognizant enough to consider that there’s no one on the road and do it on that day.  But you know anything could have happened besides writing ourselves off, but yeah things like that came to mind and just came through in the lyrics.

Since you just said that, I was thinking of that infamous story of how the three of you had won a car in a battle of the bands thing -

Oh my goodness!

- and you were driving it without a license to your gigs.

Oh, you know, we used to - how can I put this - one member would say “So-and-so’s coming to pick the car up and we’re going out,” and my parents would say, “Oh okay.”  And I’d wait until they were busy on something and I’d just drive.  And you know I could barely see above the steering wheel, and we all used to do that, we all drove that car into the ground.  ‘Cause we couldn’t really drive.

That’s what it was for, right?!

That’s absolutely what it was for, and it was before Rabbitt.  The start of Rabbitt was really Ronnie Robot, Neil Cloud, and myself and we functioned under the name Conglomeration for years and years and years and then I started working with Patric van Blerk who became the guardian, if you like, of the band.

Right.

And that’s when it evolved into that.  But yes, Sound 69 it was called. And we won a car and we were so excited.  I think all the parents thought: “What are they excited about?  We’re gonna have to take them in this car, what do we even need it for?” and it became a pivotal thing.  Eventually we were driving ourselves to gigs in the car, and you know it stopped even being a concern that we were driving without a license.

Since we’re in the South African years, I wanted to talk about “Egoli” a bit and also wanted to note that other people were wondering what the title meant, well, I knew thanks to Margaret Singana.  I think on one of the tracks on Tribal Fence she makes a reference to it, she says, “Egoli: City of Gold” and so for years now I’ve known what that meant.  And so as soon as I saw the title I thought “Oh this is great!” because I love it when you work in that idiom.  I was going to state that to me the song is expressing your specific experience of the South African diaspora, for your specific generation, that all of you have this deep ambivalence regarding your homeland: the place that you were born, the place of your family, the place of your youth and whatever good memories that you do have.  But also of course a place of incredible terror and corruption and cruelty.  And so therefore having to deal with that emotional baggage all of your life.  I feel like you’re expressing that in the refrain, that you’re asking for things to heal yourself and to heal the nation - 

Take me up and feel my soul

erase the pain and make me whole.

Take my hand and show the way

I’ll be home on Judgement Day.

- meaning that you’re trying to seek a specific emotional unity that I think is particularly characteristic of the South African diaspora.

That's an amazing recognition of what it's all about because, you know, in the song I was hoping to put across a sound musically that is happy.  I did a show, the Mandela concert, in South Africa and met with him and had lunch with him.  Which was one of the most incredible times, because he was an absolute hero of mine.  I’d known about Mandela all my life, my uncle was his lawyer for decades.

Right.

So, meeting him was just so exciting.  In ‘94 this possibility like a rainbow opened up, that this country’s gonna be healed and become just a fantastic place, there wasn’t gonna be bloodshed. And that happened.   But once Mandela went, that’s what the song is about.  It’s like a kleptocracy, particularly Johannesburg which is obviously the biggest economical hub, if you like, in South Africa.  The corruption is just way beyond belief.  There’s so many issues.  And what keeps this kleptocracy sustained is there’s just so much wealth in the country and the government just seems to keep on doing this.  I think it might be moving towards a different solution because the ANC are just not as strong as they used to be.  I don’t think they’re so weak that they would lose an election but certainly there would be coalitions formed now and the hope and desire is that it’s just not so corrupt and insular.

And so therefore it was very moving to me to listen to this and come away with a fuller understanding of what you’re trying to express.  I think that any great nation has an ambivalent populace, because often you’re dealing with a land that you love, a place that raised you, nurtured you. but at the same time also a nation that is capable of terrible things.   And as you grow into an adult you have to start recognizing that.

Absolutely.

And some people choose never to do that, but we won’t go down that road.  So “Paradise” is a very interesting song to me, this riff - and I know you’re probably gonna say “You’re crazy!” -  this riff sounds like something that Mutt Lange would have written for Shania back in the day.

You know, that’s quite amazing, someone else had mentioned that.  And I hadn’t even thought about it until then.  One of the things about Mutt that I don’t think people knew when he started doing that first great Shania album is that Mutt was a massive Country fan all his life.  We used to do sessions together when I was a session musician, a lot of it was Country stuff.  There’s a deep understanding, I think, in South Africa with Country, but Mutt became an absolute expert at it.  I like what he did with Shania.

Yeah absolutely.  Because of the uses of “Rule Britannia” and “By Hibernia” in the lyrics, is this a song about the UK?

Yes, in the chorus, it’s about once again a happy-sounding song but with a pretty dire prediction that Paradise is leaving.  

Right.

You know, I love England, I loved living there.  But obviously the power of the Empire was so substantial in the early years.  I don’t know if you watch The Proms, where they play the most beautiful Elgar music.  I’ve always loved Elgar, so I don’t know if that makes any sense.

Like the heritage of what England represents.

Yes exactly.

And I feel very vindicated to have figured that out.

That’s quite amazing, I can’t believe you don’t have the lyrics and you’ve been hearing all these things, that’s great.

I’m a dedicated close listener!

More interviews!

