RIO

What a wonderful return after being off in movie soundtrack land for 34 years. Rabin's multi-instrumental greatness is on display in every one of these tracks. With a wide range of styles and moods. The arrangements are all lush and full of twists and turns. I think people also forget what great pipes Trevor has, forgetting he was basically brought into Cinema as a Steve Howe AND Jon Anderson replacement. I know he's busy with all his other projects but I hope this isn't the last vocal solo album we get from him. While we wait, this is an album to play over and over again.... kinda like "Can't Look Away". 2023 has been a year full of wonderful new releases and this one is right up there with the best of them.

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.

Oh, Trevor Trevor, this is how Yes should sound these days. Before continuing, I have to say that it is not the greatest record of the year, but it has some original and very fresh moments if you compare it to new albums released by big prog bands. Some big names in the industry seem to have run out of ideas, but this is not the case.

"Rio" is a very decent job; almost everything recorded by Rabin, amazing! I always like this kind of one-man album. You can hear reminiscences of  Yes Trevor's era; I don't know why, but it gives me some "Lion King" vibes in some of the moments too haha.

And what else? Excellent interpretations, even some bluegrass in "Goodbye", a cappella experiments in "Tumbleweed" (the arrangement sounds like Moon Safari to me, a lot), classic rock riffs and pleasant atmospheres.

"Oklahoma" what an epic track; I think it should close the album, the ending is a bit weak, but overall? a nice album. Good job Trevor!

In a press release about his new album 'Rio' Rabin stated: "I wanted to get into many different areas. Of course there are 'prog things', but overall there are a lot of styles going on." So he's softening the blow to those expecting 40 solid minutes of 'Yes 2.0' minus Jon Anderson and crew.

I can easily classify as one of those Yes nerds with unrealistic expectations, so let's do this review from that perspective: It sucks! No! I'm just kidding! It's actually very good! Perhaps not on the first listen as much due to the album's diversity, but like any good album, repeat listens have been required to catch it all for what it is- a bunch of Trevor's songs.

After the first couple of tracks that have all the satisfying flavours of Big Generator/Talk and Union era Yes (and get revisited throughout the album) we move into the 'other styles' Trevor was talking about. Most surprisingly perhaps are the fierce chicken plucking tracks and even one track that is downright country western- but not to worry, Trevor screws around with them so much - in a good way- as to satisfy most prog fans.

There are plenty of jazzy moments as well...and bluesy moments. Trevor totally owns all of these moments. His vocals are satisfying to listen to - he can still really belt it out and serve it all up with his own winsome style. His ceaselessly good....no, great guitar work dominates the album- and it's downright awe inspiring. This album reminded me of how much I miss Trevor's guitar work. There's steel string acoustics in some songs too.

Overall it's a pleasantly surprising energetic and radiant album. It feels a bit disparate or project-like as solo albums often tend to be. He's not the next Sting or Phil Collins- two examples of singers who broke free of famous bands and styled their own stand-alone brand. Mostly Rabin comes across as a hard-working remarkably great guitarist and creative songwriter/producer who sings well and he does it all in good fun.

Trevor obviously enjoyed creating this album. That gets communicated well in the final product. You can also feel the ghost of Chris Squire hanging over this album, and Alan White in parts too. Open minded Yes fans should enjoy what Trevor offers- cool, twisty, catchy songs sprinkled with proggy pop delights and sensibilities.