Trevor Rabin
Trevor Rabin (born Trevor Charles Rabin on January 13, 1954) is a South African guitarist and film composer, best known for being the guitarist and songwriter for the progressive rock band Yes from 1983 - 1995, and since then, as a film composer.
Early years
He comes from a respected family of classical musicians in Johannesburg, South Africa. Educated at a public school in Johannesburg, Trevor took formal piano training before discovering the guitar at age 12. His parents encouraged his talents toward rock music, although Rabin would continue to demonstrate a certain level of classical virtuosity throughout his career. After briefly taking classical composition at university, Rabin concentrated fully on his professional musical career.
Trevor Rabin's early rock influences included Cliff Richard and the Shadows, the Beatles, and Jimi Hendrix. However, he dabbled with progressive and heavy rock, as evidenced by his first bands, The Conglomeration and Freedom's Children. The latter group were older musicians whose songs questioned the South African government, especially its racial policy of apartheid.
Although it would be an overstatement to portray Trevor Rabin as an activist musician in his early career, he seems to have had strong sympathies with civil rights. Some of his more mature songs have expressed concerns for his home country. Moreover, his family were strong supporters of South African racial justice. His cousin, the late Donald Woods, was a newspaper editor and political activist who became close friends with Black Consciousness leader Steve Biko, whose murder became an international symbol of civil rights.
However, commercial success in South Africa's music scene meant leaving political messages in the background. And so it was, with Trevor Rabin's first major recording group, Rabbitt (1974-1978), comprised of Rabin, Neil Cloud (drums), Ronnie Robot (bass guitar), and Duncan Faure (keyboards, guitar, vocals).
Rabbitt began just prior to Rabin's term of military conscription in 1974, but it really took off in 1976. Their first single, a slightly bowdlerised cover of Jethro Tull's "Locomotive Breath," came out in 1975. It became a centrepiece of their hugely successful debut album, Boys Will Be Boys, which featured more original songs penned by Trevor Rabin and Duncan Faure. The band has been characterised as South Africa's answer to the Beatles -- although with occasional progressive rock influences. The four members of Rabbitt were considered handsome, and were often followed by teenage girls, in a "Rabbitt-mania," of sorts.
A Croak and a Grunt in the Night (1977) revealed slightly more ambitious compositions. Trevor Rabin also co-produced Croak, winning a South African counterpart to the Grammy for his efforts. Momentum gained with a record distribution deal with Capricorn in the United States, but Rabbitt were unable to tour abroad because of continuing international disapproval of South Africa's apartheid policies. As a result, Trevor Rabin decided to leave South Africa. After recording one album without Trevor Rabin, Rabbitt disbanded that same year.
Moving to London, Trevor Rabin recorded a solo album, Beginnings (1978), released in England as Trevor Rabin, with slightly different tracks. While some songs were very reminiscent of Rabbitt, such as "Fantasy" and "All I Want Is Your Love," Rabin's guitar chops became more prominent -- even virtuosic -- on his successive solo albums.
The UK
By 1979, Rabin emigrated to Britain, where he began his career as producer and session player. Some of his prominent work included South African vocalist Margaret Singana ("Where Is The Love") and fellow South African expatriate, Manfred Mann and his Earth Band. Rabin still found time to record his second album Face to Face, touring the United Kingdom in support of Steve Hillage in early 1980.
Face to Face built upon the melodic guitar foundations of Trevor Rabin, but took a more hard-edged approach on such songs as "The Ripper" and "Now." Rolling Stone's first edition of their Record Guide criticized Rabin's music for its hook-ridden ballads, but gave his first two albums moderate ratings for their overall technical qualities.
Neither Trevor Rabin nor Face to Face succeeded commercially, although they enhanced his reputation in England for versatile songwriting and tasteful guitar melodies. With the advent of Punk in the late '70s, power-pop and hard rock music had fallen out of fashion in England. On this note, Trevor Rabin began looking for more fertile ground for what would be characterised in the U.S. as Album Oriented Rock AOR.
After 1981's Wolf, Rabin severed ties with Chrysalis Records, who did little to promote Rabin's third album. Despite some naive lyrical moments, it featured some of his best guitar performances, especially from the memorable "Heard You Cry Wolf." Wolf's direction also benefited from the co-producer, Ray Davies of The Kinks. Manfred Mann's Earth Band members Chris Thomas and Manfred Mann also made vocal and musical contributions to the album. Wolf also marks Rabin's first collaboration with a superlative rhythm section: Cream bassist Jack Bruce and up-and-coming session drummer Simon Phillips.
On this note, Trevor Rabin moved to Los Angeles to sign with David Geffen, who wanted the guitarist to form his own super-group. To this end, Rabin recorded new material with his rhythm section, consisting of future Quiet Riot drummer Frank Banali and bassist Mark Andes, soon to join the group Heart. Some of these songs developed into Yes standards such as "Hold On" and "Make It Easy."