The promotional cycle continues a-pace with an appearance on the Yesshift podcast:

https://www.facebook.com/Yesshift/videos/222652164121928

And the Talkshop Live interview will be broadcast today at 5pm PDT.

https://talkshop.live/watch/Jrtxd0UyOSdM

Media Watch: upcoming (inner)view

Spotted on Twitter: Anil Prasad posted yesterday to note his recent interview session with Trevor, and over the years Anil has provided some very insightful exchanges with this particular subject - looking forward to the new upcoming chapter!

https://twitter.com/Innerviews/status/1702793411907203464

Track-by-track, part two

Today sees the release of the second part of this series featuring Trevor's commentary on "Push."

Media Watch: new interview

The Rio promotional cycle has begun and last week a new interview with the Talkin' Rock with Meltdown podcast was posted.

You can watch it here:

https://vimeo.com/862061365

presenting "Push"

Trevor's next single is released!  As others in fandom discussion have pointed out, there are at least a couple quotations from other works included.  I have also added the advance posting for the video, which premieres in the early morning hours of 9/5 for those of us in the US.

Next single!

Today brings the announcement of the next advance single from Rio, which is "Push" featuring Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, and will also have an accompanying video.  You can pre-save for streaming platforms and receive an exclusive preview of the song and video via this link:

https://forms.sonymusicfans.com/campaign/trevorrabin_push_presave/?fbclid=IwAR2WyhqL9xWM8OHBcMWjvv4uFsA4DHnRMNuOoRJW7i9ahsAHeTq4jmY6NfY

But the teaser is also available to listen to here, it's giving Jacaranda vibes!  As there's been unique artwork for both singles I'm beginning to wonder if Trevor created a piece for each song and if that will be reflected in the album packaging.

Media Watch: Changes makes a Best Of year-end list

Published today on the Something Else! website is columnist Preston Frazier's listicle featuring his picks for the best of those boxsets released in 2020, with Changes coming in fifth on the wide-ranging roundup.

https://somethingelsereviews.com/2020/12/30/best-of-2020-trevor-rabin-prince-greg-lake

Media Watch: PROG issue 114

In the latest issue of PROG (the story of Kate Bush's Never For Ever as the cover story) is a review of Changes penned by the publication's editor, Jerry Ewing.

The review discusses the box's contents with various editorializing, but he opines more than once regarding his confusion over the exclusion of Jacaranda.  One might very well be confused until one realizes that Rob Ayling has no interest in actually attempting to license material for release.  But maybe Ewing doesn't know that.

It is all nicely summed up thus:

Changes is an excellent appraisal of (most) of the career of one of modern progressive music's true giants.  It leaves you in eager anticipation for his upcoming solo album.

Changes, discs 7 & 8: Live in L.A. and Boston

To order the Changes boxset (currently listed as Sold Out):

https://www.musicglue.com/trevor-rabin/shop

(With eternal thanks to Dearest Friend of the blog Cee for visual assistance with the physical media.  And also many thanks to everyone who has helped spread the word about my coverage of Trevor.  I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read the blog and also provide engagement via links and other comments on social media.)

Note: I know I had promised this installment in the review series much earlier but it took me a long time to write this entry mostly because I was doing so much comparative listening.  We're talking five different sources, which you might very well say is overkill.  And you may be right about that, but for some reason I felt it was necessary in order to render a well-informed opinion.

* ~ * ~ *

For more than a few fans, Trevor's three-week 1989 North American club tour is more of a mythical consideration and would have remained so if not for the release of the recording of the Los Angeles show in 2003.  It's never been precisely articulated why those tapes sat in storage for fourteen years but I'm assuming, like the other archival output, the impetus came from Rob Ayling to finally release it.  Beyond that, the tour itself was an itinerary of legendary venues and intimate shows.  Having listened to various recordings I can say that it sounds like a professional-level performance was delivered at every gig - even as there might be some slight variances - and wholly entertaining for fans, especially those who had never even dreamed they'd get a chance to see Trevor performing in such a setting.

It would appear, at least from audience reaction, that the shows were successful in their aim even - when comparing the scope of the production to the number of actual people who witnessed it - if not from a financial perspective.  And as to whether the tour aided in promoting Can't Look Away, that's another matter as well.  Taking on a fairly brief headlining club tour as opposed to an opening slot on a summer blockbuster (such as Styx's guitarist Tommy Shaw did to promote his first solo release in pairing with Billy Squier, touring for Squier's release Signs of Life in the fall of 1984) months after the actual release of the album meant that some of the momentum had probably stalled by then. But again, this unique experience is what those who witnessed it can treasure in their recollections.

For example, journalist Elyse Glickman had this impression when seeing Trevor's gig at Chicago's Park West music venue on November 27th: 

During a live concert, Trevor Rabin exposes many dimensions of himself to the audience.  When singing his current light-hearted hit "Something To Hold On To" Rabin carries off a boyish charm reminiscent of his days as a teen idol in 1970s South Africa.  In more serious songs like "I Can't Look Away" and "Changes" his expression is sincere and dignified.  In an emotional performance, Rabin proves that he can go beyond the pomp and circumstance of Yes, his source of notoriety in the '80s, to stand on his own as a musical presence.

* ~ * ~ *

This entry in my Changes review series is also an instance of I've already reviewed it, in the case of the remastered Live in L.A. released by Varese Sarabande in 2014.  I am providing a link to that review and also the entry about the '89 club tour as part of my "A Guide to Field Recordings" series.

https://rabinesque.blogspot.com/2014/10/some-traveling-music.html
https://rabinesque.blogspot.com/2016/07/a-guide-to-field-recordings-1989-tour.html

In my album review I provided the original setlist for the tour and I wanted to reprise it here as a starting point to discussing the recordings and for the sake of clarification.

