Rhayader wrote: I was just wondering what everyone here thought of Trevor Rabin. Personally, I like him. I think he is an excellent songwriter and while he isn't one the best guitarists around, he is still quite good. He is definetly not as good as Steve Howe, but I like his playing style and also he has a very nice sounding voice with a good range. I also admire him for his work on film soundtracks, such as Con Air. So what do you think? Apologies if this has been done before, but I'm new

I agree with both of you guys, but I think he is as good or nearly as good as Howe, just different.I like Big G personally, but thats my problem

Trevor Rabin is a very-talented guy.

"Jack-of-all-Trades" probably sums him up!

90125 is a very strange album for a prog band to have released and this was probably Rabin's commercial sensibilities shining through!

Trevor Rabin is to Yes what Phil Collins was to Genesis, both are talented musicians but POP oriented and lead their respective bands to release the worst albums of their careers.

Iván

Rabin has skill and talent, but what he's good at, I don't particularly enjoy (pop music); I try to give him credit where it's due. But he can't touch Howe.

Even though he's good, I still don't like all the pop stuff Yes did.

He's a very good rock writer, with a slight sensibility toward the textures and pompousity of prog rock, but not an integral progger. That's why he eventually "contaminated" the yes sound for the 80s. Maybe he should have restricted himself to writing and let the others make the arrangements (well, Squire wasn't at his top moment as a writer, and as aperformer he chose the road of merely backing Rabin's riffs). There were so many good ideas in the "90125" album, but with a wrong keyboardist back in the fold and a bassist suffering from creative crisis... ummm... Eddie Jobson was a better option. On the other hand, White was in big shape, expressing his rocking ego with total strength. Imagine that, a phase in Yes history when White is the best old musician and all the spotlight is focused on a great musician who never managed to fully see himself as a part of yes, really. Now, Imagine songs like 'Changes', 'Hearts', 'Final Eyes' and 'I'm Running' with Wakeman and Howe in the band -- they would have introduced more varied keyboard textures and solos, mandolin, pedal steel. Anderson's voice became the sole link between the 80s Yes and the essence rooted in the past. I prefer "Drama", although a wrong vocalist was in the fold by then.

Regards. 

Rabin is a multi talented professional, starting out in South Africa in the early/mid 70's. Yes he is more pop orientated but he did revitalize Yes when Jon Anderson was busy conversing with cherubs and celestial companions. 90125 was a great album but the album output did deteriorate somewhat after that with him in it. Can't blame him soley for that though.

he is now make more money than the Yes boys doing soundtracks for some really big box office movies.

danbo wrote: Trevor Rabin is an extremely talented guitarist/singer/producer/arranger...... I enjoyed his music with Yes, a little too commercial maybe, but still better than 90% of radio fare.

^ Listen what the man said.

Saw him live on the Big Degenerator tour -- a terrific guitarist, no doubt. (His extended classical guitar solo was especially impressive.)

Really: would the boys have hired him, otherwise?

I like the 90125 album, have to agree with Cesar Inca about that album, with wakeman on board, or another great keyboard player, and some better arrangements it could have been more than the popclassic it became. Mind you, that Tony Kaye wasn't fully aboard also, there was another keyboardist involved aswel (forgot his name), Tony started it, left and returned again at a later stage replacing the intermediate keyboardist. If anyone know the full storie, please reply 

Back on track to Trevor rabin.
Trevor was/is a good guitarist and I like most of his guitarwork on the Yes albums he participated in. On 90125 he was very good, also Talk was a reasonable good effort, He lackes IMO the sophistication in his writing to bring about the magic that was there in the early to mid seventies. But he's not alone to blame for the decline in (progressive) quality. For some reason he became something of a foreman in the band, writing and producing most of the material. Either Jon or Chris should have stepped in, and take artistic control.

Wow, I have never heard such nice things about Rabin's guitar playing ...

He's definitely my least favourite guitarist to play for a major prog band ... as a creative player, I don't rate him anywhere near the levels of Howe, Hackett, Fripp, Gary Green, Martin Barre, Mick Abrahams, Dave Gilmour and the like ...

But of course, Rabin happened to come along at a different time ... maybe a fairer comparison would be compare 90125 to GTR, Asia and some of the Tull 80s albums like Under Wraps ... in which case he doesn't come off too badly ... Incidentally I belong to a select minority who thinks that Rabin's best work is actually on the Union album ... (remember Lift Me Up and Miracle of Life)

It's still hard to forgive the man for some of the things he's done ... Big Generator was bad enough ... but have you heard him murder I've Seen All Good People (this was from a mid 80s live concert where Anderson and Kaye looked like they were dressed up to take part in an aerobics workout!)? Awful, truly awful

Never rated him as a songwriter,although, Trotsky, I do remember 'Lift me up' from Union. Always liked that song in a kind of cheesy, 'lets all hold our lighters aloft' kind of way.

