To many music fans, the name Trevor Rabin will forever be associated with his admirable stint in Yes. Ever since the legendary Tommy Vance, the ultimate source of musical wisdom in the 70s and 80s, showcased a song from his remarkable solo album Wolf in 1980, I’ve harboured an affectionate admiration for Trevor’s exceptional vocal skills and guitar mastery. The track was ‘She’s Easy’ and the majesty of this song was sufficient for me to seek out the album. I also sought out his other solo stuff from his time in his South African homeland through his appearance on Merry Axemas Vol 2 to his last (instrumental) album Jacaranda in 2012, although I gave up trying to keep track multitude of movie soundtracks he has been involved in.
Now we have a new, vocal set called Rio named after his granddaughter. Now, if you’re expecting a Yes-style album, then there are flames of his tenure but, Trevor supplies seamlessly blended elements of prog, jazz, rock, country and pop. To sum up, expect the unexpected.
‘Big Mistakes’ is the opener with a genius bass line, a great riff to back his always on-point vocals and a neat purposely discordant guitar solo is terrific. Yes fans will love ‘Push’ and fans of their 90125 album will certainly be drooling.
To keep you guessing, he then loads ‘Oklahoma’ with a tactical country feel and lyrical tribute to that state’s tragic past… just listen and weep. Elsewhere the highlights keep coming, try the pure rock of ‘Thandi’ and the acapella intro to ‘Tumbleweed’ evoking the mood brilliantly. Trevor’s heritage comes to the fore with the upbeat ‘Egoli’ which means City of Gold, the true name of Johannesburg. Again the lyrics are poignant and meaningful but do not distract from the musical swirling around and through them. The closing track ‘Toxic’ is a blues-rock masterpiece with an irresistible shuffle and (somehow) a sort of proggy blues guitar solo that will confound… love it!
A long gestation period hasn’t dulled the blade, Trevor played most of the instruments and vocals, produced it and painted the cover artwork which, I guess, shows what a labour of love and very personal album this is. Yes fans will love it and so will music fans from many other genres… give it a try and I doubt you’ll be disappointed.
Rio is out now via Inside Out Music.
