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!

Changes, disc three: Wolf

To order the Changes boxset (restocking in August):

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, such as Yes historian/critic Simon Barrow and Kevin Mulryne of Yes Music Podcast.  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.  And also many many thanks to The Man himself for conversing with me about this album and its' associated era.)

* ~ * ~ *

Way back in 2016 when I first began working on an essay regarding Trevor's third solo album Wolf, my working title was "Perfectly Imperfect" and I find I still feel that way about this album.  It's really good in some aspects, but in others the problems/weaknesses which Trevor had experienced during the making of Face To Face were still lurking in the background.  But I can understand why Trevor considers it the best of his Chrysalis releases.  It has a unique sound to it in some ways, which I would attribute to the different methodology he utilized.  Playing and singing with other people in real time lends a particular immediacy to the end result.  In other words: he recorded an album just like most everyone else recorded an album at that time.  Put the talent in the studio and surround him/her with a strong supporting cast, pick the best songs, roll tape and go for broke, then polish and refine as needed.

My opinion has evolved even from that previous point, I would say, as this is how I originally opined:

Of the three albums which Trevor released in his post-Rabbitt and London-era career, Wolf (1981) is generally considered the best of the lot.  It's not an opinion I completely agree with, but I would say I agree with Trevor that it was a better representation of the techniques he was using in that era.  Even so I would say, again, it errs on the side of merely presenting him as a guitar hero/pub rocker kind of musician when we all know he's so much more, and it seems to have hindered him in terms of breaking through to a larger audience.

But there is one thing which makes Wolf a stronger album and his name is Simon Phillips.  You never realize how important the drummer is until you've got a drummer who can kick your ass six ways from Sunday, as they say.

* ~ * ~ *

In his native (at the time) habitat: Trevor at Konk Studios.

In considering the overall narrative of this period of Trevor's career, if Face To Face was the sound of Trevor not knowing who he should be, then Wolf is the sound of him finding his footing again, moving forward in a more determined direction.  For the span of an album, a very brief moment, and then it was over.  And one could find that ironic, occurring just as he had accomplished something which might have garnered actual commercial success had there been more time and effort to propagate it to the public.  I told Trevor in our most recent exchange that I firmly believe Wolf could have succeeded in America with more promotion because it was exactly the sound beginning to take hold in terms of AOR rock radio.  He thought I was probably right about that.

Wolf appeared to have two releases: sometime in the second half of 1980 in the UK and Europe (and also Japan) though 1981 is the correct year of release for the US (which is also supported by an article I'll mention later); although of the multiple copies I own, one of them is a UK pressing with a 1981 copyright, so it's a bit confusing.  The album was recorded in 1980 at a facility Trevor was already familiar with: Konk Studios in London's Crouch End.

As he's stated in various interviews, the 1979 tour of the UK Trevor undertook as a special guest of fellow guitarist Steve Hillage was a transformative experience for him, the return to live performance providing a reminder of more immediate rewards gained outside of the hermetic studio environment.  Trevor described it thus in a 2004 interview:

I think I found myself again. I toured Face to Face and opened for Steve Hillage who was the nicest guy in the world. It was great to be on the road with him. It was all about the music and we got on very well. At the time, the punk explosion in England was massive and appeared to be obliterating everything in its path with regards to people having ears at radio stations. I think after that tour, I realized there’s still room. It’s not like people are going to stop doing what they’re doing unless they have a large bolt through their nose. So, I really started to work with a lot of passion when writing Wolf. It was really enjoyable and I got some fantastic musicians to play on it.

Even interviews of the time were referencing Trevor's new direction, such as his profile in the May 1980 issue of Guitar World.

He's currently at work on a third solo LP and plans a US tour this summer.  Trevor continues to experiment with production techniques and playing styles, believing that they go hand-in-hand.  "A concept I'm particularly fond of now is trying to capture a strong, live feel in the studio.  I've tried it with Wild Horses and myself to varying degrees.  I find playing and producing evolve on parallel tracks - a process I plan to continue because one seems to help the other so much."

In an interview he gave to Sylvie Simmons (writing for Kerrang!) in early 1981, Trevor reiterated his goals for the recording: "I went into Wolf deciding to make an album that was more passionate, more alive, more down to earth."

* ~ * ~ *

Either Trevor made a few edits to his original liner notes for Wolf from the 2002 reissue or they were included in their original unedited form for this release - the additions are in bold.  It does have one part I am confused about.