Yes were a better band with Steve Howe IMO, its as simple as that. Rabin is a good musician, but he's not on the Yes wavelength that most of us are. They were a different and less interesteing band with him. But, its the old Phil Collins principle; I think its unfair to blame him for Yes 'dumbing down' in the 80's. It must have been what they all wanted.

Even Rick Wakemen thought 90125 was a great album, which saved Yes's life. He always looked back wishing he could have been involved with that album.

So my wife and I decided to rent "Exorcist: The Beginning". We would have seen it in the theater, but it was in and out so fast we missed it. We're both pretty tolerant of bad horror films, love the original, and foolishly didn't believe it could possibly be as bad as "Exorcist II: The Heretic".

So when the credits rolled at the end, we were almost speechless at how crappy the movie had been...and just then, like a kick in the balls from your opponent when you're already down, the words "Music by Trevor Rabin" flashed across the screen.

The man is made of cheese. It's debatable whether everything he touches turns bland, slick, and artistically limp, or if his projects happen to already be tainted before he even gets to them...but it's like he brings a little of the worst parts of the 80s with him wherever he goes.

As a Songwriter - Really Good

As a guitar player - Generic, functional and technically good.

As a vocalist - Am I the only person that thinks he has a really weak voice? 

Rhayader wrote: I was just wondering what everyone here thought of Trevor Rabin. Personally, I like him. I think he is an excellent songwriter and while he isn't one the best guitarists around, he is still quite good. He is definetly not as good as Steve Howe, but I like his playing style and also he has a very nice sounding voice with a good range. I also admire him for his work on film soundtracks, such as Con Air. So what do you think?

Agree, Rabin did take Yes back from oblivion....

_______

Lunar

tuxon wrote: I like the 90125 album, have to agree with Cesar Inca about that album, with wakeman on board, or another great keyboard player, and some better arrangements it could have been more than the popclassic it became. Mind you, that Tony Kaye wasn't fully aboard also, there was another keyboardist involved aswel (forgot his name), Tony started it, left and returned again at a later stage replacing the intermediate keyboardist. If anyone know the full storie, please reply  Back on track to Trevor rabin. Trevor was/is a good guitarist and I like most of his guitarwork on the Yes albums he participated in. On 90125 he was very good, also Talk was a reasonable good effort, He lackes IMO the sophistication in his writing to bring about the magic that was there in the early to mid seventies. But he's not alone to blame for the decline in (progressive) quality. For some reason he became something of a foreman in the band, writing and producing most of the material. Either Jon or Chris should have stepped in, and take artistic control.

In 1982, Chris Squire and Alan White were planning to form a new band. Trevor Rabin at that time had 2 solo albums. Rabin was offered the chance (by some record label executives and managers) to join one of  two planned bands: one with Keith Emerson and Jack Bruce, and one with Squire and White. Rabin also auditioned for Asia in 1981, but it didn`t work. Rabin called Squire and White. They rehearsed and liked to play together. Squire invited Eddie Jobson, but he was busy recording a solo album. Squire met Tony Kaye at a party, and he invited Kaye to the new band. The new band was called "Cinema". They started to record demos. Atlantic/Atco records liked the demos. They started to record an album. In 1983, Squire met Jon Anderson and he played the new songs to him. Anderson liked the new music and joined the band, which changed their name to YES. During the final recording sessions, Kaye had some problems with producer Trevor Horn, and Kaye left the band to play again with the band "Badfinger" (he was an  "in-out" member of that band since 1979). YES carried on recording "90125", with Rabin and Horn adding keyboard parts. After finishing the recording of the album, YES invited Jobson again. He said "yes", and they rehearsed a bit, with Jobson even playing the electric violin in some rehearsals. They also filmed the "Owner of a Lonely Heart" video, on which Jobson appeared. Then, "Badfinger" split after lead singer/bassist Tom Evans took his life in Nov. 1983. Kaye re-joined YES, and the idea was to have Kaye and Jobson sharing the keyboards. Jobson didn`t like the idea, and he left YES. His appearance in the "Owner..." video was edited out, but he can still be seen in some parts of that video. YES started rehearsals for the "90125" tour.

