One would likely not argue that "Owner of a Lonely Heart" is the most well-known song which Our Trev has ever composed, even as there might be other songs/compositions which Trevor is equally proud of and appreciates any acknowledgement bestowed. Given the song's enduring popularity and cultural relevance one imagines he would certainly never turn down a chance to be recognized for it. However, the song does have three other people credited as co-writers, and one of them has released his own take on it this year with Reimagines The Eighties by Trevor Horn featuring The SARM Orchestra.
The interesting thing for me to ponder in this version, featuring a full orchestration of the song, is it leads to considerations of how the song's principal writer would perform the same effort...or would he? One wonders if Trevor has ever been tempted to thoroughly re-imagine any of his compositions. For example, when he did revisit "Rescuing Fischer" as "Rescue" on Jacaranda, it's still primarily the same piece of music, and the same can be said of his re-recording of "Hold On To Me" (aka "Hold On To Love") for Can't Look Away. We all know - thanks to Trevor's extensive experience with orchestration - that he could certainly do so if he chose.
Granted, Trevor Horn performing "Owner" has much historical precedent, and Trevor has even participated in one of those efforts (appearing with other members of Yes at the Prince's Trust concert in 2004) but this time Horn's approach could be said to be less a reenactment and more of a whimsical "what-if." I find Julian Hinton's arrangement to be dynamic and engaging, from the song's beautiful overture (taking the place of that famous collage of samples) to the sprightly brass section in the bridge leading to the instrumental break. There's also a brief soul-jazz transition to the guitar solo, which is shorter than the original but with much the same texturing, leading to another orchestral transition and then a section with a few vocalese-type parts before concluding with a short refrain rather than the extended improvisional ride-out of the original.
Horn's Reimagines The Eighties album features well-known songs of the era, many of which Horn had an actual hand in (such as Grace Jones' "Slave To The Rhythm" and Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "The Power of Love") and others he did not (Tears For Fears' "Everybody Wants To Rule The World" and Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing In The Dark"). But as one of the men who defined the sound of that particular era in terms of record production, he is certainly entitled to co-opt any of that oeuvre to suit his own fancy, as it were.
Interestingly Horn chose to sing "Owner" himself rather than bring in a guest vocalist as he did for most of the other tracks - only one of two tracks which he does take the lead on. It is transposed to suit his range but Horn does embody a certain character in his take which actually falls - in my opinion - somewhere between Jon and Trevor's methodologies. I can't help but think that Horn's decision to sing the song not only stems from his past performances but also perhaps a desire to lay claim to his portion of the legacy. As if to say: this is my song too, remember.
And one could say that's a matter of opinion; because there are plenty within Yes fandom who assert that without Horn's input "Owner" would have never become as successful as it was, given that they believe Trevor's original demo was...not good, shall we say. Horn is one of those people, as he previously stated there was something in the song which piqued his interest but the song itself was too typical of Trevor's writing style at the time. But I believe you can hear all the potential displayed by the end product within the demo as well as on a couple songs which predated "Owner" in terms of arrangement and performance (and I have written about them previously but they are "Paying My Dues" by Rene Arnell, which Trevor produced and arranged, as well as his guitar solo on the Manfred Mann track "Runner").
I believe what truly makes the new arrangement interesting despite the kitchen sink-ness embodied is that the song itself is elastic enough to allow for such a different take, even as it does retain elements of the original. Speaking of elasticity, the way in which ARW performed "Owner" on their tours over the past three years also shows that this song can lend itself to a number of situations and interpretations, even as one might say this is a rather traditionalist take on it.
In the end, one can still appreciate how fundamentally engaging the song is from its' compositional elements as well as those changes wrought upon it in collaboration which all contributed to its' rise to the top of the worldwide charts 35 years ago. It's a classic which embodies not only a particular era but also a few different genres within its' ear candy boundaries and to this day manages to sound of its era and completely outside of it at the same time.
This release is available now from all the usual outlets; the Japanese version of Reimagines The Eighties features a second disc with instrumental-only versions of ten of the album's tracks (including "Owner") as well as a version of Godley & Creme's "Cry" sung by Jamie Squire of The 1975.