I'm kind of sorry that they never benefited from later record sales that would occur with my releases for the Geffen record label.

Uh...the ones that didn't actually happen because you were dropped from the label?  I'm assuming what he really means is either the YesWest records (on ATCO) or Can't Look Away, which was released on Elektra.  Unless he was speaking of albums which he was expecting to record, even as it never came to pass.

Another change is that he lists most of the musicians who took part in the recording, which I do think is a nice acknowledgment of the session power he had surrounding him. 

The other observation I find interesting is this:

My 1979 release Face To Face had not reached expectations for Chrysalis.  In spite of this they wanted another album, which showed a lot of belief on their part.

That could well be true, but it could also be true that Trevor had a three-album deal with Chrysalis and so why wouldn't he deliver the last record?  If he were to be dropped, it would have likely occurred after the release of his first album.  And it's not like either of the prior releases performed well overall.  But he was earning them money as a producer as well, so I find it unlikely that they considered Trevor an abject failure in any way.  And there's also the consideration of Trevor likely spending more money to make Wolf than the previous album, given the number of people involved with the project and the fact that it was recorded at a studio not affiliated with either Chrysalis or Blue Chip Music.  It would appear that they were behind this project and Trevor's determination to create something new and exciting.  Or, they were simply letting contractual obligations run their course.

The new CD booklet also features photos from The Making of Wolf which means it's the nicest of all those from a aesthetic perspective, but several shots (including the back cover photo) are printed with that annoying red filter.  How is that even a good idea?!  But there are no credits included, presumably because all the credits are listed in the bonus Making of booklet instead.  And sure, that's fine for someone who buys the boxset, but what about someone who just wants a copy of that album?

So now let's turn to the original press release...which was the actual source of that moniker Trevor has often cited: the godfather of Heavy Metal.  It is pretty hilarious when you think about it.  But Wolf is a hard rock album for the most part, so this positioning into a new identity makes sense even if it's not entirely fitting in terms of Trevor's instincts and abilities.  It does, as did the previous press release for Face To Face, own up to Trevor's past in South Africa (although of course the context is not apologetic but rather expository).  There's still a bit of sticking to the established narrative concerning his arrival in London, but overall it's far more factual than previous documents.  

Here's an interesting detail concerning Trevor's public performances of the previous year:

The second album, Face To Face, consolidated Trevor's reputation and a spell on the road, culminating in a headline appearance at The Venue, won some enthusiastic support as well as rave reviews.

The Venue, a nightclub in Central London, had been in operation for about a year prior to Trevor's showcase date, which took place on November 29th, 1979 (a Thursday, which is one of the prime spots on a club's schedule).

On the other hand, years ago I found this scan which appears to provide evidence of Trevor being considered for other tours - and apparently this show in Brussels did go off, but with Trevor as the opener?  Well no, because on that night Trevor was playing with Steve at the Manchester Free Trade Hall.  I asked Trevor about additional gigging when I interviewed him recently and he said no, he didn't do any other touring in the London years.  Long-time fans are also aware of Trevor taking the stage with Wild Horses just a couple days after his showcase gig.  But it is interesting to consider how and why Trevor ended up on this advertisement nonetheless.

The press release goes on to quote Trevor regarding how his one-man band attitude evolved into considerations of utilizing an ensemble:

Working on the road with a band and then in the studio with Wild Horses made me feel that I wanted to work with other musicians myself.  The first two albums were recorded with me playing everything except drums - maybe they missed that spark that comes with working with and bouncing ideas off other musicians.
Being in the studio with people like Jack Bruce, Manfred Mann and Simon Phillips really made a difference to my playing as well.  It might sound corny to say that they inspired me but it's true.

It's entirely obvious to state that the people involved in the recording of Wolf are what sets the album apart in Trevor's discography, but I think it's important to consider the participants in terms of their connections to Trevor as well as the industry at large.  And so now let us view the...

Musicae Personae

Trevor Rabin: guitars, bass, keyboards, lead and backing vocals (the Alpha Wolf)
Simon Phillips: drums (well-known session player and touring drummer)
Jack Bruce: bass (one-third of Cream, solo artist, and one of the most esteemed bassists/singers in rock n'roll history)
Mo Foster: fretless bass on "Heard You Cry Wolf" (well-known session player)
Manfred Mann: keyboards (one of the most well-known musicians to come out of South Africa, leader of the Earth Band; Trevor produced their 1980 album Chance)
John "Rabbit" Bundrick: keyboards (well-known session/touring musician and long-running sideman with The Who)
Chris Thompson: backing vocals (lead vocalist for Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
Stevie Lange: backing vocals (then-wife of producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange and session singer/solo artist; Trevor worked with her numerous times in the South Africa and London years)
Noel McCalla: backing vocals (former lead singer of UK-based band Moon and vocalist with Sniff 'n' The Tears; Trevor produced his 1979 solo album Night Time Emotion)
Ray Davies: Associate Producer (co-owner of Konk Studios, songwriting/vocalist mastermind of The Kinks and lyricist for "Long Island").

