Trevor's studio and live work

[markcampbell]

I put on Trev's '89 opus 'Can't Look Away' last night. It was the first time I had listened to it for ages and the question I must ask myself is why. For it contains some outstanding, high-powered guitar playing from Trev. The title track kicks the album off in fine style and the pace never really slackens, although there are some quieter moments in there too which makes for a fine balance and an excellent listening delight. On the live side of Trev's work, I have an 'unofficial' recording of Yes during the 90125 tour and there is some truly special guitar playing from Trev on these tapes. In particular the version of City of Love is really out there. I swear Trevor makes his guitar talk on this track. Well, it's more like a manic laugh really, but it's pretty amazing to hear a musician in that kind of form.

Mark

[RobAdams]

I don't care what anyone says - Steve Howe, Trevor Rabin and Peter Banks are all key players in this continuing Yes saga. While my personal preference is for Steve Howe - I truly enjoy and appreciate the music of each Yes line-up. I've seen three Yes shows with Trevor Rabin. It was good to see them. What a great band. On my way to work today it's 90125.

[Q]

I recently received a replacement copy of the "Can't Look Away" CD, so like you I've been rediscovering it. What has really grabbed me is that the album sounds more distinctive now (against a backdrop of Seattle fallout) than it did in 1989.

Rob makes a crucial point above - Yes history is rich and diverse because these other voices added theirs to Howe in the course of Yes's journey. Each added something unique and interesting.

Q

[Neverthirst]

Rabin's musical talents are most certainly not limited to wailing on a six-string!

He's also talented as a vocalist, keyboardist, composer, producer, and I'm sure the list goes on ...

Arguably the most multi-talented musician to come thru the Yes line-ups.

Greetings, Mark

[yeswab]

I'm with you guys. While I think the music they've made with Steve is somewhat more distinctive on the whole, Trevor is an absolutely brilliant musician, and a great, if somewhat less freaky, songwriter and composer.

On the one hand, "Endless Dream" is not as together compositionally, or as original and generally brilliant as "Close To The Edge". On the other, neither is "Mind Drive". (And of the two, I think "Endless Dream" is much better overall than "Mind Drive".)

The Troopers vs. Generators thing continues to mystify me. It's all Yes, just different Yes sometimes. It's all (or mostly) good (and while we're at it, I happen to find "Magnification" unlistenably bland with the exception of the title tune).:cheers:

[ycantibu]

I have some mp3's on my computer of Trevor's solo show in Boston in 1989...it's really odd listening to it. The crowd sounds really wild - screaming like crazy - you can tell they were really into him.

[Neverthirst]

I'm with you, ycantibu ... I've heard live boots of Trevor, and he definately got a lot of well deserved attention!! The boots don't lie ... Trevor was loved live!

[RobAdams]

I saw Yes 3 times on the 90125 tour, and the excitement among fans was obvious. I was extremely thrilled to see Yes, even though my favorite guitarist wasn't there. I thought Trevor handled the Yes guitarist role quite admirably. I can't hate the guy. The audience seemed to love him.

Consider the following:
Trevor was willing to let Cinema - a band he co-founded with Chris and Alan - transform into Yes. Not exactly an act of selfishness.

When YES called it quits after DRAMA, it seemed quite final. Jon was off on his own and working with Vangelis, Steve was part of Asia along with Geoff. I'm sure Trevor Horn was producing someone somewhere. Rick was continuing his solo career. Chris and Alan had released the RUN WITH THE FOX single. Bill was back in King Crimson. Peter and Tony were forgotten, and Patrick was where? Maybe he was in the Moody Blues by then? Anyway, all Yes members were scattered far and wide. It seemed unlikely that Yes would ever be a band again. Prog rock had more or less fizzled out - having been wiped away by new wave and punk. I knew prog was in trouble when John Wetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer and Geoff Downes turned Asia into an epic-less hit singles machine. (That band COULD have been amazing...)

The rebirth of Yes was wonderful. I thought I'd never see Yes again, but there they were, with their new guitar player, and original keyboard player. If Steve wasn't going to be in the band, I thought, I'm glad they found Trevor. (Actually I didn't know the Cinema story at the time.) SOLLY'S BEARD was intense!! I've seen it played 3 times live, and it was very well recieved. I didn't hear anyone bashing Trevor on this tour. The overall attitude of people I talked to at these shows thought he was good. He certainly played a mean STARSHIP TROOPER.

I've enjoyed a majority of the stuff Yes did with Trevor Rabin. I have Rabin era CDs in heavy rotation as well as the other line-ups. It's all Yes to me.