Entrance: Lift Me Up (intro)
Cover Up
Sorrow (Your Heart)/Birdland (excerpt)
Heard You Cry Wolf
Changes
Etoile Noir (with Jim's bass solo)/Eyes of Love
Solly's Beard
Something To Hold On To
You Know Something I Don't Know* (with Mark's keyboard solo)/Promises
Sludge (featuring Lou's epic drum solo)

I Can't Look Away
Encore:
Make It Easy/Owner of a Lonely Heart
Love Will Find A Way

*(Recently on an episode of Yes Music Podcast, the only two fans to actually witness Cinema performing [in 1982 at the John Henry rehearsal facility in London] referred to the former song as "Carry On" and that may well be the actual title.  It's the title which became associated with the song as their recording of the rehearsal circulated in fandom during the intervening years.  The reason I think it's titled as I've indicated has to do with the chorus, long-time fans know very well that Trevor normally places the song title in the chorus.  To be fair, both phrases can be heard in the chorus.  I believe I have seen a copyright filing with the title I use, but I can't conclusively verify that.)

Let's discuss the provenance of this recording.  My apologies but I don't have the name/pseudonym of the original taper/seeder.  If that person wishes to make themselves known to me or someone has that information and can impart it to me (via email) then I do wish to give proper credit.

It was originally a simulcast of the show on December 5th, 1989 from Boston's Paradise Theater on local FM station WBCN.  Any and all versions of the Live in Boston recording stem from this single source.  It was recorded onto cassette from the radio and then transferred to digital and speed-corrected using a Roland VS-1680 DAW then downloaded to CD-R and converted to FLAC for seeding/trading.  At some point the Highland Project took this source and created the Cry Lonely Wolf version and released it on CD in 2008 (long after it had been put into circulation online) but that particular bootleg is not the original source of this recording even if it was used as the source, if that makes sense.  And they're out of business now, so I consider that karma because...well...philosophically no one should be paying for bootlegs.

Of the three recordings from the '89 club tour which I have found it is absolutely the best quality because it was a radio simulcast.  But despite whatever "remastering" (yes, I am using scare quotes in this case) has been utilized on the source and hence on this particular release, the source is actually at least a generation removed from what is available in trading circles.  Plus, c'mon, Cry Lonely Wolf doesn't even have period-appropriate photos on the cover!  Those are both Talk tour era photos.  At least with Live in L.A. the effort was made to use images from 1989.

Of course, it could very well be that the source of this iteration is not the Highland Project release, and only the artwork is being referenced in the packaging.  I don't actually know.  But because I do believe a full show from the '89 tour should be widely-circulated and I have personally lobbied for such a thing for years, and this is the only way it's going to happen?  My morals are just going to have to sit down and shut up.  And Rob Ayling has already set a historical precedent for this kind of thing with Union Live.

The main goal I wanted to accomplish was comparative listening using my copy of the original seed versus the copy included in the boxset.  But also, my primary point as regards the release itself - as a document of the '89 club tour - is this: Live in L.A. is the best listening experience in terms of the recording, mix-down and mastering, originally.  You can really appreciate the performance of the songs, Trevor's peak as a guitar hero, and how the band as a whole worked quite well to entertain at an arena level within a club setting.  The Live in Boston bootleg is the best listening experience of what the show was actually like from a historical standpoint, and that is something fans can definitely appreciate, whether they actually attended one of these gigs or not.  I've encountered more fans over the years (myself included) who didn't see Trevor on the club tour than did and I think it's something we deserve to possess and enjoy.  I remarked to Trevor during our latest exchange that because I was unable to travel to Tempe to see him (being a cash-strapped grad school student living in Albuquerque at the time) having a full show to listen to means a lot to me as a fan.  I'm still regretful to this day but at least I can have a memory of what it was like.  And so including both recordings in the Changes boxset is a nice completionist gesture, even as I'm not entirely certain it's really necessary.

As I've already reviewed the Live in L.A. 2014 remaster I really don't have much to say about the original version as far as its' inclusion but if it has in fact been remastered for Changes, I can't really tell.  It sounds pretty much identical to the version of the Voiceprint release I already have.

In regards to having compared the two sources of the bootleg, there has been some "goosing" I would say, in terms of boosting the mid-range, making some elements cut through a bit more, like the vocals and the guitar lines.  I'm not certain that was the best decision.  But overall you can still tell this is a bootleg, which I believe just goes to show there's only so much you can do with such a source.  There's a lot of hiss.  But because we're hearing the actual document of Trevor playing to less than a thousand people there is a certain immediacy which might be missing from the official version of the experience.

The differences within the versions - a direct recording versus a professionally mixed-and-mastered record - is illustrated in terms of the changes Trevor made either for the recording itself or in post-production.  Even as there are backing tapes and sequencing incorporated within the performance itself there are still some elements which appeared to be added later, such as the echo spins in "Sorrow (Your Heart)."  And I assume whatever flubs there might have been were also repaired during the mixing of the release.  The Boston recording really is "warts and all."  And it's valuable in that way, I am still convinced of the importance of its' availability to fans.

So now to consider the ninth show versus the fourteenth show (with a bit of lucky 13 thrown in)...

