This content is from several years ago - but published again recently - guitarist Jason Becker (whose album Triumphant Hearts features a track performed by Trevor) discusses his admiration for Trevor's playing and how it impacted his own career in terms of influence.
https://www.loudersound.com/features/jason-becker-trevor-rabin
This interview somehow got past my radar, I think? It's from last month.
https://519magazine.com/trevor-rabin-the-intimate-journey-to-rio/
This one is from Rock Cellar magazine, they also interviewed Trevor during the Jacaranda promotional cycle.
https://rockcellarmagazine.com/trevor-rabin-interview-rio-yes-new-album-prog-rock-tour/
And a new Guitar Player interview.
https://www.guitarplayer.com/player/trevor-rabin-interview-2023
And also an interview on the official Manchester United Football Club website.
A review of the 1976 album The Bull and the Lion (which featured instrumentation by Rabbitt):
https://www.ft.com/content/9dc0c20a-0051-4aac-bed0-47621a386eda
Trevor on the creation of "Owner of a Lonely Heart":
A listicle/interview regarding many of Trevor's best-known (and brand-new) songs:
This month's cover story in PROG focuses on the 1983 release 90125, an anniversary-minded look back at the making of the album and its' enduring place in Yesstory, music history, and pop culture.
The band's groundbreaking 1983 album 90125 is 40 years old and Prog celebrates by bringing you the inside story of the album, via brand new interviews with those involved. It's a journey from an attempt to form XYZ with Jimmy Page to finding themselves topping the US singles charts - a first for a prog band!
Trevor joins the hosts of Yesshift for another round of discussion...
And a historically-minded discussion with South African recording industry legend Benjy Mudie:
https://pod.link/hip/episode/830791bc0c3e598b9e3c262e42a473ee
Italian pop-rock sensation Måneskin has released an extended version of their latest album, re-titled RUSH! (Are U Coming?) which features five bonus tracks and one of them is another collab with the Captain Cuts boys - it's short & (bitter)sweet and catchy as hell!
Recent media coverage has focused on the 40th Anniversary of the release of 90125, and here are a couple of new articles:
https://somethingelsereviews.com/2023/11/09/yes-90125-new-era/
From short-n-sweet to in-depth, here's a collection of Trevor's recent press activities...
Analog Planet:
Glide Magazine:
PROG:
https://www.loudersound.com/features/trevor-rabin-rio
Metal Talk:
https://www.metaltalk.net/trevor-rabin-talks-rio-a-tour-and-his-next-rock-album.php
Spectrum News 1:
https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/columbus/news/2023/10/07/rock-hall-inductee-trevor-rabin
Trevor Joe Lennon:
WAXX TRAXX TO THE MAXX:
Music Radar:
Sound & Vision:
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/trevor-rabin-says-yes-surround-sound-and-atmos
jambands.com:
https://jambands.com/features/2023/11/19/trevor-rabins-paper-trail/Goldmine:
https://www.goldminemag.com/interviews/trevor-rabin-rock-music-is-so-in-my-blood-againSOAL Night Live:
musicplayersNOW:
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.
On this FriYAY!, Trevor tells us about "Goodbye," his Country-flavored offering from Rio.
This week Trevor discusses "Thandi," his passionate commentary on the cruelty of the ivory trade.
With thanks to the R&RHoF, we have video of Trevor's visit to the facility on October 6th, in celebration of the release of Rio and his status as a Hall of Famer (as the Union-era lineup of Yes was inducted in 2017). And he donated his famous black-and-yellow stage outfit from the 9012Live tour to the museum as well as a chart he had written out of the riff for "Owner of a Lonely Heart."
In this footage of the tour Trevor was given you can also spy Shelley along with Trevor superfans Judy and Melinda, who created and administer the Trevor Rabin Fans page on Facebook.
This was a nice news story to wake up to! As part of Release Day festivities at the Rock Hall in Cleveland, Trevor had a fun time with the Vermilion High School Sailor marching band of Vermilion, OH.