Of this last participant it is noted:
Wolf was co-produced by chief Kink Ray Davies, who also seems to have rung some changes albeit fairly subtle ones: "He was a great influence, helping me to take a more detached view of my own work.  The album is rawer and less orchestrated - simpler, but I think more effective."

I would opine that perhaps strangely enough, this cast of characters actually had the effect of making the album sound far more unified than any of his others, which may have been a determined and premeditated choice, or perhaps an expression of the atmosphere created by the sessions themselves.  But it's a wonderful thing to now have a view into their labors courtesy of The Making of Wolf booklet in the boxset.  It provides evidence of general bonhomie, hard work, near exhaustion, and Trevor at the center of it all as he always ensures he is, the auteur of his creative destiny.

* ~ * ~ *

As I noted, the year of Wolf changed everything which had been previously established in terms of Trevor's career.  But there were some pieces of the past remaining which were causing a sort of cognitive dissonance in terms of how he was attempting to present himself to the listening/record-buying public.  Here's a guy who plays a mean guitar and writes and sings a catchy tune, but is also a multi-faceted self-sustaining industry with seeming ambitions beyond being simply a solo act and yet desperately wants to orient himself squarely in the rock n'roll game.  Write, record, rehearse, tour...and maybe when all that's done then play and produce some sessions too.

But then there's things like this...and remember, it's not 1977 anymore.  On the other hand, that jacket?  Amazing.

Appearing in UK teen magazine Oh Boy!, June 1980.
(courtesy of The Groovy Archives)

I'm thinking of that axiom any publicity is good publicity, and Trevor was certainly still in demand as That (Slightly) Obscure Object of Desire; long-time fans are aware this would never really change for the next twenty years or so.  It appears Trevor did not object to such things quite so much as he might have us believe.  And I think it's perfectly okay for Trevor to play to all his strengths (as an attractive person who is also an amazing musician).  But there's no apparent consensus in the collective zeitgeist...yet.  I find it interesting that Trevor achieves more of a cohesion of image in a band setting rather than as a solo artist.

In the aforementioned Kerrang! interview, the end of the era seemed to have occurred rather suddenly, with Trevor stating that he was dropped by both Chrysalis and Blue Chip Music just as the album was due to be released.  And according to this same article, Wolf was not initially released in the US, but that would occur later in 1981.  And thus the window of opportunity he might have used to break through in that market - possibly aided by an opening slot on Van Halen's touring schedule - was lost.

Trevor's parting of the ways with Blue Chip is something I find very surprising because it always seemed to me that Matt Mann formed the company for the purpose of showcasing Trevor and advancing his career overseas.  Mann possessed the utmost respect for Trevor's talent (just a year prior Mann referred to Trevor as "the best producer") and after all, Trevor had been incredibly successful in South Africa as the head of a musical powerhouse of various projects, and RPM reaped the associated rewards.  Trevor characterized the change of heart as "(they) seemed not exactly to get on with me" and I can't help but wonder if it had more to do with Trevor meeting David Geffen (their introduction was brokered by Manfred Mann).  When I attended Trevor's in-store appearance in 2012 he related the story of having dinner with Geffen in London and being amazed by his first encounter with a true industry mogul.  It must have seemed such an incredibly exciting opportunity...despite Geffen (both the company and its' titular executive) desiring a situation for Trevor he was ultimately unable to accept.

* ~ * ~ *

Before I begin my track-by-track commentary, I would like to state I think it's rather shameful that the packaging and the disc itself contain two errors in the song titles, especially when you examine the metadata for the disc - the information is correct.  There's really no excuse for this, in my opinion.

Side One

"Open Ended"

I'm not sure if this is the best opener for the album, although I understand why Trevor decided to put it up top.  The title is kind of a pun for the listening experience, if you think about it.  The intro is rather dramatic, but I don't know if the rest of the song quite lives up to that.  However, given the extended metaphor of a guitar serving as the primary obsession of a musician's life, I'm really proud of Trevor for taking his own shot at the theme.  And that bridge coming out of the chorus is everything good for sure.