Lift Me Up (intro)/Cover Up
I believe most of us can agree that the intro to "Lift Me Up" makes for great entrance music.  And I think "Cover Up" makes for a great opener as well, it's quite dramatic.  It serves to establish everyone's acumen from the very beginning.  But there is a very serious recording glitch in the Boston recording which is not on my original copy as far I'm aware.  Again, how could this have gotten past quality control?!  I remain unconvinced there was any.  And it features the first of more than a few instances of Trevor flubbing the lyrics.

Best version?  Live in L.A.

Sorrow (Your Heart)/Birdland (excerpt)
I love that "Birdland" was used as the coda to this song, it's such a treat and it fits in terms of utilizing a different ending.  I don't particularly mind the post-production edits on the official release.
Best version?  Live in L.A.

Heard You Cry Wolf
I love this song, as long-time readers of the blog are aware.  But at the Boston show, Trevor was having a really hard time with staying in key, yikes!  And this was a song recorded after his range had already dropped, historically-speaking.  Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if Trevor re-recorded his vocal for Live in L.A.  And I don't take issue with that myself.  At least he got the title right, because in San Diego he said it was "Cry Wolf."  And because "Changes" was edited out on the Boston disc there's an abrupt cut which obliterates the ending, again, totally shoddy post-production work.  Maybe because those songs directly segue one into another that wasn't the best choice in terms of making the edit.

Fun fact: this song is actually another example of Trevor's social commentary, at least according to the explanation he gave to Elyse Glickman, taking aim at the ZA government:  "[It's about] covering up and making cosmetic changes.  It's like the government is crying 'wolf' to fool everybody."

Best version?  Live in L.A.

Changes
I feel like this song was a benchmark on the tour - like, it was important to get it right every night.  But again, it seems like Trevor might have rerecorded his vocal, or mixed it really dry in the recording.  The version on Live in L.A. sounds better than other sources even as there's not much difference in the performances.  What really makes me think this is the attack on the long note at the end of the first verse.  We know if he can do that, then it's all okay.  And none of the live versions I've heard are as good as the officially-released one in that respect.  In Boston, Trevor can do it, but it's obvious that he's straining, and he can't hold it to let it fall off the way it's supposed to.
Best version?  Live in L.A.

Etoile Noir/Eyes of Love

The Boston show is important because we are treated to Jim's fretless bass solo; this song is fairly intricate and I enjoy the flourishes Trevor threw in, and I feel like that live version is able to breathe more, after a fashion.  It sounds good for being a little looser. And the way he bends that one note in the verses?  So good!  But once again, in Boston Trevor flubs the lyrics.  At the L.A. show they play it closer to the album.

Best version?  Live in Boston

Solly's Beard
That intro?  Priceless.  As I've written an entire essay about this piece I feel like I don't need to expound upon it further, except to say that it's wonderful to hear an actual version from this tour.  There's that one part though, which sort of almost becomes both "Memphis" and "Dueling Banjos" and how fun is that?!
Best version?  Aaaaah, that's a trick question!  But I think having an actual recording from the club tour is a good thing, so the point goes to Live in Boston.

Something To Hold On To

Because this was the lead single from the album I think they tried their best to make it fairly uniform each performance.  Frankly yes, I am amazed that Trevor can hit that high note in the intro even on the boots.  I do think it was mixed to sound a little less live on the actual album.

Best version?  Whichever one you prefer.

You Know Something I Don't Know/Promises

As something which didn't make the cut for Live in L.A. the choice is obvious and it's great to have this opportunity, especially in its' unedited form (as it surely would have been edited had it ended up on the album).  Whatever the first part is actually called, it's a pretty rockin' tune I must say.  I know there are those who will consider this blasphemous, but it always makes me wonder what it would have been like if Mark Mancina were in YesWest because he's a total pro with soul.  Casey wouldn't have been out of a job...but he might have had less to do.  "Promises" is another song they try to make sound as close to the album as possible and this time it seems like he purposely changed the lyrics for some reason.  Not wholly, just in a particular way.  I like the echo spins on the chorus - I'm assuming it's meant to reprise the feel of that big gated reverb on the vocals in the chorus.

Best version?  Well, there's only one, so there you go.

Sludge

Another song I've gushed about previously so there's no need to go over that again; although I believe the boys played this well enough every night, after all the listening I've done I will say I think the L.A. version is the best-performed even as it's not the most complete.  I think you can hear the keyboards better on the Boston recording and of course it's got Lou's epic drum solo.  It may even be that it was another one fixed in the mix for the official recording.  So it's really a draw for me, but again, the live experience provides the very best version of the song overall.

Best version?  Whichever one you prefer.

I Can't Look Away

Here now is the most fucking basic of errors:

The album?  Can't Look Away.

The song?  "I Can't Look Away."

So it's been mislabeled from the start on Live in L.A..  But you would think that SEVENTEEN YEARS would be long enough to realize that there was a mistake.  Then again, consider the source.

You know who got it right, though?  Varese Sarabande.  So you know who I think is more professional.

The Boston show features what I would consider a more "raw" lead vocal.  It's also got audience participation and that's fine but this song is Trevor's mission statement, so I believe it's far more important for him to sing it.  Overall however, I think the L.A. version is much more show-stopping, even though I suspect it's been quite heavily augmented and fixed.  But I'm convinced his solo in San Diego was a dress rehearsal for Los Angeles because it's equally as badass.  Everything we love about Trevor as a guitar hero is in that solo.

Best version?  Live in L.A.