[Kev]

Today, I dusted this CD off after more than 5 years of listening and I daresay, it's the single greatest yes-related solo recording ever brought forth- in my humble opinion. Mark, good call starting this thread and I couldn't agree with your opening statement more; I have no idea why I haven't dug this thing out and listened to it in so long!!! It's my fourth time listening to it this afternoon.

If you own this CD and haven't listened to the whole way through for some time, give it another chance; you might be surprised!!

[Q]

I've had CAN'T LOOK AWAY in my CD rotation at my desk at work for the past couple of weeks ... i've given it half a dozen listens, and there is no doubt that it has, in true Yes alumnus fashion, passed the test of time.

By coincidence, I hosted a cookout at my home this evening for members of my band. the 17-yr-old son of one of my bandmates heard a conversational reference to my having attended the Yesshow in Chicago a week ago - and asked about Yes. We immediately launched into a detailed response, and popped 9012Live into the video player. And explained Trevor Rabin and his influence on the band. (note that it has been 17 years since 9012Live was filmed -- so our young neophyte was looking back in time to the year of his birth!)

RABIN ROCKS!

[yarstruly]

There must be a certain cosmic energy around this album lately...I have also been listening to "Can't Look Away" quite a bit lately (Even before I discovered this thread). I have it on Cassette and put it in the car a month or so ago. The title track, Something to Hold On To and Sorrow are particular favorites. i would have loved to seen him live as a solo artist. Who knows, maybe he will re-surface as a live performer one of these days. ( I did see him 3x with Yes though ~ '87, '91 & '94)

[markcampbell]

Originally posted by yarstruly
[Who knows, maybe he will re-surface as a live performer one of these days. ( I did see him 3x with Yes though ~ '87, '91 & '94) [/B]
I find it interesting you should refer to the fact that Trev doesn't go in so much for the live work these days. I was thinking about that recently and it amazes me that such a natural performer on the rock stage should have moved away from the limelight. I too saw him with Yes. I also saw him three times, although in my case it was during a three nights in a row stint in '91 at the Wembley Arena in London. He was superb on each occasion. I recall him saying in an interview (I think it is on my Yes rockumentary video which the band did during the same '91 tour) that there was a stage he went through where he hadn't toured in a while and went out with his own band despite the fact his recording company wanted him to concentrate on recording another album. His reason was that he was desperate to be out on the road again performing in front of a live audience. He obviously loves being in that environment so it is surprising that he has seemingly left that side of his career behind.

Mark

[Jackaranda]

Listen, if you can, to Trevor's work on the Union tour, and his contributions to the work he did not record. What he does on Awaken is magnificent--you think "That's where Endless Dream's inspiration came from".

I think he's magnificent, and hope there's one more Union type tour that he's part of...Jack.

[markcampbell]

Originally posted by jack gowen
What he does on Awaken is magnificent--you think "That's where Endless Dream's inspiration came from".

I think he's magnificent, and hope there's one more Union type tour that he's part of...Jack. [/B]

[markcampbell]

Originally posted by jack gowen
What he does on Awaken is magnificent--you think "That's where Endless Dream's inspiration came from".

I think he's magnificent, and hope there's one more Union type tour that he's part of...Jack. [/B]

Whoops! Sorry, I sent the message with Jack's quote before putting in my answer to it: what an oversight! I must be dreaming too much of seeing Yes live - or am I still in after-shock after taking yet another look at the glorious rendition of 'Ritual' on my yes symphonic dvd (could be either one, actually, or maybe both at the same time - emotional overload I think it's called!). Anyway, what I wanted to say in answer to Jack's excellent remarks regarding Trev is that I can see where he's coming from in terms of 'Endless Dream.' That's definitely a modern Yes classic as far as I'm concerned. There's a lot of other good stuff on 'Talk' but 'Endless Dream' is most certainly the major highlight for me. It's almost like an update of 'Awaken' with Trev bringing a certain special something into the equation. I don't know what chances there are of Yes re-doing their Union experience (as glorious as it was). I'm just happy that the classic Yes line up is back in force once again. But should Yes get the inclination to send out an invite to Trev to perform with them again, I would be more than happy to go along with it. I know that Rick for one is now a big fan of Trev's (he had a guest appearance on Rick's 'Return to the Centre of the Earth' - I have it on cd and Trev's contribution is excellent and the album itself is superb and a worthy follow up to possibly Rick's finest hour as a solo artist), so we'll have to see how things pan out with the present inspirational incarnation of a truly magnificent band.