"Heard You Cry Wolf"

This song is my favorite of the album and I've previously discussed why in my "Five from five" essay, but it continues to come down to: strong lyrics + great riff and melody + great arrangement and performances (especially that ride-out solo) + just the right amount of production = a truly great track and Trevor knew it too (as I assume that's why he chose to perform it on the '89 club tour).  In terms of singing, especially, Trevor is at his most nuanced and melodic here.  And Mo Foster is superb on the fretless bass.

In a retrospective review of the album published in 2000, Malcolm Dome (who recently interviewed Trevor for PROG) equally waxed rhapsodic on this one, calling it "breathtaking" and "an epic sweep of AOR heaven, there have been few better tracks of this type ever written or recorded."

"Do Ya Do Ya Want Me"

Fun fact: if you look up "filler" in some edition of the dictionary you will encounter this song used as example.  Okay, not really but honestly that's exactly what it is.  I find that the music is rather paint-by-numbers as well.  Before embarking upon numerous listening sessions for these reviews I will admit I haven't willingly listened to this track in years.

"Stop Turn"

I consider this song a precursor of sorts to "Hold On" except that it's a mid-tempo bluesy kind of thing, but it has that same "stroll" in the chorus, like there's a similar chord progression and arrangement.  I don't expect most to agree, but once you hear it, you can't unhear it.  I like this song even as I find Trevor's vocal to be a little strident in spots, like he's singing over the chorus rather than with it.  I think this works better as a lover's lament than "Pain" does.

"Lost In Love"

This track is rockin' for sure but those lyrics...I just...oh, Trevor.  I tend to skip this one as well.  I love to write reviews but I'm not having a good time right now.  Side One could have been so much better if not for the filler.  That synth freak-out at the end is a bit much, though.  I know Trevor didn't discover synthesizers in 1980, but he sure acts like he did.

Side Two

"Looking For A Lady - (Wolfman)"

There's been discussion and debate over the years regarding: "Did Van Halen steal the intro to 'Hot For Teacher' from this song?!" and I asked Trevor about it in my recent interview with him and the answer is, apparently: "Yes they did." All these years later it amounts to trivia of a kind because one of those songs is a Classic Rock chestnut and the other...well, it's rather obscure, except to us die-hards, that is.  But I like it - it's well-crafted and the lyrics are humorously saucy, and Trevor's singing really fits the mood and the key this time (finally).  On an album which rocks pretty darn hard, this track has great swagger and energy, proving an excellent use of his power trio.  And I believe that's Manfred Mann on keys, punctuating it all quite nicely.

"Pain"

I know fellow Rabinites will understand exactly what I'm referring to when I say that one of the most unintentionally hilarious interview segments with Trevor is the 1988 Japanese interview where he's backstage at the Pacific Ampitheatre, looking somewhat dead-eyed and dead-tired as he responds to questions, and in the background for some reason they're playing..."Pain."

I always laugh at that, I can't help it.

This is a better ballad than "You" but it's in more of a rock vein.  The lyrics are still...struggling...but everything else saves it from being wholly terrible.  Stevie Lange is the MVP here, I would say.

"Take Me To A Party "

I previously stated that "Candy's Bar" is the most English song Trevor wrote, but this would also qualify except that it's a bluesy rollicking slab of Good Times.  It fits the mood of its subject perfectly and that's primarily why it's so good.  It already sounds like a party, never mind being a demand to actually locate a knees-up to crash.  These are some of the best lyrics Trevor has ever come up with, just in terms of a rock song which is about wanting to do anything but deal with mundane everyday bullshit.  My favorite lines are: I pour down the Lucozade and I clean up my face, roll into the bedroom, get ready for the alien race.  It's a perfect summation of recovering from the post-bacchanal blues, as it were.  This is a song where the backing vocals are an especially important element and they all sound wonderful.

"She's Easy"

I have previously written about this song in my Halloween Special entry, but Dear Reader I am proclaiming to you now that I unironically love this song.  There, I said it.  Because it friggin' rocks, y'all.  I don't care that it's about a succubus wanting to do all the things that succubi do and this guy, whoever he is, feels compelled to perform a public service by warning everybody about her.  Said strange and amusing lyrics (well, if you consider Trevor is essentially kink-shaming a demon of all things) are set to an absolute burner of a track in every way.  It's like the music is a bewitching hellion of sorts as well, having its way with your ears and your immortal soul.  Am I seduced?  You betcha!