Although Geffen Records dropped his contract in 1982, Trevor Rabin kept composing material for his projected fourth solo album in Los Angeles. As a keyboardist, he also considered touring as a session player for Foreigner. Rabin briefly considered joining the supergroup Asia, featuring former Yes members Steve Howe and Geoff Downes, but the project did not interest him. Rabin later jokingly referred to Asia's progressive pop style as "dinosaur rock," little knowing he would join a new Yes line-up.
Yes
Rabin's career hit a snag after Wolf, as American recording companies deemed his music too "left-field" for a commercial audience. While in Los Angeles, Trevor Rabin met bassist Chris Squire and drummer Alan White, who had experienced their own difficulties following the apparent demise of Yes in 1981. Squire and White briefly collaborated with Jimmy Page as an abortive trio, XYZ, before meeting with Trevor Rabin. The trio's musical energy clicked immediately, and they began recording new material as Cinema in early 1982, later enlisting original Yes keyboardist Tony Kaye to complement their live performances.
Produced by former Yes member Trevor Horn, the Cinema project came together over eight months. During his searching period in Los Angeles, Rabin had written several songs that formed the project's nucleus. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" evolved into a catchy riff-oriented song that Trevor Horn seized upon as a potential single. Atco Records, Yes' former record label, heard the group's demo, but questioned whether the group needed a separate vocalist. In fact, Rabin recently revealed that Horn had actually been invited to return, but the producer refused Chris Squire's offer, presumably because of negative fan reaction toward his replacement of replacing original singer Jon Anderson in 1980.
Ironically, Trevor Rabin would endure similarly unfair comparisons to Steve Howe throughout his tenure with Yes. However, Chris Squire settled the question of a lead vocalist when he met Jon Anderson at a party in 1983. After a favourable reaction to Cinema's demo, Jon Anderson rejoined the fold at the closing moments of the recording of 90125. Although Anderson's distinctive presence helped legitimise the Yes name, Trevor Rabin's pleasant vocal style helped nuance the group's dynamic harmonies. Moreover, Rabin's overall musicianship on guitar and keyboard acted as a catalyst for the 'new' Yes, which met with critical and commercial success.
90125, whose title was taken from the album's own Atlantic Records catalogue number, sold more copies than any previous Yes album. This success was helped by the number-one smash, "Owner of a Lonely Heart," a melancholy reading by Jon Anderson, backed by Rabin's Kinks-inspired guitar riffs. MTV rotation of "Owner" and its tuneful follow-up "Leave It" carried 90125 to six million sales between 1983 and 1985. Yes also received a Grammy for the instrumental "Cinema", which proved their sterling musicianship also remained a priority.
The band also toured behind the album, in a series of well-received concerts. In England and North America, some die-hard fans expressed their dislike of Rabin's influence on the band, but for Rabin's part, he had been reluctant to reform his new group under the Yes name. Moreover, many younger fans were introduced to the earlier Yes catalogue because of the success of the 90125 album and its popular singles. Finally, it can be argued that Yes would never have made a comeback in the 1980s without Trevor Rabin.
"9012-Live" debuted as a live album and video package, taken from the group's 1984 show in Edmonton, Canada. On the former recording, Trevor Rabin contributed his acoustic guitar solo, "Solly's Beard," which revealed a more subtle and introspective side that would be developed in future Yes albums. While his three tours as Yes guitarist focused on later material, Rabin's performances on Yes progressive standards, such as "I've Seen All Good People" and "And You And I," would also demonstrate his versatility and prowess.
In early 1986, Yes began recording its next album with Trevor Horn, but the production became bogged down amid Anderson and Squire's personal differences, as well as rumours of substance abuse. Eventually, went underway, with Trevor Rabin assuming control of studio engineering. Rabin's determination to "nail Jon down" for the project has led some fans to the erroneous conclusion that the guitarist 'seized control' of Yes. In actuality, most of the album's instrumental tracks had been complete for 15 months before Anderson's vocals were finally recorded. Bootleg demo tapes reveal Trevor Rabin singing alternate verses to "Final Eyes," as well as the future single "Rhythm of Love."
Big Generator emerged in late 1987, with singles "Love Will Find a Way" and "Rhythm of Love." Both were modest chart hits compared to the singles from 90125, but Rabin was nevertheless pleased with "Shoot High, Aim Low," which featured a dual lead vocal between himself and Jon Anderson. The 1988 Big Generator tour of the U.S., unfortunately, lost several dates when Rabin collapsed from influenza. In retrospect, this album is considered more "progressive" by Yes standards, and despite lacklustre reviews, sold two million copies as the band's last commercial success in the rapidly changing U.S. musical climate.
