Media Watch: what might have been

With thanks to John Vehadija at The New Yesfans forum for calling my attention to this.

Spotted on YouTube: a truly unexpected find, newly uploaded on the YesLegacy channel...a version of "Would You Feel My Love" with lead vocal by Jon Anderson.

As I noted in my essay on 90124, Trevor had stated previously that Jon wanted to record this song during the period of time in which he came to join the project.  As there is no provenance provided it is unknown if it was actually developed during the recording process, but Jon's participation meant that he wasn't merely adding on to existing songs but changing the character of the album at a fundamental level (his contributions to "Our Song" is another indicator).  It would appear that Jon is singing to a band run-through (it is slightly longer than the version on 90124) as there are some subtle differences, although it could be that the version of the song included on 90124 is either genuinely a demo or an unused take.  For example, Trevor's backing vocals can be heard although buried under the rest of the instrumentation, and Jon changes the phrasing just a bit, also repeating the first verse whereas Trevor does not.

However, it did not appear that even Jon was helpful in getting "Would You Feel My Love" to the final round.

It's here!

I'm definitely thankful for this...

Rabbitt sighting

Uploaded today by the fabulous Marq Vas, another track from the 1977 maxi-single Morning Light; a song which Duncan had also recorded previous to joining Rabbitt.  As long-time fans are aware, this release was Trevor's last hurrah in the band, and the back cover features a message from Duncan, Ronnie and Neil acknowledging his departure and their desire to continue on, and they did so with the album Rock Rabbitt later that year.

...but you can't take the band out of the drummer

Spotted on Twitter: new dad Ryan as well as original bassist Sean Gadd joined former bandmates GROUPLOVE at their show at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles last night as they performed their debut album Never Trust A Happy Song in honor of the tenth anniversary of its' release.

https://twitter.com/ibakeforaliving/status/1461972594467516422

ETA: this photo/video set on Instagram has nice moments.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CWgb2KmPI02/

sneak peek

Spotted on Twitter: this post from earMUSIC which offers a preview (including Trevor's contribution) of Outlanders' upcoming single "Closer To The Sky."  It sounds like maybe Trevor's stems have been isolated in the playback we are hearing.

https://twitter.com/earMUSICedel/status/1459203011398492168

social media axe-tion

Spotted on Twitter: my thanks to the Westone Guitars account for retweeting my entry from 2014 on Trevor's endorsement of Westone-Alvarez - I appreciate it!

https://twitter.com/Westone_Guitars/status/1455188146451255305

And for those who crave more technical details regarding Trevor's signature model, here is a thread at the Westone forums from 2011 where head designer Tom Presley answers questions about that guitar in its various permutations.

https://westone.forumotion.com/t2288-tom-presley-qa-on-trevor-rabin-signature-models

update: Outlanders single release

As published on the PROG website today, the first single from the Outlanders project (which I reported on last week), will be released on November 26th.  The song "Closer To The Sky" features Trevor on guitar (engineering and producing his own work on the track).  It appears, however, instead of an album release there will be a series of eight singles released over the next year-and-a-half.

On the Outlanders website, Tarja explains the creation of the track.

This song was meant for one of my rock releases one day, when I sat down to write the first ideas with Erik Nyholm in Finland many years ago. Erik had been involved on my rock albums as a song writer before and after, but here was something in this particular song that made me think I must leave it for other time. The song changed name at least 3 times during its creative process and had different lyrics and moods.

Only recently I finished writing the dark, but hopeful lyrics and rest of the music for it. It fits perfectly as an opener for Outlanders, because of its catchy melody, wishful lyrics and the mood it captures. We knew that we needed an extraordinary guitar player. A rock soul with a progressive mind that could imagine the song being part of a movie soundtrack. We had only one name in mind: Trevor Rabin did just an outstanding job with his edgy, incredible guitar sound. He made the song reach another level and for that I am deeply grateful. It only happens when the players soul is involved and that really was the case here. Trevor is unique and truly a gentleman.