Make It Easy/Owner of a Lonely Heart
On both the Live in L.A. and Boston versions the crowd does the majority of the singing so it's interesting to listen to recordings where Trevor is actually singing.  "Owner" in its' final form is not in his range, as we know, so that always makes me tense.  In San Diego it's not so bad, but it's not that good either.  But I am disappointed Trevor edited out that funky breakdown which comes right before the last chorus.  I think the party atmosphere of audience participation makes the song more fun, as is fitting for an encore.  The L.A. crowd sounds better at singing, but that might also be the result of post-production tweaking.
Best version?  Whichever one you prefer.

Love Will Find A Way

The difference in the way this song was performed really depended on where it was in the setlist.  It sounds a lot less ragged on Live in L.A. but it's also pretty obvious how augmented the song is in terms of backing tapes and sequencing.  This is another one where I feel like they were trying to get as close to the record as possible.  But again, it's nice to hear Trevor on lead for this one.
Best version?  Whichever one you prefer.

* ~ * ~ *

And now to the CD booklet, which I will say is a definite improvement in some ways on the original except for the image on page five....which is an obvious photoshop of the photo included in the Wikipedia article about the Paradise Theater/Paradise Rock Club.  Why is that necessary?  That's not even the original marquee, as the club was renamed (slightly) in the late '90s.

Really?  REALLY?!

It just strikes me as wholly amateurish, but then again so does the original booklet.  The liner notes may be dated March 2020, but it's the same text from the 2003 release save the end paragraph regarding the inclusion of the Boston show.  I love that photo on page seven (an outtake from the CLA cover shoot) but again, why does it have to have that ghastly red filter?!

As I've stated previously, even though this release is nothing I would consider well-done and everything in keeping with the kind of non-quality Rob Ayling offers, the Boston recording is a historical document which I believe is important to Rabinites and one which can provide enjoyment even as many long-time die-hard fans would have already obtained it for themselves long before this.

Media Watch: new interview in Goldmine

Published today on the Goldmine magazine website is a new interview with Trevor regarding Changes, although it's a fairly wide-ranging exchange covering a number of familiar topics.

https://www.goldminemag.com/interviews/trevor-rabin-changes-delivers-the-range-of-his-solo-career

Changes, disc six: 90124

To order the Changes boxset (currently listed as Sold Out):

https://www.musicglue.com/trevor-rabin/shop

(With eternal thanks to Dearest Friend of the blog Cee for visual assistance with the physical media.  And also many thanks to everyone who has helped spread the word about my coverage of Trevor.  I truly appreciate everyone who has taken the time to read the blog and also provide engagement via links and other comments on social media.)


"I think it is important to remember that 'Owner' was Yes' only number one, and that 90125 was their most successful album and was well-received by the most skeptical and cynical of critics.  However, it has always been frustrating to me to be perceived as the guy who just writes the hit songs.  Since the album and the single were so successful they have almost been equated with commercialism, rather than people just liking the album and buying it."
- Trevor Rabin, 1995

I thought the above quote was an interesting way to introduce this essay because it's a somewhat early example of Trevor attempting to contextualize his legacy in the way he believes is credible.  What he desires to be recognized for versus the ongoing perception of fans, journalists/critics and the like.  And the release of 90124 is another expression of that same desire, as he was now separated from that concern for nearly a decade and coming to understand that all involved had different agendas regarding the who, what, where, when and why of it all.  So taking control of one's own narrative is perhaps the only way you might convince the greater number of interested parties of your own truth.  But does this collection meet that objective?  Yes and no, I would say.

* ~ * ~ *

It was the Noughts, and all the Rabid Rabinites were living in a world where they couldn't go out and buy a new Trevor Rabin solo album, or even an album from a band he might be in, but they could go to a movie and see his name up on the screen and listen to the music he created for it and that was a progression, certainly, even if not the one many of his fans desired.  But most were keeping the faith, I would say.  And then...the middle years of the decade provided manna in our desert: multiple archival releases from both Trevor and YesWest giving us further examples of what we love and why we love it.

A few years ago I had the idea of approaching a review of 90124 in the context of my "Trevor vs. Trevor" series, comparing the demos of classic YesWest songs with the fully realized versions but once again now we have this boxset and so here we are.  I still think it's a good idea which hopefully I can expand upon sometime in the future.  As well, earlier this year someone posted a playlist on YouTube which is his version of what the Cinema album would have been, and my opinion of that assemblage will also be the subject of an upcoming entry.  For now I'm going to discuss what 90124 is...and what it should have been to be worthy of its' title.

What is significant about the timing of 90124 is it was released a year prior to the reissue of 90125 as part of Rhino's "Expanded & Remastered" series for the Yes back catalog from 1969-1983.  And in the context of the original idea for the album it would have made for an interesting companion to the other.  Instead what we have is more of a historical compilation of demos, which is not bad but rather more kitchen sink-ish.  Thus I don't think the title fits at all given the actual contents.  However, because 90124 was also supposedly the original title of that album (but had to be changed to the next number in the sequence in order to achieve worldwide uniformity) there is another layer of reference in using it beyond the notion of a historical pun (in addition to the fact that chronologically its' release coincides with 90125's 20th anniversary).

But as I've noted before in terms of how Trevor ultimately viewed the release, it was to prove a point.  To quote the original entry for the album on his official website:

This album is a fascinating insight showing how Trevor developed his songs and demonstrates how much his presence influenced the sound of YES.

