Monday, December 24, 2018
holiday wishes
I wanted to wish everyone a very Happy Holiday season, whatever tradition you observe all around the world. Wishing you peace and joy and happy times with those you love. Thank you as always for your support and patronage. Here's hoping 2019 brings us new adventures with the Maestro and better times for all.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Media Watch: it's one less
This past week the Yes Music Podcast tackled yet another release in Trevor's oeuvre, the 2003 compilation 90124, featuring demo'd versions of future YesWest songs as well as solo-orientated tracks from the pool of songs Trevor brought into Cinema when he first joined.
— Kevin Mulryne (Yes Music Podcast) (@YesMusicPodcast) December 15, 2018
Friday, December 14, 2018
Wotta Guy (but not that guy, necessarily)
Spotted on Twitter: I have to admit, when I saw this tweet my initial reaction was: "Really? This was debated?" Because I've been active in Yes fandom for many years now and I've never taken part in a debate regarding Trevor's involvement with or influence on Def Leppard.
-1- A long-standing friendship and working relationship with the producer of the album, Robert John "Mutt" Lange. As long-time fans are aware, Trevor worked with Mutt extensively during their formative years in the South African music scene. Mutt emigrated to London around the same time that Trevor did, although previously Trevor claimed that Mutt went there first, and encouraged the members of Rabbitt to come to London and allow him to produce their second album but they declined. During Trevor's years in London one would imagine they had regular contact and we also know that Mutt's ex-wife Stevie Vann contributed backing vocals to Trevor's third solo album Wolf.
-2- At the time in which Pyromania was being recorded in London, Trevor was also in London working with what was to become YesWest on 90125. So it's easy to imagine that there was social contact during that period.
And now for my speculation/editorializing:
-3- Is it possible that Trevor was one of The Leppardettes who are credited with backing vocals? Perhaps, but there's never been any indication that he participated in the actual recording of Pyromania. So to potentially infer that the sound of Pyromania was somehow an extension of Trevor's sound because he receives a namecheck in the credits is a case of incorrect attribution. It is abundantly clear that Def Leppard's particular musical idiom, beginning with High 'n' Dry, is a direct result of working with Mutt Lange who possesses a signature style of stacked choruses, anthemic hooks, and an overall densely-layered kind of AOR feel. And furthermore I would infer that Trevor's love of stacked choruses likely originated directly from working with Mutt.
But speaking of Pyromania, here's something which I did debate in Yes fandom, at the very least...
Back in 2009 a Yesfans member who goes by the name of Earl Grey conducted a series of informal interviews with keyboardist Tony Kaye, and what follows is Kaye's claim regarding his role on Pyromania. But Kaye is not included on the "Wotta Guy" list in the credits.
(I will note that I have kept the original formatting from the interview intact.)
TK: ...I, along with Rabin, originally wanted Mutt Lange to produce 90125, but Mutt was too busy working on something else at the time...
The Def Leppard album, 'Pyromania': Which I played on, by the way.
I actually did the keyboards on the album.
As a producer, Lange was such a sweetheart of a guy, and such a pleasure to work with.
And there was none of the tension that was happening in the 90125 studio.
EG: So, if Lange had been at the controls of 90125, it might have been a better experience for you?
TK: Who knows how it would have turned-out with Mutt.
But, working with [him] was such a positive experience.
Particularly what he had me doing.
There were actually no 'keyboards' per se on 'Pyromania': What he had me doing was playing the guitar parts on the synthesizer.
I was doubling the guitar parts, we were multi-tracking everything with the guitars on top.
The synths were playing what the guitars were playing, in exactitude, ...so you ended-up with this great wall of sound.
But then, there were no actual keyboard parts in-between.
It took hours and hours, finding the guitar parts I could play with one hand, and then, multi-tracking them.
And that's how we got that BIG sound on 'Pyromania'.
EG: T.K. and Def Leppard. Who knew? Certainly not I!
TK: I don't think anyone knows about that. There aren't any keyboard credits on the album.
However, Kaye is not the only musician to make this claim and in fact at the time the interview was posted on Yesfans some readers responded to note that Thomas Dolby has been the one revealed as "Booker T. Boffin" who is credited with "Other Keyboards" on the album. Several months prior to the interview with Kaye, an interview with Dolby was published wherein Dolby did assert the claim.