"Long Island"

Ray Davies' lyrics are very much in keeping with his usual wry observations and overall acumen as one of the songwriting voices of his generation.  It's a droll and yet also charming portrait of longing to return to a summer romance.  The music is catchy in its' way but not necessarily the most artful of Trevor's offerings even within the context of the album itself.  It's rather a happenstance pairing, I would say, but I enjoy this song except that I feel Trevor is straining against his new(er) range again.  Though I really love Noel McCalla's backing vocals on the chorus.

* ~ * ~ *

There's no bonus material included on this disc, and as usual I take issue with that as well.  At the very least, since needledrops and bootlegs form a portion of this boxset's contents, then we also could have had the original album mix of "Take Me To A Party" - good-quality vinyl copies of Wolf are very easily obtainable on the secondary market.  So I consider that omission a definite failure.  The differences are rather obvious between the two versions - there are more guitar overdubs and a thicker, more gritty kind of mix, compared with the clarity you get on the vocals in the verses on the original.

But also, since Live in Boston had to be split up due to length, with two tracks ending up as bonus content on Can't Look Away, why not put "Heard You Cry Wolf" on this disc as an extra?  Doesn't that make sense?  Every other studio album has bonus content (even if, in the case of Face To Face, it's not actually there) so this comes off to me as laziness or a lack of vision.

I've compared the available audio (meaning: whatever flat-transfer source has been used for the CD releases over the years) with the original album pressing and also the 2002 remaster and the 2020 remaster, and I will say that the new remastering sounds somewhat better, but the true issue lies with the source itself.  In an interview from 2011, Trevor revealed that the original multitracks for Wolf had later been recorded over, so they no longer exist.  Sadly that means we can't have a remixed/remastered edition of this album like we might for other albums (not that I expect it to happen, but it appears Trevor did have the idea to do this for Wolf at some point).  But since the flat-transfer source being used for any reissue is at least a generation removed from the multitracks, there's only so good it can sound overall.  And that's a shame for an album he does retain a certain amount of regard for.  I will say that I still consider a first edition vinyl pressing the best way to experience Wolf, but if you only had the new remastering to go by, then it's probably the best from a digital perspective.

So let's talk about that vicious cover...

This ad for the album looks better than the actual cover, in my estimation, because you don't get that immediate sense of...how shall I put this...taxidermy.  And I wouldn't necessarily fault Peter Wagg (the same guy who designed the UK packaging for Face To Face) except that I don't understand how any of the people involved, Trevor included, could have thought that there was anything...uh...visceral about a stuffed wolf, which it most obviously is.  The framing for the image itself, the eerie atmosphere of the background, is wholly appropriate, as is Geoff Halpin's lettering for the title, meant to approximate clawmarks.  It probably would have cost more to commission an illustration of a snarling wolf but I think that would have been far more effective.  Dealing with the original scheme - and this probably goes against everything they teach you in Graphic Design 101 - I would have made the opposite choice for the images on front and back: the cover somewhat cropped and rendered in dramatic monochrome gradients with the title still in red, and the photo of Trevor and his canine companion in color.  I will say only in this case, the cover image used for the Changes disc is an improvement.  There continues to be something endearingly hilarious about the back cover photo (although it's also a deliberately comedic subversion of the purported menace of the front cover).  Dog lover that he is, it's not difficult to imagine some version of Trevor looking for a lady with his best friend in tow, but on the other hand it appears he's lurking about in what we can reasonably assume are derelict structures?  Now that's just...creepy.

                  "What do you mean it's not called Woof?  That's a great title!"

#tbt: interviews of yore

https://cnmsarchive.wordpress.com/2013/12/10/trevor-rabin-on-scoring-armageddon/

I came across this one while engaged in one of my never-ending trawls of the Internet and it's an interview I don't think I've read before, although I imagine there are fans who have.  It's originally from 1998 and so focuses on Trevor's scoring work, but with some nice insights as regards his process at the time, working relationships with various directors and, as always, The Bruck.