Given that various bootlegs of some of those demos were in circulation for likely 20 years at that particular point, it somehow doesn't surprise me that Rob Ayling would come up with such an gambit: entirely derivative, to seemingly trump a source already in existence, but in this particular case I will say that the sound quality is better overall because the provenance is straight from the creator.  Having said that, I don't really discern any particular difference between this new mastering and Paul's mastering for the original release in 2003, which may have something to do with the source material.  Some tracks sound better than others, which in part has to do with how the demos were originally recorded (as is affirmed in the 2003 liner notes).

Plainly-stated, 90124 is only the official version of the idea, and yet because it's historically inclusive it does have an additional value in regard to what was already in rather wide circulation.  So let's talk about what that is.

There are two sources of Cinema-era material which have been traded by fans for many years now in various iterations.  One is a collection of Trevor's demo recordings.  As we know, "Owner of a Lonely Heart," "Hold On," "Changes" and "City of Love" were originally composed by Trevor and underwent various modifications and reimaginings in the process of rehearsal and recording the material.  Additionally, "Our Song" and "Hearts" contain parts which originated from songs also written by Trevor.  So I believe Trevor's assertion - that 90125 is an album which was built on the foundation of his songs - is largely indisputable.  The other source is a recording of a Cinema rehearsal courtesy of the only two fans who were allowed to witness that lineup, which occurred in 1982 at John Henry's Rehearsal Studios in London.  You might have heard their story on a recent episode of Yes Music Podcast.  That recording is of three songs and a couple of instrumental interludes.

DJ/journalist Doug Curran claims that he also has a Cinema-era demo tape in his possession, given to him by the band backstage at a 9012Live show, but it appears none of its' contents has made it into circulation which is unfortunate (for us) because he also claims the tape contains a recording of the mythical (in YesWest lore) composition "Time."

Henry Potts originally composed an entry on the release for the Yescography website back in 2003-2004 and included an original tracklisting for 90124 which is much more in keeping with the concept of "Songs originally written for Trevor's next solo album which were then given to Cinema and worked up/recorded for 90125."  I would say that the majority of these were likely written in 1981-82; but as we know Trevor has stated that "Owner" was originally composed in 1979.

1. One Track Mind
2. Hold On
3. It's Enough
4. Changes
5. Love Ain't Easy
6. Moving In
7. Who Were You With Last Night
8. Baby I'm Easy
9. Would You Feel My Love
10. Tonight's Our Night
11. Owner Of A Lonely Heart
12. I'm With You
13. Must Be Love
14. Don't Give In
That tracklist is the one Voiceprint originally said would be on the album, but it was changed fairly late on to the release we got.

Of everything which has been in circulation I estimate there's about 20-25 songs which Trevor brought into the new relationship, as it were, some of which did not make the cut here for the original concept.

The addition of "Don't Give In" versus "Make It Easy" makes sense because the latter had already been released as part of the YesYears boxset in 1991 and its' inclusion on the expanded version of 90125 meant that it was already in the corporate vault.  But because "It's Over" - a song solely credited to Trevor - was also included on the reissue of 90125, it does make me wonder how many songs total were officially recorded for the album and if there's any chance we could learn of the entire slate, so to speak, even if we might never get further bonus material.

* ~ * ~ *

"Hold On"
Demo: (1981)
Final: 90125 (1983)
In my drafts I have an entire essay devoted to "Hold On" and the pervasiveness of its' concept.  Trevor has written this song at least four different times.  I can certainly understand how Chris and Alan could have listened to the original demo and said, "Yeah, this is a good idea!" but at the same time understand that it needed to be evolved beyond what it was (hence why at least at first they were using the lyrics from "Moving In").  And what it became is a classic in the YesWest oeuvre.

Again dear readers, I unironically love this version of the song.  There, I said it.  It's the cheesiest thing Trevor has ever written (that we know of) but it's also incredibly compelling.  The chord progression just does something to my central nervous system.  And that simile for sex?  Yeah, I don't even know what to tell you there, except maybe he thought it was funny?  Was it just as simple as the fact that kite rhymes with light?  It's hilarious but more in terms of laughing at than with, so to speak.  But the next time someone says "Oh go fly a kite!" you know you will find yourself cracking up.

The "unplugged" intro of the vocal melody was obviously recorded at a different time (same as the one for "Owner") but it's a nice detail in terms of how the songwriting process often does start with something so simple which is then elaborated upon in the process of building the song to actually be performed by others.

"Changes"
Demo: (1981)
Final: 90125 (1983)
Trevor has noted previously that this is "kind of a melancholy song" and that is certainly true in its' original form.  It's entirely moody in keeping with its' subject which belies what the song is actually about.  Even as I appreciate all of the early '80s demos for providing a glimpse into Trevor's creative process and direction at that time, I feel "Changes" really did become the very best version of itself once subjected to the collaborative process.

"Moving In"
Demo: (1981)
Final: Unreleased
The reason why both "Hold On" and "Moving In" were included is best expressed by Trevor's comment in Yesstories: "So we kept the chorus from 'Hold On' and we used the verses from 'Moving In.'"  This does illustrate how many versions a song can go through before it becomes the final product.  I would say that when you compare the two, "Moving In" comes off better as a complete song, but on the other hand it's just not as delicious.  Those of you who love the 90124 version of "Hold On" as much as I do know exactly what I mean.

"Would You Feel My Love"
Demo: (1981)
Final: Unreleased
I get why this song likely does have fans among Rabinites because it's romantic; even after all this time it's really difficult for me to articulate why I'm not that fond of it.  I just don't particularly connect with it overall.  But as Trevor says it was meant to make the cut at some point, here it is.

