Review: ABWH, Live at the NEC

The Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe tour has always been blighted by its one official live recording missing Tony Levin, who was taken ill and temporarily replaced by Jeff Berlin. While not included in the band name, Levin was then, as now, more than a faceless sessioner and had an established rhythm section partnership with Bill Bruford. So a show with Levin is the key selling point of Live at the NEC, the latest Gonzo release from this period following their ABWH re-release and Union Live.

Gonzo, successor to Voiceprint, have been much criticised in the past, but Union Live was generally well received. The ABWH re-release was notable for its bonus tracks, although it was an embarrassment to discover neither Steve Howe nor Levin were even told of the release. (Howe was saddened as he's sitting on a pile of unreleased recordings that would have made for better bonus content.) Sadly, Gonzo's poor reputation strikes again here with the wrong track order for disc 2, but more on that later.

 

In short, this is a good recording of a great show and a welcome addition to An Evening of Yes Music Plus. There are seven musicians on stage (ABWH + Levin, with Julian Colbeck on keys and Milton McDonald on guitar), only one of whom is in the current Yes (Howe), yet this feels, legal quibbles over the name notwithstanding, like Yes and serves as a reminder of another path the band once took.

Let's begin with the beginning and the much-discussed, inventive but low-key start to the show, where Anderson, Howe and Wakeman all took solo spots. Sadly the audio on Live at the NEC misses the full Benjamin Britten lead-in and there a few annoying audio glitches early on, particularly in Anderson's solo. Anderson's medley is inventive (compared to predictable solos from Howe and Wakeman), although the cheesy keyboard sounds from second keyboardist Colbeck are unfortunate.

 

If Howe's choice of pieces is safe, I'll praise the strong performance of "Mood for a Day". Wakeman's solo is one of his better and there's a nice lead-in to the first full band piece, "Long Distance Runaround". And this is the first time that you really notice the difference to the Squire/White rhythm section with a heavy bass from Levin and Bruford's much-criticised electronic drums. More than most, I like Bruford's electronic kit and what he did with it in early Earthworks, but here, the result is more questionable. His solo after "Long Distance Runaround" feels more like a tech demo than good music. It feels as if the electronic kit is more often limiting Bruford's playing rather than than allowing him to explore new territory.

Apart from "Teakbois" appearing in Anderson's medley, the first (then) new piece is "Birthright". It is sadly marred by a poor mix, with the keys too low and the drums too loud. We're then into "And You and I" and, as we're early in the tour, this is still one of the first few times Bruford has ever played this song as he left before the tour supporting Close to the Edge. This is a good version; Bruford's drums work for me here and Levin is distinctive. McDonald and Colbeck bring some great backing vocals to the mix.

 

It is interesting to compare how ABWH put together the set and how they approach different songs with what Yes today do, or Yes in the early 2000s did. Geoff Downes was criticised by many online when he explained Yes sometimes opt for slower tempos to give some songs more power, but here ABWH seem to take the same approach. Anyone who complains about the modern band's tempos should try this version of "And You and I": ABWH chose what feels like a fairly slow tempo, but it complements the piece. They speed up for a rocking edition of "I've Seen All Good People", with Howe notably strong and a great solo from Wakeman. And then straight into an aggressive "Close to the Edge". An almost industrial rhythm section play against Howe's fiery playing in the opening section. The clang and clatter of Bruford's electronic drums might not be to everyone's tastes, but I think they (mostly) work here, bringing a different edge to the piece. Anderson is in great voice, as he is throughout the show. A grandiose and triumphant climax is met with lengthy applause.

"Themes" is a reminder of the strengths of the ABWH album. The set could have been included more material from the album, but it's clear this was all about Yes music and re-uniting (4/5 of) the Fragile/Close to the Edge band.

 

Levin's playing is less to the fore than Squire would be, but he is spotlighted in a duet with Bruford, obviously missing from An Evening of Yes Music Plus. Their duet varied from night to night, and unfortunately this night's wasn't their best. There are some nice ideas initiated by Levin, but it feels as if they never quite find their feet and the piece doesn't develop. Bruford's machine gun rattle from his electronic kit is over-used.