So I would posit that if anything need be known, that particular claim of Kaye's is the "truth" which should be uncovered regarding the making of Pyromania. Maybe someday someone might ask one of the Leps for their recollection - as Mutt is notoriously reclusive I'm willing to bet we won't be hearing from him.
To start with, what this person is referring to is Trevor's name listed in the "Wotta Guy" section of the album credits. His presence on that list is very likely attributable to two things:Hi Eddie,— AgentA Douglas (@TravelAgentA) December 13, 2018
RE: Def Leppard...
Q: "What is the 'TRUTH' about the extent of (Yes guitarist) TREVOR RABIN and his influence on the PYROMANIA album??"
(Rabin IS thanked in CD notes. Fans of Yes & Def Leppard have debated for YEARS...)#DefLeppard #Pyromania #TrevorRabin #Yes #ARW pic.twitter.com/LDv1SMTSBE
-1- A long-standing friendship and working relationship with the producer of the album, Robert John "Mutt" Lange. As long-time fans are aware, Trevor worked with Mutt extensively during their formative years in the South African music scene. Mutt emigrated to London around the same time that Trevor did, although previously Trevor claimed that Mutt went there first, and encouraged the members of Rabbitt to come to London and allow him to produce their second album but they declined. During Trevor's years in London one would imagine they had regular contact and we also know that Mutt's ex-wife Stevie Vann contributed backing vocals to Trevor's third solo album Wolf.
-2- At the time in which Pyromania was being recorded in London, Trevor was also in London working with what was to become YesWest on 90125. So it's easy to imagine that there was social contact during that period.
And now for my speculation/editorializing:
-3- Is it possible that Trevor was one of The Leppardettes who are credited with backing vocals? Perhaps, but there's never been any indication that he participated in the actual recording of Pyromania. So to potentially infer that the sound of Pyromania was somehow an extension of Trevor's sound because he receives a namecheck in the credits is a case of incorrect attribution. It is abundantly clear that Def Leppard's particular musical idiom, beginning with High 'n' Dry, is a direct result of working with Mutt Lange who possesses a signature style of stacked choruses, anthemic hooks, and an overall densely-layered kind of AOR feel. And furthermore I would infer that Trevor's love of stacked choruses likely originated directly from working with Mutt.
But speaking of Pyromania, here's something which I did debate in Yes fandom, at the very least...
Back in 2009 a Yesfans member who goes by the name of Earl Grey conducted a series of informal interviews with keyboardist Tony Kaye, and what follows is Kaye's claim regarding his role on Pyromania. But Kaye is not included on the "Wotta Guy" list in the credits.
(I will note that I have kept the original formatting from the interview intact.)
TK: ...I, along with Rabin, originally wanted Mutt Lange to produce 90125, but Mutt was too busy working on something else at the time...
The Def Leppard album, 'Pyromania': Which I played on, by the way.
I actually did the keyboards on the album.
As a producer, Lange was such a sweetheart of a guy, and such a pleasure to work with.
And there was none of the tension that was happening in the 90125 studio.
EG: So, if Lange had been at the controls of 90125, it might have been a better experience for you?
TK: Who knows how it would have turned-out with Mutt.
But, working with [him] was such a positive experience.
Particularly what he had me doing.
There were actually no 'keyboards' per se on 'Pyromania': What he had me doing was playing the guitar parts on the synthesizer.
I was doubling the guitar parts, we were multi-tracking everything with the guitars on top.
The synths were playing what the guitars were playing, in exactitude, ...so you ended-up with this great wall of sound.
But then, there were no actual keyboard parts in-between.
It took hours and hours, finding the guitar parts I could play with one hand, and then, multi-tracking them.
And that's how we got that BIG sound on 'Pyromania'.
EG: T.K. and Def Leppard. Who knew? Certainly not I!
TK: I don't think anyone knows about that. There aren't any keyboard credits on the album.
However, Kaye is not the only musician to make this claim and in fact at the time the interview was posted on Yesfans some readers responded to note that Thomas Dolby has been the one revealed as "Booker T. Boffin" who is credited with "Other Keyboards" on the album. Several months prior to the interview with Kaye, an interview with Dolby was published wherein Dolby did assert the claim.
Keyboards by “Booker T Boffin” on Def Leppard’s Pyromania: was that you then, and if so what other pseudonyms have you used over the years?Others have cited Dolby as the mystery keyboardist as well, including engineer Mike Shipley in a 2013 interview and Def Leppard co-manager Peter Mensch.