Finally! Posted today, to celebrate their 600th episode, Kevin and Mark welcome Trevor to the esteemed and much beloved of fans Yes Music Podcast. Trevor's appearance on the show is around the 27:45 mark.
https://yesmusicpodcast.com/episode-600-with-trevor-rabin/
Happy Release Day to Rio! Here are the latest reviews of the album; I will be adding to this post as more are published.
The Album Review Channel:
Metal Planet Music:
https://metalplanetmusic.com/2023/10/album-review-trevor-rabin-rio/
PROG:
https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/trevor-rabin-rio
My Global Mind:
https://myglobalmind.com/2023/10/20/trevor-rabin-rio-review/
Everything is Noise:
https://everythingisnoise.net/reviews/trevor-rabin-rio/
Something Else!
https://somethingelsereviews.com/2023/11/16/trevor-rabin-rio/Yesshift:
As we come into the home stretch of Release Day tomorrow, the promotional cycle rolls on...
Paltrocast with Darren Paltrow:
The promotional juggernaut rolls on, here are the other recent interviews...
Classic Album Review
Jim Newstead - Adventures in Music
Eager-eyed fans may have spotted Trevor's social media postings yesterday which announced a release party for the new album on its' release date, October 6th, held in conjunction with the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. The event will feature a conversation with Trevor and the Hall's VP of Education, Jason Hanley, with a signing to follow.
Ticketing information can be found here:
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.
A couple of full album reviews have been posted this week thus far...
The Prog Report:
https://progreport.com/trevor-rabin-rio-album-review/
Sea of Tranquility:
As foretold, here is the new "innerview" with Anil Prasad:
https://www.innerviews.org/inner/trevor-rabin-2
And also (with thanks to Ash Armstrong for the heads-up), Doug Helvering of The Daily Doug will be interviewing Trevor on Thursday, here is the link to his YouTube channel for further information:
 |
| 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.
****
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!
This round of questioning has some interesting directions...and a preview of the album's closer "Toxic."
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.
Musician, songwriter, engineer/producer, and legendary figure in the ZA rock world Julian Laxton passed away on September 9th. As long-time fans are aware, the combined efforts of Trevor, Julian, and Patric van Blerk are responsible for the amazing production of the two Rabbitt albums which Trevor appears on, but particularly their second release A Croak and A Grunt in the Night. Yet another great production project from the team was Margaret Singana's album Tribal Fence from 1977.
This article notes many of Julian's achievements in the music scene over the years, although they fail to note that he came to prominence with '70s era seminal rock band Freedom's Children.
Trevor posted this tribute to his personal Facebook page last week:
It’s hard to believe that my brother in sound has passed.
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!
Today sees the release of the second part of this series featuring Trevor's commentary on "Push."
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:
As I was given the opportunity to preview Rio - though without the context of liner notes and lyrics - I thought I would post my initial impressions with the aim of publishing a longer in-depth review upon official release.
My initial impression, much like some others who've had the chance to preview the album, is that this is not entirely Trevor the hook-master writing in previous idioms. I feel as if he has progressed into other realms which express the breadth of his stylistic impulses while at the same time embodying certain aspects which we might expect, but again going beyond in a playful and adventurous way. And I feel like the vocals are also confounding our expectations a bit, Trevor is still the melodic singer we know, but the current context of his artistic life allows for something new and interesting.
"Big Mistakes"
As numerous others have noted, this track has a great hook-y rock-pop sensibility and thus opens the album in a context we recognize as regards Trevor's overall identity. To me it feels like a familiar friend, from Lou Molino's stutter-step drum fill to that big riff and lots of dynamic Alembic bass. It is quite different from the rest of the album, but as I've noted that stylistic diversity is one of the hallmarks of Trevor's career then it's entirely fitting for him to pull a bit of playful bait-and-switch. And the cellphone gag is classic Trevor!
"Push"
This track has received a lot of positive feedback from those prog-loving fans of both YesWest and Trevor's solo career. Vinnie Colaiuta certainly comports himself well, as we would expect. There is a feel of metaphorical messaging rather than direct rhetoric as regards the lyrics, which Trevor has noted are about "the horror of politics and politicians." I would say of all the tracks, this one feels most like the spiritual successor to what we heard on Jacaranda.