"Brother of Mine" is another testament to the album, with good back-up guitar from McDonald. "The Meeting" has a nicer introduction than on the album and a strong performance, unfortunately with a little bit of audio hiss.

Anderson then announces to the audience that, "It's request time" and then waits for someone to shout out "Heart of the Sunrise". Was it as obvious a ruse at the time as it is in retrospect? Anyway,  Levin's funkier take on the bass line is odd, and there's that machine gun clatter from Bruford again! But, overall, it's another great performance: a more pacific reading of the piece than some performances by other Yes incarnations.

"Roundabout" is another strong performance, notably from Anderson. "Starship Trooper" is taken at a measured pace. Anderson interpolates a bit of "Soon" at the end of "Disillusion", then chats with the crowd, does thank yous. It makes for a laidback version of the song, but by beginning "Wurm" at a slow tempo, it allows them to steadily speed up to a high-energy climax to the evening.

But, hold on, you may be thinking, wasn't "Order of the Universe" played in between "Heart of the Sunrise" and "Roundabout"? Yes, yes, it was and that's what the track listing on the back of the box says. But for no clear reason at all, what we get on disc 2, after "Starship Trooper", is a short silent gap and then "Order of the Universe". Across the whole show, the audio has one or two problems, which presumably reflect the BBC's source recording and are forgivable, but this bizarre move of "Order of the Universe" smacks of straight incompetence.

So, anyway, better late than never: here's "Order of the Universe". It's actually one of my favourites on the album, but I think here it is weaker than the other tracks. While Anderson sings well for most of the show, he lacks fluidity here. We also get more overly clattering drums from Bruford, and another poor drum solo.

Currently available is this deluxe, 3-disc edition of the release. The packaging comes with a replica of the tour programme. And there's a DVD with a 26 minute, black and white film by Colbeck, consisting of fairly raw footage shot on 25 Oct 1989 backstage, of the soundcheck and short portions of the show (shot from the side of the stage). The film is interesting to see once, but I can't imagine watching it a second time! I presume a standard release with just the 2 audio CDs will follow at some point.

One can criticise how the set was ordered or Bruford's foray into electronic drums, but the release reflects those choices that ABWH made at the time. Live at the NEC is an honest document of ABWH live. Bottom line, while there are some glitches, some better and worse performances, this is a great set and worth getting.

Yesmen outside Yes: poll part 3

Part 3 of our survey covering albums featuring 3+ Yesmen together outside Yes covers 2000 through to the present day. There were 52 votes in all:

1. Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood: Conspiracy (w/ White) - 28 (54%)
2. CIRCA: 2007 (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White) - 13 (25%)
3. Return to the Dark Side of the Moon: A Tribute to Pink Floyd (w/ Sherwood, Bruford, Kaye, Banks, Howe, Wakeman, White, Downes) - 3 (6%)
4= Pigs & Pyramids—An All Star Lineup Performing the Songs of Pink Floyd (w/ Sherwood, Squire, Kaye, White) - 2 (4%)
4= CIRCA: Live (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White) - 2 (4%)
4= John Wetton: Raised in Captivity (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Downes) - 2 (4%)
7. Abbey Road: A Tribute to The Beatles (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White, Downes) - 1 (2%)
8= Back Against the Wall (w/ Sherwood, Howe, Wakeman, White, Downes, Squire, Kaye) - 0
8= From Here to Infinity (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Howe, Wakeman, White) - 0
8= Led Box: The Ultimate Tribute to Led Zeppelin (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, Wakeman, White, Downes) - 0

 ... and there was one 'other' vote for an ineligible album. So, a clear win for Conspiracy, with the debut CIRCA: album second. (The second Conspiracy album and multiple further CIRCA: releases only featured 2 Yesmen each and so didn't make this poll.)

