Coming out Friday, October 6th is Rio, a new album by former Yes guitarist and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Trevor Rabin — and his first of vocal-oriented music in 34 years. Rabin, who's best-known for writing “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” Yes' only No. 1 hit, did release an album of instrumentals, “Jacarana,” in 2012, but he's spent most of the past 30 years working on scoring films — more than 50, including “Con Air,” “Armageddon,” “Remember the Titans,” “National Treasure” and others. Rabin has also written music for National Basketball Association and NCAA March Madness broadcasts, presidential speeches and the Mission: Space attraction at Disney's Epcot park. He tells us “Rio” is the result of wanting to make some more conventional rock music again:
“I had this urge to sing and to play some pretty much prog-stroke-rock album and I started think about what I'm gonna do and started putting it together, bits and pieces as time went by. Last year I decided, 'OK, I've got to actually do it. I've got to stop screwing around,' so I really got into it.” :32 OC: so I really got into it.
“Rio” features 10 tracks recorded primarily by Rain himself, with percussion help from his son Ryan and “Jacaranda” contributors Lou Molino and Vinnie Calaiuta, plus some backing vocalists.
Prior to the album Rabin released the singles “Big Mistakes,” “Push” and “Oklahoma.” The latter was written in the wake of the 1995 domestic terrorist bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma but held because Rabin felt it would be “callous” to release it at the time.
Rabin will celebrate “Rio's” release with a Q&A on Friday at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, where he'll also be donating some of his old stage clothing. Rabin was inducted into the Rock hall with Yes during 2017.
In addition to the scoring work Rabin also toured with fellow Yes alumni Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman between 2016-2019. The trio released a live album during 2018 but only one original song, “Fragile.”