"Oklahoma"
This track in particular seems to meld Trevor's scoring sensibilities with his instincts as a songwriter. There is an anthemic bent to the grandeur of the orchestra. I particularly enjoy the fretless bass and acoustic guitar textures. The way the song shifts from one movement to another has a "score suite" type of structure to it. This song is said to be about the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995 and does have an elegaic feel to it.
"Paradise"
This song features a fairly straight-ahead riff with lots of vocal harmony filigree, it has a similar vibe to "Big Mistakes" as regards how the hook hits in the chorus. If I were to guess, I'd say this is the other song which features Liz and Dante on vocals. To me the highlight is the vocalese-style multi-tracked section which comes towards the end of the track and then full-on transitions into a piano jazz section with a bit of brass. Very fun!
"Thandi"
There are sounds which introduce this track which remind me specifically of Ryan's debut on Can't Look Away and so I wonder if this is Miss Rio's debut (but pitch-shifted to be more texture than specifically a voice). This song mixes a rock structure with a ZA-style mbube chorus, which indicates to me that the target of Trevor's criticism is his homeland. There is a lot of guitar goodness on this track (in the classic sense)! And if I had to guess, I'd say Ryan is the drummer on this track.
"Goodbye"
This is the "chicken-pickin" style song which Trevor mentioned recently in media coverage. It's more traditional, to my mind, it's not pop-country but rather something more like Paul Simon's "Kodachrome" (which was meant to mimic the Muscle Shoals sound specifically). Towards the end it shifts into more of a rock-sounding motif. Trevor is definitely channeling Chet Atkins in his playing and I think there's banjo entwined in there as well.
"Tumbleweed"
As pointed out by Trevor in regards to overall vocal stylings, there is a lovely Manhattan Transfer-style acapella vocal to introduce this track which then gets a bit more playful and segues into a lovely guitar landscape with gentle vocals and a bit of organ. Because so many people seem to want to insert his former bandmates into this effort, this is the song I could imagine Jon Anderson contributing to. Not that I think it's necessary at all, but it's got that vibe. It's so lovely in the various sections and the overall mood, definitely a favorite from first listen.
"These Tears"
This also makes me think of Trevor's scoring work in terms of how the track is constructed: the layering of the voices and synth elements contrasting against the warmth of the guitar and the ethereal mood of the vocals. The doomed romance aspect of the lyrics is something we'd likely expect from Trevor, but set within this mood they take on an interesting gravitas. It's also a bit of a nod to "Promises" in terms of all that ambience, in my estimation.
"Egoli"
Of course a song with this title is also going to reference the township jive and mbube styles of Trevor's homeland. A tribute to the city which raised him, embodied by positive memories and associations and nostalgia. This comes across as Trevor attempting to come to terms with his overall ambivalence regarding South Africa.
"Toxic"
The intro to this one seems like a different take on "Market Street" but then immediately shifts into a upbeat blues mode. There's a lot of interesting texturing in the verses. Trevor's vocal is quite bright and melodic against the more gritty mood of the music. I do feel like the ride-out is a bit short, I think the track would have benefitted from a more dynamic full-stop.
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.
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:
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.
Although he's not listed on the cover, in the newest issue of PROG magazine (the cover story is an examination of Pink Floyd's history from 1973 to 1980) there is an article regarding the making of Rio. Interestingly enough Trevor says he would like to tour to support the album, and notes that Shelley nagged him to get it done. I know we're all grateful for that!
I seem to have a history with things happening with Trevor while I'm out of town (and offline!). And so indeed yesterday the label posted the first part of a new interview regarding the making of the album. To keep updated on these uploads go follow InsideOutMusic on YouTube.
One of YouTube's most prevalent genres is the reaction video, and "Big Mistakes" already has more than a few...
The Prog Report
Prog Dog
It's another FriYAY! with a new video wherein Trevor explains the meaning of "Big Mistakes." It seems we might get a track-by-track for all the songs...hopefully?!
Advance reviews of Rio are starting to come online, and it looks like the first informal review is from Sean Tonar of Progressive Ears, who shared his impressions via the thread dedicated to discussion of the album/single on the PE forum.
It's FriYAY! because "Big Mistakes" is officially out in the world and in our ears.