"Where Will You Be"
Demo: (1991)
Final: Talk (1994)
I can understand why Jon immediately wanted to sing over this track when he heard it, it's beautiful.  And the demo served as the actual basis for the Talk version, as I noted in my essay on the album from 2016.  It certainly makes a case for Trevor's talent for instrumentals and themes which was no doubt useful when attempting to get people in the film industry to take him seriously.

"Owner of a Lonely Heart"
Demo: (1981)
Final: 90125 (1983)
As Trevor noted in his interview for Notes from the Edge, this version is updated from the one he originally recorded.  I consider it as sort of a bridge between the original and the final version in terms of how he envisioned the idea overall.  Unlike many people I don't think it's awful; it has a rather playful quality and the way it shifts between melodic rock in the bridge and chorus and a kind of dance-pop feel in the verses is clever and fun.

"Walls"
Demo: (1990)
Final: Talk (1994)
This is my absolute favorite of the entire release and the only reason why I'm glad it did stray from the original concept.  As I noted in my recent interview with Trevor, I absolutely love the blend which Trevor and Roger Hodgson attain in this song, it's like what they call "blood harmony" which is normally attributed to siblings because they have similar physiological bone structure and thus their voices can resonate at nearly the same frequency.  That kind of close harmony which Trevor and Roger achieve gives me chills every time.  Plus I think it's one of Trevor's best songs (and again it's not one which has a lot of support in the overall fanbase) in terms of the way the desire for emotional connection is expressed: the contrast between the pensive quality of the verses and the optimistic yearning of the chorus.

"Promenade"
Demo: (1987)
Final: Unreleased
I do love this, every time I listen to it I'm reminded of Trevor's promises for a release featuring these kind of "classical for electric guitar" renditions and then I get depressed because it's probably never going to happen.  I think it would have made interesting entrance music for the Talk tour but that idea was scrapped, it seems.  But again, there's also a demo which is older than the one on 90124 and it's essentially the same idea but not as elaborate or well-recorded which makes me think maybe he re-recorded it for this release?

"Love Will Find A Way"
Demo: (1985)
Final: Big Generator (1987)
There's credence to Trevor's story of being asked to compose a song for Stevie Nicks by way of a couple details:
-1- Yes and Stevie shared the same manager at the time (Tony Dimitriades).
-2- Outside songwriters had been commissioned for material during the making of Rock A Little; another example of a song which was not used (though by Stevie's choice) was "These Dreams," written by Martin Page and Bernie Taupin which was then recorded by Heart for their eponymous 1985 album.  Yet another example was Stevie hearing the work tape of "Don't Come Around Here No More" in 1984 and telling Tom Petty and Dave Stewart that she wasn't touching the song because she couldn't do any better than Tom's vocal.

So that's three other hit singles Stevie missed out on, although she had two of her own from that album, so I think it all worked out.  From my perspective, I'm not exactly certain that I'm hearing what Alan White heard in terms of potential for Yes, although I suppose it's possible that what he was hearing was something which could be popular but different as regards what YesWest was doing at the time.  It's definitely a pop song and as with other demos on this release it is enjoyable hearing his (lone) lead vocal.  But honestly, I'm more partial to the working version included in The Alternate Generator compendium, which I suppose indicates that I prefer when the song became Yes-ified.

"Miracle Of Life"
Demo: (1990)
Final: Union (1991)
This is just a great song, and I think most people - be they fans of YesWest or not - will acknowledge that.  As with "Where Will You Be" the demo - a complete song in itself - is primarily the basis for the version included on Union.  For me, it's entirely in the spirit of what many believe Yes should embody in terms of theme, ambition and execution.

"Don't Give In"
Demo: (1981)
Final: Unreleased
I'm not "aka"ing this song because I still stand by my assertion that "Don't Give In" and "Make It Easy" are two different songs no matter how they came to be.  However, I will say that it was nice to see the correction of the title no matter the source, but if it was me?  You're welcome.

I would posit this song has been mislabeled from the time that the demo for "Don't Give In" originally made it into circulation.  Although the version on 90124 is closer to "Make It Easy" whereas in the original demo (which is instrumental) you can hear the connections to "Our Song."  It does make me wonder if Trevor had two different songs as he did with "Hold On" and "Moving In" or if "Don't Give In" was the source and then the band took that and worked it up into "Make It Easy."  The latter seems to make sense especially if you consider the similarities in each chorus, as well as the fact that "Don't Give In" only has one verse.

My main contention with the way Gonzo tried to present this in the context of the boxset is: how can this song be "Make It Easy" when that phrase appears nowhere in the lyrics?!  All told, I think I prefer "Make It Easy" to the original idea, although strictly from an instrumental point of view it's certainly a piece of music which I can see appealing to Chris and Alan.