While Yes members, old and new, quarrelled over the Yes name in the Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe controversy, Trevor Rabin completed his fourth and last-to-date solo album, Can't Look Away, released in 1989. This album featured a potent title track, with majestic guitar leads and a plaintive, mature vocal. Can't Look Away's lead single "Something to Hold On To," garnered a Grammy for Best Music Video and topped the AOR charts for two weeks. But neither "Something to Hold on To," nor the anti-apartheid ballad "Sorrow (Your Heart)" managed to crack the American Top-40 charts. Regardless of the numbers, Rabin toured between 1989 and 1990 with drummer Lou Molino III, fretless bassist Jim Simmons, and keyboardist Mark Mancina. This nationwide jaunt, still one of the guitarist's favourite tours, has since been documented with 2003's Live in L.A., featuring interpretations of Eighties Yes material, as well as highlights from his "Wolf" album.
In 1991, Yes reformed with a short-lived, eight-man lineup for the Union album. Arista, the label responsible for ABWH, took on the project. Rabin contributed demos to the band, which led to a corporate decision to "reunite" the two line-ups, though Union only had three songs to Trevor Rabin's credit, including the singles "Lift Me Up" and "Saving My Heart." However, Rabin's best work on Union is represented by the environmentalist anthem, "Miracle of Life", originally co-written with Mark Mancina, which sounds as though it could have been included on Big Generator or Can't Look Away.
Trevor Rabin expressed dislike toward the Union proposal, but still took part in the prosperous tour, where he developed a lasting friendship with Rick Wakeman. Rabin also shared the stage with Steve Howe, albeit with some tension between the two guitarists.
1992 and 1993 marked a series of negotiations between the short-lived Victory label (not to be confused with a Chicago-based indie alt-rock outfit) and the so-called Yes West line-up. Phil Carson, responsible for Emerson, Lake & Palmer's comeback in 1992, invited the Yes 90125 lineup to record a third album. As the budget could not include an outside producer, Trevor Rabin undertook the mission. During sessions, he used an innovative digital hard-disk recording method now in common use in many studios. Although some Yes fans, and even Rabin himself, have criticised the limitations of digital sound, Talk made music recording history with its technical achievements.
Talk featured the final collaboration between Rabin and Jon Anderson, who had hitherto completed the last few albums after the principal writing. Despite a couple of filler tracks, the album represents a fusion between old and new Yes. Fans across the board have listed "Endless Dream" as one of group's best songs. During 1994 and early 1995, the group performed nearly all the album, plus their earlier hits to a quickly vanishing fanbase. While some venues were full, others were less than half capacity -- fuelling ill-founded rumours that Yes fans had boycotted the shows. Yet, many fans who attended felt that the Rabin lineup's performance, especially on classic Yes material, had never been better.
Numerous bootleg recordings exist, because the Talk concerts were simultaneously broadcast on FM radio frequency -- allowing Yes fans to make high-quality tapes. Trevor Rabin went on record as being supportive of this particular form of music-sharing.
While some fans -- and Steve Howe -- did employ the press and Internet to blame Trevor Rabin's influence, certain tour dates were simply given low promotion by radio stations. After an initial rush of fans took the album to #33, Talk failed to sell as expected, because the AOR radio format had become moribund in the wake of Clinton-era telecommunication deregulation. Despite live exposure on the David Letterman Show, neither "The Calling" nor "Walls" failed to catch as a single during the height of Grunge. Moreover, Victory Records did not allot budgets for video promotion. Ultimately, the Talk tour ended in 1995 amid recriminations.
Post-Yes
Following the 1995 tour, Trevor Rabin resigned from Yes to become a soundtrack composer.
Trevor Rabin had served as guitarist-composer for one of progressive rock's flagship bands. Yet, after 14 years of recording, he only appeared on three and one half albums. However, the Rabin albums have sold more than all other YES albums combined. Since Rabin's departure, the band has changed its keyboardists four times. Significantly, none of the later Yes albums have enjoyed much success, despite the return of the "classic" line-up. Their worldwide fan-base remains quite vital, however.
Trevor Rabin has been a U.S. citizen since 1991. In 1996, he visited his native South Africa and performed Yes and Rabbitt songs during the Prince's Trust Concert. Trevor Rabin released demo versions of pre-90125 Yes compositions and solo work, entitled 90124, as well as Live in LA, recorded at the Roxy in Los Angeles in late 1989. Most recently, aside from his film work, Trevor Rabin performed at the Princess Trust with Yes in London, at the Wembley Arena, where he served as lead guitarist and lead singer.
Trevor Rabin has scored over 2 dozen films which include Con Air, Homegrown, Armageddon, Enemy of the State, Jack Frost, Deep Blue Sea, Gone in 60 Seconds, Remember the Titans, The 6th Day, The Banger Sisters, Kangaroo Jack, Bad Boys 2, The Great Raid, The Exorcist, National Treasure, and Coach Carter.
Along with many Grammy nominations and one win, Trevor Rabin also has received eight BMI film score awards, and has received a lifetime achievement award from the Temecula Film Festival. He has been married for two decades to Shelley Rabin. They have one son, Ryan Rabin, who recently began his own career as a rock drummer in Los Angeles.