Trevor comments: “‘Big Mistakes’ the first single on the album, is essentially about surviving my late teens/twenties, hence the lyric: ‘We played in the fire, we danced in the rain. Up all night we made Big Mistakes.’ I should have called the song ‘I Can’t Believe I’m Alive.'” Trevor plays all the instruments on the track, aside from the drums which were performed by Lou Molino III, and backing vocals from Dante Marchi & Liz Constantine.
As long-time fans are aware, Trevor has been working with Dante and Liz for over a decade on various projects, and Liz is now a two-time collaborator on Trevor's solo work. And of course it wouldn't be a Trevor solo track without Lou!
Here are some further release details for the album:
Rio will be available as a Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook, Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray (including 8-page LP-booklet and obi strip), both featuring bonus material, 5.1 surround sound & liner notes. Also available as Standard CD Jewelcase, Gatefold 180g
2LP+LP-booklet (with etching on side D), and as Digital Album.
And here is the full tracklisting:
1. Big MistakesIt's wonderful that we will finally be able to hear a professionally-mastered version of "Fragile" and "Georgia" is, I believe, Trevor's version of "Georgia on My Mind" that he originally shared with fans back in September 2014. The album features drumming assistance once again from Lou and Ryan and Vinnie Colaiuta on "Push," as well as Trevor himself on a few tracks.
The cover of Rio features one of Trevor's forays into digital artwork, which is what I suspected it might be.
“I dabble with digital art so I sent some images of mine to the label and was pleasantly surprised when they liked them.”And as with all of Trevor's music, Rio promises to showcase a lot of stylistic diversity:
Stylistically, Rio is tough to categorize. Besides guitar-driven rock-meets-pop, "Goodbye" is Country & Western with an edgy drive, while "Tumbleweed" begins in a burst of harmonies. No wonder its working title was The Demographic Nightmare.
“I wanted to get into many different areas,” Rabin states. “Of course there are ‘prog things,’ but overall there are a lot of styles going on.”
As noted on Facebook and Instagram this morning, the first single release from Rio is "Big Mistakes" and the song and video will debut on Friday!
Some might be aware of the recent fan-created documentary series on the making of Van Halen's 1984 album, the first two parts of which were pulled from YouTube due to copyright claims. Part three was uploaded yesterday (with legal adjustments), specifically focusing on the making of the album and so takes a look at what external musical sources inspired the songs...and what the creator notes as the specific inspirations for the introduction/riff of "Hot For Teacher" do not involve "Lookin' For A Lady (Wolfman)." However, he does make a compelling case for those compositions actually cited.
If you're curious, it's at the 17:27 mark.
Today the official announcement has been made by InsideOutMusic regarding the release of Rio.
InsideOutMusic are pleased to announce the signing of Trevor Rabin, the South African guitarist, singer, multi-musician, writer and producer. They will release Rio, his first solo album of vocal material in 34 years on October 6th, 2023 worldwide.
Of the signing and the forthcoming album, Trevor comments: “Signing to InsideOutMusic was the most natural and happy signing. Thomas and I have been friends for a while, and we’ve wanted to work together for a while. As I got close to completing the project, I called Thomas. It was that simple. I am extremely happy to be working with the InsideOutMusic team and being part of the Sony family.”
InsideOutMusic label-head Thomas Waber adds: "Working with Trevor is a big bucket list moment for me and the label. I became a fan of his signature writing style at the beginning of the 80s and have been following him ever since. He is one of the true greats in Rock Music. Rio is everything we could have hoped for and more!"
Rio, named after Rabin’s grand-daughter, features a painting by Trevor himself and will be available to pre-order from August 4th on several different formats. More information will be available soon.
Trevor’s social media presence has been newly relaunched, and you can find all the key places to find out more information below. You can also see a video of Trevor checking in here: https://youtu.be/VRx4eyxT8Hs
(And we get a great new promo photo too!)
According to a few sources, Trevor announced the release date of his new solo album Rio on social media sometime within the last 12 hours or so. It appears the album will be released on October 6th through InsideOut Music. But then the announcement seemingly vanished, perhaps revealed too soon? But a two-month lead time is pretty standard I would say. Here's hoping there's more news (or even the original news re-posted) appearing very soon!