* ~ * ~ *

So let's return to that original list and consider if it was a good idea...
1. One Track Mind - yes, only because I've yet to encounter it in fandom circulation and I want to hear it, even if it's not as deliciously cheesy as "Slow Dancer."
2. Hold On - DEFINITELY FOREVER
But the original demo is different than the one which made it onto 90124 in that he may have re-recorded it or augmented it at some point.  I think I prefer the 90124 version in that it's just more of everything, gloriously over the top.
3. It's Enough - I like this one, it has an anthemic vibe and it's catchy.  So I'd be happy with it on 90124.
4. Changes - yes, it's an interesting snapshot of Trevor's AOR abilities.
5. Love Ain't Easy - this is probably aka "Girl It Ain't Easy (Living Without You)"
This reminds me so much of Trevor's material circa 1979-80 and as such I hope they would have decided against it.  It's not wholly bad, just totally unsuitable for Cinema.  So I would pass on this one.
6. Moving In - maybe?  Technically it should be included.  I guess I'm just prejudiced in favor of the exquisite cheese of "Hold On."
7. Who Were You With Last Night - as with "Love Ain't Easy" this is another one which just wouldn't have been right for Cinema and so thematically not a choice for inclusion.  However, I have a theory that "You Know Something I Don't Know" is somehow based on this song, but I'm probably the only one who thinks that.
8. Baby I'm Easy - this is another of my guilty pleasures, but I would have been wholly in favor of it being included on 90124.  I have a theory that it was originally written for someone else, based on the lyrics - like I have this feeling it was better-suited for Rene or Stevie (Lange, not Nicks).
9. Would You Feel My Love - that's still a "no" from me, dawg (despite technically adhering to the concept).  "Harmony" would have been a far better choice, in my opinion.
10. Tonight's Our Night - I will assert that this is essentially yet another version of "Hold On" - I actually consider it the bridge between "Stop Turn" and "Hold On."  But it's not quite as good, and he's borrowing from himself again.  So when you've already got the best you don't need the rest.
11. Owner of a Lonely Heart - its' inclusion only settles the argument of whether or not it was born a hit single and not made into one if you're willing to believe the original really does have the requisite DNA, which many fans do not.  But because it's on 90125 it definitely belongs here.
12. I'm With You - even as Trevor noted it was developed by the band but not chosen for 90125 I still quite enjoy this song so I'm disappointed that he decided to leave the demo off 90124.
13. Must Be Love - see "One Track Mind."
14. Don't Give In - I think the original instrumental version would be the best to include in this collection because it does point to elements of 90125 and that era.

What should be on 90124 in terms of early songs already in circulation?  "Fools" definitely.  Not only because it's the basis of "Hearts" but it features a guitar tour de force in the second half of the song.  And it's actually less cheesy than "Hold On" I would say, even if Trevor is borrowing from himself lyrically (there's bits of "I Sleep Alone" and "Everybody's Cheating").  Also "You Know Something I Don't Know" aka "Carry On" since we know Cinema did have that song in their repertoire as well as "I'm With You."  And Trevor says "Would You Feel My Love" was meant for 90125 and Jon wanted to sing it, so I'm going to have to take him at his word.

So in my estimation a true 90124 release would look something more like this:

Owner of a Lonely Heart

Hold On

Changes

You Know Something I Don't Know

I'm With You

Would You Feel My Love 

Don't Give In

Fools

I think this would have appealed to fans at least, though I'm not certain if it would have come off as an even more niche type of release.  Perhaps overall a better concept would have been a two-disc set: one which could be 90124 and the other could be something like "Demos 1985-1992" covering material from the other three albums.  I just think that the way 90124 is presented and the way it actually comes off in the listening leads to a sort of cognitive dissonance.  But it's such a clever title I can understand why they didn't want to let go of it even as they decided not to adhere to the concept.

Granted, I'm not trying to say I don't enjoy 90124, because I do, mostly.  Especially when it comes to the Union and Talk inclusions.  I suppose it would be tantamount to sacrilege to state something like: "You know what these songs could use less of?  Jon Anderson." but do I think that?  Sometimes, yeah I do.

* ~ * ~ *

The exquisite vintage which is Trevor Rabin.

Thankfully, the absolute travesty of the original 90124 booklet has been avoided in this version; it takes its' cue in the composition from the booklet for Trevor Rabin, offering excerpts of the article which journalist/Yes biographer Chris Welch originally composed, as well as "liner notes" created from Trevor's quotes in that article.  However there's still an attribution missing because "Walls" should be credited to Trevor and Roger Hodgson.  And the recording dates listed are also not complete.  Of the images included - and I'm a fan of the one on page 7 especially - I don't understand why they didn't also use the one from 2003 which is included in the Archives booklet.  Or a selection from that particular photo session which as far as I'm aware was to promote the 2003 releases.  Like this one, which I'm also quite fond of.

And it's also nice to see there's a better crop of the J.L. Cooper Electronics ad on page 4 (even if chronologically it doesn't make any sense).  But I think Trevor's comments regarding the songs themselves should have also been included in the text (albeit in a less confusing fashion than originally).

I appreciate how the original sleeve design of 90125 is reprised but I think the background color should have been something other than brown.  Like purple, for example.  But otherwise I don't have any complaints about the packaging concept except, again, none of those photos were used in the original booklet and at least one would have been nice.  But also in terms of this release, as I remarked in a recent conversation on Yesfans (and I've changed my mind as regards my original opinion), the version of "Can't Find My Way Home" which Trevor recorded for The Banger Sisters - and was offered as an exclusive to those who originally purchased this album - should have been included as a bonus track.

So 90124 has been redeemed in its' execution in a few ways, but not in others.  It is something which is wonderful to have even as it's not what it seems to be.  Given the number of Trevor's unreleased songs which are out there to be found (via sources official and unofficial), you could actually create a double or triple album if you include 90124 and more is always a good thing, right?  A theme song for us Rabinites should be a version of another song but this one would be titled "It's (Never) Enough."