I think that Rabin is a very good musician. I like the albums that he recorded with YES.

tuxon wrote: I like the 90125 album, have to agree with Cesar Inca about that album, with wakeman on board, or another great keyboard player, and some better arrangements it could have been more than the popclassic it became. Mind you, that Tony Kaye wasn't fully aboard also, there was another keyboardist involved aswel (forgot his name), Tony started it, left and returned again at a later stage replacing the intermediate keyboardist. If anyone know the full story, please reply........

THAT WAS EDDIE JOBSON!!

Listen to his green album: there you will find some damn good modern prog, with an 80s sound, but accurately ellaborated. Some of the tracks included there would have made good 80s songs, hypothetically speaking.

Regards. 

Hi Guys,

Few days ago, I created a Topic called "The other Yes".

So I think he is a brilliant guitarrist and songwriter, but I don't think his albuns with Yes members are really Yes Albuns!

To me it's from other band called Yes (it could be "Cinema". It's other music style, different compositions etc... but I enjoy it too much!

Crimson Prince: don't be shamed. I have a friend that prefers TR playing the SH songs  !!! This is his taste and I respect it.

Best Greetings...

I'm with Cesar Inca on this one. I think it was a stroke of genius for the band to get Rabin in and update their sound but don't forget that Trevor Horn and Tony Kaye also played a significant part in renovating the band's fortunes. However I really rate Kaye as a player my fave Yes release is 'The Yes Album'. Even with his 'one hand on his organ and the other in the air' style...

In the long term, I'd say much like Director George Lucas and Star Wars, Rabin was a guy with one great idea that had enough inertia to last a few years.

I have some of his solo stuff as a result of the Yes 80's output and while it's competent, it lacks the emotional core of the Yes material both before, during and after his time.

That said; I like Talk very much.

While I think the Rabin-era stuff is enjoyable to listen to as music, lyrically and in terms of his persona, Rabin does not fit into what I call the Yes ethos (and by contrast, Downes and Horn do).

Lyrically, Rabin is more in the confessional singer/songwriter tradition, while the themes Yes had sung about up to that time are beyond that, more diverse than that, though they may include traits of that genre.

All you need to do is contrast "Drama" with "90125" to see how Rabin's lyrics bring down Yes's overall sound and band persona.

I think that's why Jon Anderson re-inserted himself and pushed him out. He had to get the band back on the right track.

I always got the feeling that Trevor Rabin was the creative force throughout the eighties and Jon Anderson was only employed to make the package identifyable as Yes with his distinctive voice. Trevor Horn has said in interview that he feels Trevor Rabin's voice wasn't strong enough to front the band and Chris Squire didn't want to be the front man so Jon Anderson was drafted back in and the Yes epithet retained as an afterthought.  Most of the lyrics on 90125 are nothing like what Jon Anderson would have written and are very much rooted on Terra Firma.

I always had this feeling, but the "Rock Family Trees" programme (The Progressive Years) confirmed my fears.

I'm a big fan of Rabin era 'Yes'. Some of his songs are very technical compositions ie. 'Final Eyes', 'Big Generator' & the excellent track 'Talk'. Every Yes fan should be proud that Yes has these songs in their back catalogue!

And dare I say it, 'Talk' was the last great album Yes made!

I voted "indifferent". But a better answer would have been: yes and no.

Although I'm basically a fan of the ' old'  Yes, I like the 90125 album a lot. I think the two Trevors (Rabin and Horn) did a terrific job. Personally I don't like the albums after 90125 at all. If I'm well informed, Trevor Rabin had a lot to do with the production of Big Generator and later albums, and those albums sound pretty sterile and the sense of adventure is gone. The Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe album was a welcome breath of fresh air.

Still, he's very talented, and I do like some of his solo stuff, on Can't Look Away and the track Something To Hold On To (yes, great guitar solo, not original, but great anyway), but I sometimes think he's too commercially oriented. So it's a yes and a no for me.

Trevor Rabin was a very good choice! Cinema were not looking for another Steve Howe. People tend to forget the whole evolution which created the 90125 album. This was to be a new band (Cinema), not Yes. The wheels of fate, which played such a big role in the old Yes band, were turning again, bringing in Tony Kaye and Jon Anderson. The band HAD to be called Yes because everyone was a Yes man except the guitarist. Understanably, Steve Howe was busy counting the money from his little gamble with Asia. Trevor wasn't a progger and C.S. and A.W. knew this.

Trevor Rabin is a solid musican and artist who always brings a fresh approach to the table.