Mark

[ycantibu]

Trevor gave an interview to music news network recently, and he spoke about touring. He said he didn't miss touring too much, but that he missed hanging out with Chris & Alan. Perhaps he misses his family when he's away? I have no idea. He certainly is a terrific performer.

[SKEETER]

I honestly think Can't Look Away is one of the few good CDs put out after rocks death around 1980. If you listen to it in headphones, you hear some very interesting and intricate stuff going on. The melodies on it are fantastic, and it is one of the best arranged and produced peices of music I have ever heard. That isn't even considering that the guy is one of the fastest guitar players on the planet, and he plays in perfect time, which is VERY difficualt to do and play that fast. I have noticed on that CD that he does something very interesting on the guitar, I think it is on the song "Can't Look Away" He is doing triplets, and increases the speed of them gradually, so he is doing like, quadruplets or sextuplets or something (hehe) and he does it without going out of time, and does it VERY fast. That is beyond human ability. The way he plays guitar is with the same approach as a classical musician, he uses dynamic range a lot. I think Can't Look Away is a must for any afficondo of rock era music, and especially amongst people that like the Rabin era YES music.

[jimmygtr]

Great thread! Trevor's composition I have always thought was excellent. His solos on Hearts and Endless Dream for example are extremely lyrical.

There were times live (I saw 90125, BG, Talk, & Union) where his playing live was more heavy handed but as a guitar player I know how live that can come out!!!

[JaneEyre]

I upgraded my "Can't Look Away" casette to CD a couple of months back. My 5 year old is obsessed with "Sorrow (Your Heart)" and has most of the lyrics memorized. He also dances to it, which is quite amusing. Now I can daydream about bringing him to his first concert: Trevor Rabin Live!!

[eyesoflove1]

Rabin's musical talents are most certainly not limited to wailing on a six-string!

He's also talented as a vocalist, keyboardist, composer, producer, and I'm sure the list goes on ...

Arguably the most multi-talented musician to come thru the Yes line-ups.

Greetings, Mark


hi all
I have a rabin site called http://groups.msn.com/RabidforRabin if you are interested in checking it out, I have included a paragraph from an interview that appears on the site it is a very telling piece of information.

I asked if he would write out charts on the more ambitious songs like "Hearts" or "I'm Running". "No one in Yes can read music" was the shocking reply. "Rick Wakeman is classically trained, of course, but none of the other guys can read." There's a guitar part in the intro "Miracle of Life" (on Union) that's a fast major scale going up and repeating in an odd meter. (Non-Yes fans are now rolling their eyes, Yes fans are nodding.) He tried to show this to Steve Howe, who was having some difficulty with the part. Assuming that Steve was a conservatory-trained musician, Rabin offered to write out the part so he could learn it in the hotel room later, Steve replied, "That's not going to help me." Chris Squire, Alan White and Jon Anderson can't read a note of music either, I can't remember about Tony Kaye. But, he said, Chris Squire is one hell of a bass player, and the fact that he can't read obviously hasn't held him back one bit.

- Jeff Laity

[1yesfan]

Your links page does not have a like to the GREATEST Yes fan site around. he he he

[JaneEyre]

I joined last month! ;)

[Jacaranda]

For those of you groovin on "Can't Look Away" right now, definitely go pick up "Live in LA" by Trevor, recorded on the Can't Look Away tour. Great Trevor live stuff, and some Yes tunes on it.

I get mad at Jon Anderson's quote that Trevor isn't as interesting musically as Steve Howe. This seems to be at the core of the mysterious splitting Trevor had with Yes after Talk, with Jon being the specific problem for Trevor. Jon claims Trevor was acting too much like a Rock and Roll star; I think Talk and Trevor's musical direction had more depth than Jon gave it credit for. I guess the days were numbered on the whole thing when Jon joined the band on 90125; Jon sees music in one light, Trevor sees it in another. Hopefully Trevor can hook up with Chris Squire or more people down the road at somepoint for a sort of YesWest mini-revival.

[JaneEyre]

"Musically interesting??"

Well that is a very subjective statement.

[Jacaranda]

Yea, it is a pretty subjective statement. I think what Jon meant was that he wasn't interested in the stronger, heavier stuff Trevor liked to do and wanted to do different things that were more along the lines of Steve Howe's playing. I don't think it was meant to be a slam on TR; everyone, Jon especially, knows he has beyond incredible talent and range. I think it was just worded badly.