There's an interesting detail regarding the soundtrack for Days of Thunder - as I had noted in a previous entry, Trevor played guitar on the David Coverdale track "The Last Note of Freedom" but it seems from his comments he might have also played on the Terry Reid track, a cover of "Gimme Some Lovin'" (and a song we know he's quite familiar with).  That's my guess as it's the only other song produced by Trevor Horn on the soundtrack.

https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/yes-men

I had originally blogged about this interview when it was published, it's from the December 2016 issue of Record Collector.  There's some really interesting anecdotes in this one, including Trevor's admission that he did desire to work on a Broadway show (just not the one he was offered, at least according to what he told me), meeting Paul McCartney in London during the sessions for Big Generator, and revealing that "I Miss You Now" is specifically about Trevor longing to see his parents.

A(nother) conversation with the Maestro

Note: the next entry in my Changes review series - disc three: Wolf - will be published next Friday.  This entry is another component in my overall contribution to the promotional cycle for the boxset.

****

It's been over a decade all-told that I've had various encounters with Trevor and I'm pleased to relate to you now our latest meeting of the minds: an interview specifically for Rabin-esque.

I was given the opportunity to phone Trevor at The Jacaranda Room and this past Tuesday we had a 90-minute chat regarding Changes and other related subjects.  Due to technical limitations on my end I wasn't able to record the conversation but I'm going to cover the highlights, as I believe we had an interesting and enlightening exchange (but admittedly I'm biased).

As always, Trevor is one of the nicest guys to interview, incredibly gracious and generous with his time (and patient with my various tangents) and wholly engaging as a conversationalist.  I am entirely grateful he agreed to talk to me about the boxset's contents and topics regarding his career overall.  He was once again very complementary regarding my encyclopedic recall and remarked that I should write a book.  I told him I was very busy writing all the essays for this blog but I appreciated the vote of confidence!

****

The new normal.
We began the interview with a discussion of what is going on in the world right now, and I said I knew he had another layer of worry along with all the things everyone is worrying about because of the associated strife in South Africa.  Trevor acknowledged his homeland is always on his mind and believes the next six months aren't going to be an easy time for anyone in the world.

A giant in his field.
I also brought up the passing of esteemed film composer Ennio Morricone, and we discussed Trevor's favorite Morricone score, for the 1986 film The Mission.  I posited that I felt it was rather influential on later composers, such as the work of James Horner.  He then related to me that he had an "encounter" with Horner regarding his score for the 2003 film Radio, elements of which strongly resembled themes from Remember the Titans.  This was not the only time Trevor would see his work borrowed by others (more on that later), but he attributed this kind of thing to what he refers to as "temp-itis" meaning the director's reliance on the use of a temporary score during the editing process.  Another example was Teddy Castellucci's score for the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard, which contained elements resembling the scores of Remember the Titans and National Treasure.  The composer paid Trevor a visit and confessed that director Peter Segal really wanted more of that type of music in the film, and he cracked under the pressure, "borrowing" quite obviously (to the point of The Bruck considering litigation, according to Trevor).  Not surprisingly did Segal then select Trevor to score his next film, 2008's Get Smart.

Trevor remarked he believed Morricone had been highly influenced by classical composer Edward Elgar, quipping: "If you're going to steal, it might as well be from the best."

Working man.
He related to me the work he performed for Renny Harlin, whom he said called him with a request to "fix" the score of his latest project.  I asked Trevor which of the films currently listed on IMDb he had worked on, and he confirmed to me it was The Misfits, which is currently in post-production.  When discussing the progress on his new solo album, he stated that he's still at about 60% completed but he believes he knows the essence and the overall shape of the work now, and has 3-4 pieces he's really happy with, so the direction is set and he can devote himself fully for the rest of the year.  When I asked him about considerations of remote recording for guest players due to ongoing logistical limitations caused by the pandemic, he replied that such a process is "cumbersome" and one he does not willingly wish to engage in.

In regards to other projects, Trevor said he had been approached by producers for a Broadway show but was ultimately not interested.  As far as appearing with the L.A. Philharmonic he stated that originally Brian Lane and Larry Magid were willing to organize and finance the event but whatever plans and negotiations were thus far accomplished have been stalled by the pandemic.

(tenuous)
I asked Trevor, now that ARW is concluded as a project, if "Fragile" would see any kind of official release and he said he had no desire to release it and didn't think it had any particular relevance in hindsight given that the band is over.  He wasn't even certain it should have been recorded in the first place but thought it would at least serve as a starting point in their endeavors even as they ultimately couldn't manage to record an album due to logistical issues.  He confirmed to me that it was realized strictly between the three of them: with Rick recording his piano parts in England, Jon recording his vocals at The Jacaranda Room, and Trevor providing all other instrumentation and vocals.  Jon contributed lyrics to the bridge (because, as Trevor noted, Jon likes the "freedom" to add things into an existing structure), but Trevor had already written the melody (and had different lyrics originally), so the ARW version of the song would be credited to both Trevor and Jon.  I asked about the origin of "Fragile" and Trevor replied he wrote it as a favor for the showrunner of Agent X; it was composed after the scoring was completed because Herron wanted a song but Trevor was not specifically compensated for writing it, thus he retained the copyright.