Yes, Pyromania and also parts of Hysteria. I didn’t really want to get tarred with the heavy metal brush, and the feeling was quite mutual—hence the pseudonym. It came about because Mutt Lange’s a great guy that’s not afraid to try odd things out."
So I would posit that if anything need be known, that particular claim of Kaye's is the "truth" which should be uncovered regarding the making of Pyromania. Maybe someday someone might ask one of the Leps for their recollection - as Mutt is notoriously reclusive I'm willing to bet we won't be hearing from him.
Thursday, December 13, 2018
#tbt: One of my favorite things!
With much gratitude and thanks to the DrTomoculus channel on YouTube for coming through with my request from a few years back...here is his "remastered" version of Beginnings, the original release of Trevor's first solo album on RPM from 1978. As I discussed in my essay on the album from last year, there are differences in the mix* and sequencing between Beginnings and Trevor Rabin (as well as different/additional songs) and if you've never had the opportunity to hear the original then you owe it to yourself to give this a virtual spin!
* "Live A Bit" is the best example of how different the mix can be. The original version is a revelation when compared to the version on Trevor Rabin.
Monday, December 10, 2018
Media Watch: some recent finds
The 35th Anniversary of 90125 was last month, and here is the In The Studio with Redbeard program in observance of this event. It likely contains content from previous programs but I found it enjoyable.
http://www.inthestudio.net/online-on-demand/yes-90125-35th-anniversary-jon-andersontrevor-rabinalan-whitetony-kaye/
In other podcast news, The Prog Report website has a new show in honor of Yes' 50th Anniversary titled Yes Years 50. Each episode examines one year from every decade within Yesstory; and I believe every episode thus far contains at least some YesWest content.
http://www.inthestudio.net/online-on-demand/yes-90125-35th-anniversary-jon-andersontrevor-rabinalan-whitetony-kaye/
In other podcast news, The Prog Report website has a new show in honor of Yes' 50th Anniversary titled Yes Years 50. Each episode examines one year from every decade within Yesstory; and I believe every episode thus far contains at least some YesWest content.
You can find all episodes of the show at TPR's Podbean page.
Friday, December 7, 2018
The Man of a Thousand Credits: lending his heart
One of a continuing series in regards to the myriad variety of Trevor’s discography.
Today saw the release of Jason Becker's album Triumphant Hearts, and finally we can experience Trevor's lyrical mastery on the track "River of Longing."
It's quite a lovely piece, I enjoy the shifts between the delicate phrasing and a more raucous voicing in some parts, as well as a pretty keyboard part. It's definitely what could be considered Trevor's style in terms of tone and articulation. There is some vocalization towards the end as well which is a nice surprise. It has an almost sort of "church-y" kind of feel to it in the final couple minutes.
Today saw the release of Jason Becker's album Triumphant Hearts, and finally we can experience Trevor's lyrical mastery on the track "River of Longing."
Jason Becker - River of Longing (feat. Trevor Rabin): https://t.co/aISHIvXC6u via @YouTube— Jason Becker (@jasonelibecker) December 7, 2018
It's quite a lovely piece, I enjoy the shifts between the delicate phrasing and a more raucous voicing in some parts, as well as a pretty keyboard part. It's definitely what could be considered Trevor's style in terms of tone and articulation. There is some vocalization towards the end as well which is a nice surprise. It has an almost sort of "church-y" kind of feel to it in the final couple minutes.
As I reported previously, there are two songs on the album with the same name, but at least to my ears if they are the same song there is a distinct difference in the realization. But upon my initial listening to the release as a whole I find it is a very interesting cast of characters brought together to realize the emotive, soaring material on offer.
Congrats to Jason on this fine achievement!
Thursday, December 6, 2018
#tbt: one rockin' November night
Of the various postings I see from fans online, I wanted to give a shoutout to Karen Smith who has shared on her Instagram account some of her photos of various Yes shows she attended over the years, specifically the YesWest Pittsburgh show on November 27, 1987. Sometimes it feels like the BigGen era isn't quite as well-documented as other tours and I always enjoy seeing fan images of the particular gigs. Many thanks for these fond memories!
As an added bonus I believe these two photos are from their May 1st, 1984 show.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)