RIO

I hear not much more than another Yeslike album in this new effort by ex-member Trevor Rabin, which is not a bad thing, by any means, it's just that this perhaps lacks the freshness, the right to see the world eye to eye that one could find in those first solo attempts by other members, like Squire, Howe or Anderson right in the mid-Seventies.

Anyway, let's not abandon ourselves to that first impression so easily and without a fight to try and penetrate other less evident treasures that may be hidden here. The vocal arrangements, and the leads by Rabin himself, are simply great, if sometimes crashed in less than desirable moments of pop cliché. The same goes for the synth "orchestrations", which make for a very solid sound production, atracting and involving the listener in the rich and varied shift of atmospheres that defines this record.

Final word for the guitar job, of course. The variety is awesome, as the dexterity of the player. You will find not only electric, but also great acoustic workouts (Push, Oklahoma), even a fine slide intervention in the best Steve Howe tradition (Paradise). Also the country-flavoured Goodbye seems like an unmistakable nod to Steve. But if you want to cut the chase because you are a fan of Trevor the electric guitar hero, then go straight to Thandi, and you will find the pyrotechnics our hero delivers with taste and profusion.

If you admire the vocalist instead, then go to Tumbleweed, with great lead performance and beautiful harmonies. In every case, I suggest to avoid Big Mistakes and Egoli, if it happened to be you were somewhat pop intolerant.

The closer, Toxic, sounds like a failed outtake from Big Generator to me, but, even so, I like this whole affair.