The arduous journey from reluctance to cooperation.
By his own admission, Trevor did not make it easy for Rob Ayling to put together Changes, it took much cajoling (as it did with the 90124 project); Ayling paid him a visit in Los Angeles and Trevor gave him access to all his ephemera just to get the man off his back, so to speak, and indicated what he has in storage is quite a jumble.  Shelley assisted with the process of looking through everything.  So all of the inclusions were suggested by Ayling, and we can appreciate that Trevor finally overcame his reluctance to be his own archivist after a fashion and acquiesced.  The photos for The Making of Wolf booklet were among those items he had saved and were thus discovered by Ayling, and luckily must have been safely stored away for the past 40 years.  Trevor noted that at first he couldn't understand the appeal of something like 90124, but agreed in part because he knew there was an ongoing evolving narrative regarding the origins of 90125 and his part in it, and so wanted to produce the originals to prove his point.

What could have been.
This led me to ask about something from the original press release for Changes and that was allegedly the inclusion of demos recorded with Roger Hodgson (which took place in 1990).  Trevor stated he couldn't quite remember how many songs they worked up but it was probably "almost an album's worth" and "The More I Look" was also one of those songs (which later appeared on Roger's 2000 album Open The Door).  I remarked that as a fan I was happy the demo version of "Walls" was included on 90124 because one of the things I love about the song is the beautiful close harmony Trevor and Roger perform on it, and the thought of an entire album like that would have been a wonderful thing to hear.  He agreed, stating he believes the project to be one of the real missed opportunities of his career and considers Roger to be like a brother, noting how happy he was to see Roger again during touring in 2016 and 2018.

Soft focus.
I expressed my appreciation for the film music composed by Trevor Rabin promo disc being included in the boxset and for general sale, revealing to Trevor what I paid for an original copy in years prior.  I asked if he had chosen the track listing and he said he did, stating that in some cases he was working from earlier versions of the themes and that's why some of them have different titles.  He also noted a lot of editing was involved in putting the tracks together and I replied because of that my research into their origins took me quite a while!  When I stated my theory regarding why it was created, to position Trevor away from being considered as the Action Guy in the industry, he agreed, noting that he seemingly moved from genre to genre - from Action Guy to Sports Guy, for example - in terms of the scoring projects which came his way, but was ultimately desiring to score all kinds of films.  He expressed that he had a previous interest in scoring a fully-animated feature (and I reminded him that the first time we spoke in 2009 I made a plea for him to do just that) but said that now it would likely be too complex a project for him to undertake.

An early innovator.
We talked a bit about Trevor's penchant for being on the cutting edge of music technology - I noted that it was pretty amazing he predicted the rise of bedroom recordings a couple decades before they became the norm - discussing the recording of Talk and Trevor stated he would like to perform a remix of the album but because the multitracks exist on more than one type of media (both analog and digital), such a project would be very difficult if not impossible at this point.  He acknowledged he would have done some things differently, especially in regards to the drum sounds.  I brought up the seeming disclaimer included as a "PS" in the credits: "Caution" Extreme Digital Dynamic Range and he replied that Victory (perhaps Phil Carson himself) included that without his knowledge and if he'd seen the liner notes prior to release he would have insisted it be removed.  Trevor recalled that when he first moved to Los Angeles in 1981, living in a house he rented from Manfred Mann's Earth Band vocalist Chris Thompson, he set up a studio in the garage to write and record demos and there were other musicians he knew who also had home studios at the time.  But the recording industry at large had mounted a seeming war against such endeavors, threatening suits and other legal action against artists working from home...which all seems rather ironic in our present-day circumstances.

