The Secret Discography: hearing double

One of a series which examines Trevor’s musical career in South Africa.

As long-time fans are aware, Trevor possessed a boatload of credits in the ZA years...and one song in particular has a double life, even.

"I Surrender" - a song Trevor and Patric van Blerk co-wrote for Margaret Singana - was first recorded in 1975 with co-production and arrangement by Trevor, and it's really a great vehicle for Lady Africa's voice, the way she could effortlessly phrase with such power.  It appears on the album Stand By Your Man which was released internationally in 1976 with the title Where Is The Love.  Interestingly, there is also a song called "Love Will Find A Way" written by van Blerk and Fransua Roos - so we might surmise that was a title which lived in Trevor's mind for quite a long while.

In 1977 Sharon Tandy covered the song which Trevor also arranged and produced, but it's slower than the original.  It's really not surprising that nearly identical copies of the song exist simply because those stations who did not care to cross the color line in their programming could then play Tandy's version.  Tandy was an interesting figure in South African pop - she was once married to Frank Fenter (the man who signed Rabbitt to Capricorn Records in 1976) and had some recognition in the UK in the late 1960s as a contemporary of blue-eyed soul singers like Dusty Springfield, but ultimately returned to South Africa in 1970.

The tempo seems an unusual choice because the song is a disco anthem of sorts, it's meant to soar out of the speakers in keeping with its lyrical sentiment...I suppose you can tell which version I prefer.  So not only was Trevor incredibly busy with at least a dozen different musical ventures during the '70s, but also with reprising his own material and arrangements for different singers - and I don't believe there are many artists who can make that singular claim.

Another aimed for excellence

Today on social media, Trevor shared with fans a video of his niece Indiana Woodward, who has followed in the toe shoes of her mother Amanda (Trevor's sister) as a ballet dancer.

wanted to share the talents of my beautiful and talented niece Indiana Woodward (my angel)who's with the NYBC.... http://t.co/QUNLJg1NyT
— Trevor Rabin (@Rabin_News) January 18, 2015

The video Trevor posted is from a few years back, Indiana is now 21, a graduate of the School of American Ballet, currently a member of the New York City Ballet.  And as illustrated by the performance, she is already on her way to a stellar career in dance.

I thought I'd also share, here's a video of a piece which Amanda choreographed, filmed in 2000, "When Dancers Go Bowling."  Amanda is the redhead wearing the blue faux fur in the ensemble.  It's hilarious and fun, plays on some of the established stereotypes of professional dancers (we get a taste of Amanda's years in Paris with a scold en francais) and is filled with fabulous dancing.
When Dancers Go Bowling (2000) (17 min.) from Michael DeMirjian / FlimFlamFilm on Vimeo.

Lucky 13

A very happy 61st birthday to Trevor...here's hoping it's a year full of love and happiness, good health and interesting adventures, and as always, lots of wonderful music.  Cheers!

12 Monkeys: series preview

The SyFy Channel has posted the first nine minutes of the pilot episode of 12 Monkeys, which features a bit of Trevor and Paul's score.  Some nice use of percussion in there, which is one of Trevor's signature touches, of course.  But it appears - at least by way of IMDb credits - that Trevor only composed music for the pilot episode, and Paul was responsible for scoring the remainder of the season.  If that's truly the case (which will be verified in the weeks to come) then I hope that means work on the new solo album will continue forthwith.

In my previous post about the series debut I forgot to mention that the show can also be viewed on Hulu.com in addition to all the other sources.  It will be shown with limited commercial interruption on SyFy, January 16th at 9pm EST/PST, which actually makes a good case for watching it in real time.

A portent of greatness to come

Among the latest YouTube finds, there is an upload of Trevor's official debut as a vocalist with the nascent version of Rabbitt in 1972.  I say "official" because as long-time fans are aware he recorded the song "(Wake Up!) State Of Fear" with Freedom's Children (which included Ronnie Friedman on bass), but it was never released. 

The first version of the cover of Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath" was, according to Trevor, originally suggested by someone at the record company as a single for release and recorded on a shoestring budget of $200.  Producer Patric van Blerk had discovered his band the Conglomeration back in 1969 and so this particular production effort was seemingly part of his overall plan to get Trevor signed.  As the Conglomeration had called it quits within the last year, this version of Rabbitt was a studio project featuring Ronnie's brother Errol on guitar, van Blerk's writing partner Fransua Roos on keyboards, and up-and-coming ZA musicians Lou Forer on bass and Cedric Samson on drums.  The song's peak position on the Springbok Radio charts was number 18 in January 1973, the first of several entries for the band.

There were four singles credited to Rabbitt from 1972-1974, but the others appeared to be all original material, produced by either van Blerk or Robert John "Mutt" Lange.  It's possible that the single "Yesterday's Papers" is the first to feature Trevor, Ronnie and Neil Cloud, as 1974 was the year they apparently reformed and were officially signed with Jo'Burg, according to Satbel A&R man Robin Taylor.

The first version of "Locomotive Breath" was subject to the typical censorship of the SABC, with a couple lines changed (the rerecorded version on Boys Will Be Boys! reverts to the correct lyrics) and adheres much closer to the arrangement of Jethro Tull's original, which recalls how many popular songs from overseas were rerecorded for the South African market at that time.  Trevor performs in Ian Anderson's register, whereas in the 1975 version he's singing in his natural, higher range and the arrangement features a faster tempo.  It's not surprising that Trevor would have desired to re-record the song for Rabbitt's debut album, with an arrangement and performance more in line with his own style and taste.

In 1978 a limited edition commemorative EP was released titled Rabbitt 1972-1978, but of all the material on the record, only one song features Trevor on lead vocals, and it's the version of "Locomotive Breath" from Boys Will Be Boys!.  I can certainly understand Satbel's desire to cash in (or at least recoup whatever losses they believed they were accruing from the band's demise), but it's a rather lopsided release when you consider the previous EP, Morning Light, which at least included equal contributions from Trevor and Duncan as regards songwriting and vocals.