Note: this entry contains SPOILERS! for the novel Blast from the Past. If you want to read it (Would I recommend it? No. But I've read it so you don't have to.) then you might want to refrain from reading most of my review.
***
In addition to the overall cultural influence which "Owner of a Lonely Heart" has exhibited for the past 40 years, it's also been used as the title of three different books. Two of them were published this year and they are both romance novels. It's a perfect title to be sure. One of them is even set in 1985. But what about, I wonder, the novel yet-to-be which pays tribute to those who gifted us that catchy inspiration in the first place? Well, it turns out there is one...sorta.
Over the years Wright interviewed Steve Howe and Alan White for his website several times, and he also spoke with Trevor during the Jacaranda promotional cycle in 2012 - here is the link to that interview.
https://www.classicrockrevisited.com/show_interview.php?id=157
Blast from the Past begins thus: Miles Goodwin, age 55, resident of Arkansas City, Kansas, has a life which might be a long time away from his youthful hijinks but is pretty good, all things considered (while in the midst of the pandemic). Happily married and with a adult daughter, he's looking forward to having time to himself as his wife and mother-in-law depart on an all-day shopping trip. Present day is October 2020 and he's about to have an encounter which will change everything.
But one of the first things we learn is that his favorite album is 90125:
For over thirty-five years, this music had remained close to my heart. On this album, they were the best they'd ever been. They combined their musical virtuosity with pop sensibility. Each song on the album was perfect. When I listened to 90125, I felt better about myself and about life. It brought back memories of a different era. Music had always been my higher power, and this album was one of my most sacred listening experiences.
Miles is a GenXer, and this tracks for me in terms of 90125 being the album which probably resonates most with that generation (which is also my own), especially those who might have been Yesfans before or after this point in time. It was Yes' biggest moment in the cultural zeitgeist and I believe the work continues to resonate on more than a few levels.
With the album blasting through his empty house, Miles does the typical old guy things one would expect: making a grilled-cheese sandwich and opening a beer, looking forward to a nap after this indulgence. After a minor accident (he receives a bump on the head), there is a summons at the door, which reveals...a dead man. Or his ghost, at any rate. Miles is confused and amazed, but also seems to accept the situation fairly quickly. Soon they are drinking and smoking and reminiscing, as old friends do. Ashley may be some kind of supernatural phenomenon, but he seems to appear as an actual corporeal being to Miles.
To my mind, this story isn't so much about the possible terror of being visited by your past mistakes...but the wonder of being allowed to escape back into your youth. For Generation X, it's often been said that we were somewhat "feral" in terms of what kids were allowed to do (or got away with doing) and it makes sense in that GenX also invented Helicopter Parenting as a course correction for our own chaotic childhoods. This story means to echo classics such as Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, Licorice Pizza and Heavy Metal Parking Lot which evoke the nostalgia of being young enough to do what you want with few if any of the attendant responsibilities - adolescence/young adulthood as the last bastion of true freedom.
The reason I state this is because the ghost of Miles' friend Ashley (whom he then named his daughter for) comes to offer Miles an opportunity: go back to the past to witness the events leading up to the dissolution of their friendship and Ashley's untimely death, and understand that he doesn't need to blame himself for any of it...because apparently Miles' life isn't as fulfilling as we might perceive it to be. He carries the weight of those events with him always, even though there is no inkling of this in the initial assessment of his life at the beginning of the novel. It would seem Miles believes his best days are far behind him.
So are we meant to think that this could be merely Miles' imagination brought on by his head injury? Perhaps, given that the time-travel aspect is laughingly simple: Ashley sends Miles back in time to a specific day and when Miles wants to return to the present, all he has to do is say the code word, which is 90125. In the industry they call this a "handwavium" - meaning an impossible situation/occurrence which is not going to be explained in any rational way. Because, as I say, the novel is not about time-travel, that is only the device which allows the story to unfold as it will.
