Review by Ritchie Birnie for MPM
30 years is a hell of a wait for a follow up with full vocals but fans of Joburg legend Rabin and YES are in for a treat that is well worth the wait.
Opener “Big Mistakes” jumps back in time and takes you back to some proggy brilliance and a nod of the head to “Owner of a lonely Heart” Era Yes. It is brilliant to finally hear those vocal tones again.
On “Push” we have a heavier guitar influence and trevor is on ecclectic overdrive. The plucks and flicks take you back through the decades as does the voice and everything here is a progressive masterpiece of time changes and tempo manipulations.
The intro to “Oklahoma” is acoustic guitar genius. It builds onto a far bigger and more expansive story that you could see and hear accompanying a Lord of the rings move. It settles down to background drums and some slide guitar and sets a template for a beautifully atmospheric song that is obviously close to the man’s heart.
“Paradise” opens as a more rockier number before a synthesized vocal kicks in and then settle into an almost folkish number. This one is far catchier and more radio friendly with a real feel good factor.
I have absolutely no idea what the hell is going on in the intro of “Thandi” but the song slips into the albums vibe and takes those Yes influences and throws in a whole heap of Utopia and there was a lot of Rungren filtering through the song.
Time to throw in a left field choice in “Goodbye” as we get a good old boy southern foot stomper. Get out the sipping Whisky and chewing tobacco.
Time for another weird opening in “Tumbleweed” with its layered vocals like a 70s game show jingle. This one is for the hard core prog fans with twists of Jazz in all aspects.
“These Tears” is a five minute song that builds the atmosphere and comes in as one of the strongest tracks on the album. It is simple but complex in the reactions of the listener. You can really get your teeth into this one and the vocals are spot on and reminded me of a 1980s Peter Gabriel.
The track ‘Egoli” takes off with simple guitar flicks and keys and the Gabriel vocal vibe continues with the layering on display. This song somehow encompasses everything that South Africa is. It is very reminiscent of Paul Simon’s homage to Africa and every bit as stunning.
This album is a celebration, it seems to be happiness personified so a track title like “Toxic” was a surprise but there is no negativity. The songs kicks off with some excellent blues guitars before slotting into the well trodden prog magic.
Rio is an album people will have thought was never coming but they will be delighted it is here and it slots right into the Rabin catalogue. Long time fans will not have one slice of disappointment and will play the album to death and hope to be hearing the songs live.
The full track-listing is as follows:
- Big Mistakes
- Push
- Oklahoma
- Paradise
- Thandi
- Goodbye
- Tumbleweed
- These Tears
- Egoli
- Toxic
The Ltd CD+Blu-ray Mediabook & Ltd Deluxe Gatefold Red 180g 2LP + Blu-ray also features the following bonus tracks:
- Spek & Polly
- Fragile (Demo)
- Georgia
TREVOR RABIN Online:
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www.facebook.com/TrevorRabinMusic
https://twitter.com/trevorrabin