The final will feature the first and second placed albums from the three semi-finals. That means:

Chris Squire's Fish Out of Water (w/ Bruford, Moraz): 1st in the 1970s poll
Rick Wakeman's The Six Wives of Henry VIII (w/ Squire, Bruford, Howe, White): 2nd equal in the 1970s poll
Rick Wakeman's Criminal Record (w/ Squire, White): 2nd equal in the 1970s poll
Symphonic Music of Yes (w/ Anderson, Bruford, Howe): 1st in the 1980/90s poll
The Buggles' Adventures in Modern Recording (w/ Horn, Downes, Squire): 2nd in the 1980/90s poll
Chris Squire & Billy Sherwood's Conspiracy (w/ White): 1st in the 2000s+ poll
CIRCA: 2007 (w/ Sherwood, Kaye, White): 2nd in the 2000s+ poll

Seven albums: Squire is on five, White is on four, Bruford is on three, Howe, Wakeman and Sherwood are on two apiece. I don't know whether that says something about the popularity of those Yesmen (presumably so in Squire's case) or just about how often they collaborate!

We'll have the final poll shortly, which will then lead us up to the release in August of two more multi-Yesmen albums, The Prog Collective and Songs of the Century: An All-Star Tribute to Supertramp, both led by Sherwood and with guests including Squire, Wakeman, Downes, Banks and Kaye.

From ARZ to XYZ

ARZ are a progressive rock duo from Portland, Oregon, consisting of Merrill Hale on drums and Steve Adams on everything else (vocals, guitars, bass, keys), and they kindly sent me a copy of their new album, Turn of the Tide, released last November on Unicorn Digital (home to Mystery and other bands).

While Steve and Merrill met in a Yes tribute band, for me the first half of the album evokes Signals-era Rush more, both in its music and in its intelligent lyrics. Other influences are apparent as the album progresses. The bombast of "Hope and Glory", for example, is more in the vein of ELP, and a work-out for Hale on drums.

But, like Mars Hollow, another band I've championed, what makes ARZ worth trying is that they are more than the sum of their influences. They have their own style and Turn of the Tide successfully combines toe-tapping, hummable melodies with interesting arrangements and strong playing, making the longer pieces on the album still fly by. If I have a complaint, it is that the band could do with a more distinctive sound palette.

Speaking of Rush, just out is XYZ—A Tribute to Rush, a 5-song EP of Rush covers from Dave Kerzner's Sonic Elements project. As a keyboardist, Kerzner has worked with the likes of Kevin Gilbert, Steven Wilson and Simon Collins, but he is also the founder of music software company Sonic Reality. The gimmick behind XYZ is that it uses a set of drum tracks recorded by Neil Peart and available through Sonic Reality (Vol. 2 The Grooves sample library). Kerzner has then assembled various guest stars to record these covers of "Tom Sawyer", "Red Barchetta", "YYZ" and "Limelight" around Peart's playing.

For Yes fans, the interest is in Billy Sherwood, who appears on every track: bass on "Tom Sawyer" and "Limelight", additional bass on "Red Barchetta", bass and guitar on "YYZ" and bonus track "Trifecta" (more on that below). Other guests include Porcupine Tree's John Wesley on "Tom Sawyer" (vocals, guitar) and "Limelight" (guitar), and Rik Emmett (vocals, guitar) on "Red Barchetta" (vocals, guitar).

These are great songs, well played, making for a fun EP. The interest in a covers project is often in how it relates to the original recordings. Here, Kerzner, Sherwood et al. stick very closely to the source material. Kerzner's keyboard work at the beginning and end of some of the tracks is where he deviates most from the original versions. I, as I'm sure many of you reading this, are very familiar with the originals, so even small differences stand out and provide interest, but I would have liked more variation.

Perhaps that conservatism in the arrangements is a necessary result of using Peart's drum tracks. Perhaps as a counterpoint to that, there is an extra song on the EP, "Trifecta". This takes the drum track for "YYZ", but Kerzner and Sherwood have recorded a new composition around it. (A second original piece, "Times Gone", built around the "Tom Sawyer" drum track, was also available for those who pre-ordered, but I missed that opportunity.)

As an experiment, "Trifecta" is interesting, but I didn't find it wholly successful. The piece has some OK riffs, but I don't feel it hangs together in its own right. The ghost of "YYZ" hangs over the piece, dictating the overall flow.

Sonic Elements have plenty more in the pipeline, much with Sherwood, including both covers and more original material. The covers include Yes songs, but the next planned release is another EP, It—A Tribute to Genesis & Peter Gabriel.