A few chapters in, after Miles returns to the year 1983, it is revealed that he is a Yesfan. This may prove to be controversial with some people, given the line in the sand which the greater fandom considers 90125 to be. However, plenty of people were fans, and continued to be fans after YesWest debuted. And there were certainly Yesfans in Kansas (as example, Tool drummer Danny Carey, who hails from Paola)!
There is a lot of what I would classify as "period-typical attitudes" in this story, the way in which people spoke and acted and thought in the early 1980s. And that verisimilitude is no doubt why many readers have stated on Amazon and Goodreads that it was wholly enjoyable, as the nostalgia aspect is the focus. I can't see any GenZers being into it, however.
Back in 1983 at the last kegger of the summer before Senior Year, we witness an encounter between Miles and his future wife Danielle bonding over relationship woes and my first strike is that the author uses clicks as well as cliques. Unfortunately, shoddy editing is often the hallmark of a self-published work. We learn that Ashley is Miles' best friend and has a girlfriend who might be a little too wild. Ashley recently lost his mom to pancreatic cancer and Miles is worried about his state of mind. In typical male repressive fashion, Ashley deflects and gives Miles grief for chasing after a girl who will never fully commit to him.
But as these events unfold, we are reminded that Miles is both in the moment and out of it, because he is cognizant enough to call out the code word and return to the present day. He does this several times throughout the novel. Apparently Ashley is a ghost and an actual physical being. At this point I'm ready to just throw up my hands and say "Well okay then!" But Miles is grateful for being able to revisit his hedonistic teenage years, and who wouldn't be? There are timeskips, and Ashley tells Miles this will be the way in which the time-travelling will occur, reminiscent (I suppose) of A Christmas Carol. Next we jump ahead a couple months, it is October 29th and Miles and Ashley hear "Owner of a Lonely Heart" on the radio. Miles enthuses to his friend about the song:
"I love this song man. I can't wait till the album comes out. When I heard Yes was getting together without Steve Howe I thought 'no way this is gonna suck ass,' but dude, this song rocks."
The friends are introduced to an older guy at a local street fair who seems the very definition of sketchy, but there's a toga party happening later that night and naturally that's the most important thing! There's a reviewer on Goodreads who characterized the book as basically about a group of teenagers doing drugs and going to a Yes concert and at this point I kind of have to agree. Miles is candid regarding how he and his friends spend most of their time drunk and stoned. And that was the '80s for a fair number of adolescents. I can't help but wonder if Miles stating that the era was better because people used that for time displacement rather than other forms of entertainment is a truly convincing assertion.
There is drama at the party but Miles reiterates that he wants to be there for his friend, as Ashley seems to be traveling a downward trajectory of sorts, even as he is the one with a future full of promise. And this is a familiar narrative trope: the star and the fuck-up are best friends and their bond will be tested by this very fact. And in this journey through the past, both Miles and Ashley are reliving these events - sometimes together, sometimes separately.
At this point during their present day post-mortem (a strange choice of phrase, perhaps), Ashley reveals that they will also be going back in time to the YesWest concert they attended together, but there's more things to relive along the way. Next, it's November 12th, and Miles' friend Zeke gifts him with a cassette copy of 90125 (strike two: Zeke states it had been released on the 9th but actually it was the 11th). Miles then infodumps regarding how the album came to have that designation, and the history of YesWest entire, as he is the designated "music nerd" which in those days meant reading music magazines, listening to radio interviews, and watching MTV (which was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in August of 1981) as well as other music-related television programs, to be in the know regarding one's favorite artists. Miles learns that he needs to be careful about speaking the title of the album while back in the past.
While listening to the album, the boys get pinched by the cops for underaged drinking in a public park, but luckily not arrested. It is revealed that the sketchy older guy is a drug dealer on the run, hiding out in the relatively small town of Arkansas City. And he brings hard drugs into their circle, but it's presented as something relatively innocuous to these inveterate partiers.
He tells them: "Be good. If you can't be good, then be good at being bad."
Now that is foreshadowing.
We are treated to a number of scenes which show how the guys are royally fucking up their chances to get the hell out of Arkansas City and move on with their lives after graduation as well as various emotional revelations and secrets. The one I thought was most interesting was another present-day discussion between Miles and Ashley which appears to reveal the bromance I knew was there all along.
