Whether you think that Trevor Rabin was the man who ruined Yes or the lifeline that saved the band from oblivion in the 1980s, there’s no denying his virtuosity or his ability to write a decent tune. But the South African has always been a far more interesting and stylistically varied musician than he’s often given credit for.
Born in Johannesburg in 1954, Rabin grew up in a liberal, musical household during the apartheid era and learned classical piano from the age of six. Taking up the guitar six years later, it soon became his obsession. Rabin first pursued a career as a session musician in South Africa and then formed the successful band Rabbitt in the early 70s. A move to London towards the end of the decade saw him sign to Chrysalis and release three solo albums in a hard rock/AOR style before moving briefly into production work with Manfred Mann’s Earth Band and Thin Lizzy offshoot Wild Horses. A sudden relocation to LA on a songwriting development deal with Geffen led to short-lived rehearsals with Asia, followed by the formation of Cinema with Alan White, Chris Squire and Tony Kaye, which morphed into a new version of Yes when Jon Anderson joined in 1983.
This collaboration produced the hit album 90125 and the US No.1 single Owner Of A Lonely Heart, while Rabin’s good looks and guitar heroics helped win the band a legion of new followers. Yes remained the mainstay of his career until 1995 via three further albums: the problematic Big Generator in 1987; the controversial Union in 1991, which saw Rabin, Squire and White’s Yes join forces with Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman, Howe; and finally the underrated Talk in 1994. Between Yes projects, an excellent solo album, Can’t Look Away, was released in 1989.
Moving on from Yes in the mid-90s, a chance meeting with movie star Steven Seagal led to a brand-new career in movie and TV soundtracks. These have mainly defined Rabin’s subsequent career path, with high-profile commissions including a fruitful collaboration with producer Jerry Bruckheimer via National Treasure, Enemy Of The State and Gone In 60 Seconds. However, Rabin’s career as a rock musician was not yet at an end, with the well-received all-instrumental solo album released in 2012. Rabin also returned to live performance with Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman in ARW playing Yes material live during 2017 and 2018.