All the way live.
I wanted to discuss the inclusion of the '89 performance at Boston's Paradise Theater, expressing to Trevor that he has a different perspective on concerts than fans do.  His fans - whether they attended one of the shows on the club tour or not - desire the total experience of a performance.  We don't think of it as "a very long performance that takes a lot of listening" (as he stated in the PROG interview) but rather listen to it as if we were there.  I noted that I have audience recordings of two other shows in addition to Boston and L.A. and even though it's the same setlist, I appreciate the subtle differences between each show.  I enthused that he created a great setlist and had a great band.  Trevor said that once he was convinced to include the bootleg of the radio broadcast he was happy with the decision, noting the broadcast recording is more "raw" and has a "completely different vibe" to the Los Angeles show.  I asked him about whether it was possible to release the full recording of the L.A. show and he replied the multitracks no longer exist, but seemed to indicate that there might be soundboard recordings of some of the dates still in his archives.

Facing up to Face To Face.
Having just recently composed a ginormous essay about the making of said album, I proffered my theory about how having to record three albums at the same time, but two in particular, may have contributed to Face's overall lack, shall we say.  Trevor allowed that it might have had something to do with it but it was primarily that he had never felt the kind of pressure in making an album which he experienced during the writing and recording of Face To Face.  So suffice to say he didn't perform well overall, in his estimation.  He agreed with me that Rene's Call Me is a great album, and we talked about "Paying My Dues" and reached a consensus that its' similarity to "Owner" was not purposeful but likely just a type of experimentation Trevor was desiring to pursue at the time as regards arrangements.

Van Rabin...?
I brought up to Trevor the oft-discussed similarity of the opening for "Hot For Teacher" to "Looking For A Lady - (Wolfman)" and this prompted a story about another "borrow" -  the opening riff from "Eyes Of Love" which you can hear in the track "Baluchitherium" from the 1995 Van Halen album Balance.  Trevor happened to hear the song during a televised football game and contacted Eddie Van Halen about it, recalling that back in 1989 he had gone out to see Steve Stevens performing at The Roxy with Eddie and Steve Lukather and Eddie had told him he enjoyed Can't Look Away, seemingly joking that Trevor shouldn't be surprised to hear something from it on the next Van Halen record.  And so, two albums later...Trevor remarked to me that he was shocked I wasn't familiar with that story.  "I can't believe I'm telling you something you don't already know!" he exclaimed.

Trevor stated that once he and Eddie talked about the "borrow" they worked out an agreement for Trevor to be compensated.  Trevor stated that he didn't actually mind being borrowed from as long as there was some acknowledgment involved.  Later, when relating the sequence of events to Paul Linford, his assistant remarked on the other seeming borrow and once Trevor listened to "Hot For Teacher" he realized that it was a far more obvious lift.  So he has no doubt in his mind where the intro to "Hot For Teacher" originated.

Besides a long acquaintance with Eddie, Trevor had other encounters with the band, such as when he was invited to see Van Halen perform in London at the Hammersmith Odeon in 1978, and spent time backstage being "talked at" by notorious motormouth David Lee Roth.  As long-time fans are aware, Trevor was considered as an opening act for the band, but for various reasons it never came to pass.  He also told me he had been approached at least twice about producing an album for the band during the Hagar years, noting that Sammy is "a really nice guy."

More boxes?
I asked about the purported plans for another boxset of his film music and Trevor explained that while it's a good idea, it's also a very difficult project to accomplish from a logistical standpoint, especially when it comes to licensing.  I told him about the essay I wrote for the blog in 2016, stating that a score anthology/compilation in celebration of his 20th anniversary as a film composer would be a wonderful idea.  I laid out the whole concept, and Trevor thought it was interesting, but likely ultimately remains unconvinced...probably.

Encounter with The Purple One and other adventures.
I am one of those people possessed of an irrepressible curiosity regarding certain ventures, and having touched on the making of Big Generator, I then said: "And while you were there at Sunset Sound mixing the album, so was...Bob Dylan!"  I confirmed to Trevor that whatever he recorded with Dylan at one of the sessions for Down in the Groove, it never made the album.  He appreciated me telling him this because he had no idea himself.  I explained to him that according to my research the making of that album was also quite fraught with contention, is not regarded too highly overall, and so it's not necessarily a bad thing that he didn't make the cut.  But contrary to my speculation, he said Elliot Roberts had originally contacted him regarding Dylan's request, he never had any interaction with the album's producer Beau Hill.  And also during those months of mixing one day he crossed paths with a member of Prince's entourage, who summoned Trevor for a (brief) encounter.  Apparently His Royal Badness didn't think much of "Owner of a Lonely Heart" - shooting hoops out back while wearing his custom-made Andre No. 1 4-inch heel boots.

"It was very weird," Trevor said.  "Yep, that's Prince alright," I replied.