"To think...Ash just THINK about this. We only knew each other for two years before it was over. That's it, two fucking years. I fell in love with you man...in the non-gay way. You were the best thing I had in my life."
So this explains to me the real reason why Miles considers that time the best part of his life, despite the turmoil he experienced in regards to the breakup of his family and having to move to a place where he knew no one, which is always hard for kids to go through. This is a love story, of sorts. But of course Miles has to continue to proclaim No Homo bro, which I suppose was normal in the '80s.
It's also revealed that Danielle had children which then Miles helped to raise once they were married. Ashley was the father of one of them. But it's weird to me that at this point in the story he only mentions one of them by name, the namesake of his best friend.
The day before the concert the sketchy dealer scores some magic mushrooms for the show and I'm thinking this is not really the vibe for YesWest, but whatever. They hear a radio ad and I call strike three because Sparkomatic is not mentioned as the sponsor of the tour. Also, one of the characters describes how one would buy concert tickets via Ticketron in those days but the specific store mentioned was not the same as was advertised, and that information is available online. But what I will say is valid both historically and emotionally is the importance teenagers would give to concerts, like, there would be nothing better in a year than one particular show. We get some more lore in the chapter which chronicles the drive to the venue, about the creation of the videos for "Leave It." But, this is yet another strike because the mini-documentary on the making of those videos was broadcast on MTV in April of 1984, and as noted they are going to the March 14th concert. One of the characters is the only Black male in the friend group and he discusses how he believes he will be the only POC at the show, and this reminds me of Trevor's enthusiasm for 90125's cultural reach in that he was seeing Black fans in the audience, quite a different situation to his career in the South African years.
Finally, I've reached the section of the book about the concert itself, which is almost halfway through the text. Naturally, Miles and his friend Zeke are wandering around the venue before the show and somehow manage to get into a backstage area. After getting chewed out and chased by Security, they continue to miss the beginning of the concert but then manage to get into a restricted area to the right of the stage. Eventually they get kicked out of there as well and return to their seats. In the next chapter is an overall summation of the show which seems somewhat accurate. The part I would disagree with is his observation that Jon was the only one who moved around the stage, which is not true - Chris and Trevor did their share, especially in regards to their bromantic antics. As well, he notes that the album cover lighting rig came down during "Roundabout" (the encore) which is also incorrect. It was the big finish of set closer "Starship Trooper." Speaking of, I was disappointed that the narrative didn't at least include a description of how transcendent a moment the performance of ST was within the show entire.
When the show was over, everyone was on their feet. The concert had lived up to our expectations. Yes mixed the past with the present perfectly, both visually and musically. This was the beginning to a three to four year run for the new pop friendly version of the band.
Things start to go from weird to bad thereafter, and I take it that the concert is meant to be the demarcation point in regards to the trajectory of that year, and their lives in a larger sense. Each scene is meant to evoke that ever-present nostalgia, as if to underscore how bad the good times are about to get. The remaining chapters set in the past cover a two-month period, right up to Graduation. The last five chapters return to the present day.
There is one moment where the Steve vs. Trevor debate is addressed, and this is where Miles comes down on the side of YesWest as I expected him to...
"Well, that's a tough one, Kerry. I mean, you were there at the concert. That was a hell of a show. Trevor played those Yes songs really well. And he played the ones off the new album good too. Take one of the classic Yes tunes 'Starship Trooper.' That solo at the end had my blood pumping. And that intro to 'Roundabout' was pretty creative."
...but then he walks it back a little.
"[...]Technically, Howe is the more accomplished guitarist. I just think Trevor has more tricks in his toolbox, that's all."
By this point in the story I think we're supposed to care about the characters. We are told why, all the trauma they've been through, particularly Miles and Ashley. But we're not really shown, or shown in a way which makes us care - and this is the primary failing of the novel. I think one of the reasons has to do with the first-person POV which means we only know what Miles thinks is important between the two timelines. The appearance of Ashley is significant in part because it provides more information that we likely would never know otherwise. It's not that Miles is unlikeable, but he's not really interesting either. I don't have to like a character, but I do have to find them interesting in order to care about what happens to them. And this book does deal with some heavy subjects: depression, grief, isolation, heartbreak, substance abuse, suicide. But it makes clichés of these things in that the emotional devastation is not nuanced nor articulated in an impactful fashion.
For example, we come to understand that Miles has been forever traumatized by having to witness his best friend commit suicide. But what Ashley tells him before pulling the trigger - it's a callback but also incredibly corny.
"Miles...it's like the song. Your heart's not broken. It's lonely. You're the owner of a lonely heart. When Melissa dumps you, you're heart isn't broken...it's just lonely.[...]"I'm the owner of a broken heart, Miles. Just like the song says...that's bad...really bad. There's nothing left to say. I'm just fucking tired of living this way."
In the final part of the story, Miles goes back in time on his own to observe the aftermath of Ashley's suicide. And speaking of clichés..."Free Bird" is played at the funeral (this kind of thing happens so often in pop culture it has become an example of the Iconic Song Request trope), as well as "It Can Happen." This reminds me that I have thought about how I'd like "Würm" played at my funeral.
And then what happens is another trope, this time Sex for Solace. Miles and the femme fatale Desiree snort coke and have sex. The next chapter is about Graduation, and finally Miles' family makes an appearance but again, this isn't that unusual regarding narratives about kids in trouble - normally the parents, as well-meaning as they might be, are in the background and the kids seemingly exist in a world of their own making. After the ceremony, Miles goes to visit Ashley's grave and tells him this:
"I want you to make me a promise, okay?[...]I want you to promise me that if there's any way you can come back and see me that you'll do it. If I get to Heaven and find out that all along you could have come to see me and you didn't, then I'm going to kick your angel ass! No excuses, motherfucker!"
So it appears this "haunting" wasn't Ashley's idea so much as his preordained destiny, of sorts.
Once Miles leaves the past for the last time, in the present day he and Ashley continue their dialogue, but it seems as though Miles could have chosen to stay in the past and continue to relive it, which just seems very strange to me. Even though many Xers would like to go back to the '80s and just stay there, for Miles, having to face that trauma again, no matter the era, it seems too overwhelming.
Miles' family returns with daughter Ashley in tow and it is revealed that not only is Ashley named for his best friend, but she also is Ashley's daughter.
All along I've been wondering what happened to the sandwich Miles had been making and remember when I said that this could all be a hallucination because Miles suffered a head injury? Yep, he's dying, and Ashley tells Miles he had to convince him to let go of the past so Miles could move on to whatever Eternity he was meant for. To be a ghost is to remain tethered to the Earth, and in best friend fashion, Ashley wanted to save Miles from that fate. And so enabled his soul to travel back to the past to relive the best and the worst of their friendship. But...Miles doesn't die after all. His recovery is termed a miracle, because of course it is.
The best part of all this was learning that when you go to Heaven, you're on a shuttle like at the airport. Funniest shit ever.
During his recovery at home, Miles finds proof that he was indeed visited by a ghost, or whatever Ashley was supposed to be. He is visited one last night and it is a bittersweet goodbye. And then receives a call from their mutual friend Zeke who says Ashley appeared to him in a dream and then Miles begins to tell Zeke his side of the story.
And that's where it ends.
What do I dislike about this novel? The writing is pretty amateurish (but again, what I expect from a self-published work) in that it had potential to be something insightful, humorous, absurd, and emotionally moving but the clunkiness of the prose prevents any of that from happening. Coming of age stories are always interesting both for what they can remind us of and reveal to us. But there's no heft to this text at all. Plus, I feel that - for all the mentions throughout the story - the use of YesWest and 90125 in the novel is just a device and not truly resonant. An example of how this kind of thing can be wonderfully achieved is in Paul Tremblay's novel The Pallbearers' Club in which the protagonist is a big fan of '80s indie rock band Hüsker Dü. So yeah, I'm disappointed that a novel which does feature my favorite version of Yes isn't really worthy, or takes full advantage, of their inclusion to produce an interesting well-crafted story of a time when a revamped Yes brought excitement to a generation in their glory years.
But I can certainly understand why people would enjoy this story if they did. So I'll leave it to you to decide if you want to read it for yourself.