Two poll results

Part II of the poll of albums with 3+ Yesmen covered the 1980s and '90s, not perhaps the most impressive period for the multi-Yesman album compared to the likes of Fish Out of Water and The Six Wives of Henry VIII in the 1970s, but there were 102 votes and these are the result:

1. Symphonic Music of Yes (w/ Anderson, Bruford, Howe): 31 votes
2. The Buggles: Adventures in Modern Recording (w/ Horn, Downes, Squire): 18 votes
3. Steve Howe: Portraits of Bob Dylan (w/ Anderson, Downes): 14 votes
4. Tales from Yesterday (w/ Banks, Howe, Moraz, Sherwood): 10 votes
5. Esquire: Esquire (w/ Squire, White, Horn): 8 votes
6. Rick Wakeman: The Classical Connection II (w/ Squire, Bruford, Howe): 7 votes
7. Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Welcome to the Pleasuredome (w/ Horn, Howe, Rabin): 6 votes
8. Peter Banks: Can I Play You Something? (w/ Squire, Bruford): 3 votes
9= Encores, Legends and Paradox, A Tribute to the Music of ELP (w/ Banks, Downes, Khoroshev): 2 votes
9= Clive Nolan & Oliver Wakeman: Jabberwocky (w/ R Wakeman, Banks): 2 votes
11. Frankie Goes to Hollywood: Liverpool (w/ Horn, Howe, Rabin): 1 vote

The winner, Symphonic Music of Yes, is a bit of an oddity, often overlooked. The core band performing with orchestra and choir were Howe, Bruford and bassist Tim Harries (from Bruford's Earthworks), with Anderson guesting on two tracks, and ABWH additional keyboardist Julian Colbeck guesting on another, but the key figure behind the project was arranger/keyboardist Dee (then David) Palmer. Palmer is best known as a former member of Jethro Tull and did an orchestral album of Tull music in 1986 with various Tull members. She followed this with an orchestral Genesis album in 1987 and one for Pink Floyd, before Symphonic Music of Yes in 1993. Further albums for Queen and The Beatles followed.

I was surprised by its win given it doesn't seem like a particularly well regarded project. Symphonic Music of Yes is sometimes best remembered for a promotional appearance on US TV by Howe and Bruford in which they performed "Roundabout" with Howe, ill advisedly, singing lead vocals.

Second placed Adventures in Modern Recording has received new found attention as the bonus tracks on the latest re-release include a two-part "We Can Fly from Here" and a piece that became "Life on a Film Set" on Fly from Here, as well as a regular album track "I am a Camera", The Buggles' version of "Into the Lens".

The final poll, for the period from 2000 onwards, is now on the main page.  Every one of the eligible albums involves Billy Sherwood, nearly all in the leading role. Sherwood has become the nexus for projects with multiple Yesmen, and Cleopatra Records is often the label involved. As well, Kaye is on all but one of these (Conspiracy) and White is on all but one (Raised in Captivity), illustrating how both work regularly with Sherwood. In contrast, none of these projects involves Anderson, Moraz, Khoroshev or any of the more recent Yesmen.

Once part III has run its course, there will be a final poll with the first and second place from each part, plus any new releases. (There are several multi-Yesmen albums in the pipeline: Nektar's Spoonful of Time is expected to feature Howe, Wakeman and Downes, while Sherwood's Prog Collective and his Supertramp tribute both include Kaye, Squire, Wakeman and Banks, and at least one also has Downes.)

We then had another poll about the possibility of Yes - The Musical! This was after Squire mentioned the possibility of Yes doing a project on Broadway, although a second interview has since made clear that he means some sort of residency rather than a musical production. Still, here are the poll answers (120 votes):

No, oh my god, no, no...: 51 votes (43%)
Yes: it should be a science fiction story based on Roger Dean's artwork: 41 votes (34%)
Yes: it should be about the history of the band: 22 votes (18%)
Other: 4 votes (3%)
Yes: it should be a fictional story about regular people in the 1970s/80s: 2 votes (2%)

The 4 'other' votes included 2 suggesting the residency idea that we now know Squire means, 1 opposing the whole idea, and another suggesting the creators of South Park produce it - clearly a great idea. So, that comes out as a narrow majority in favour of the idea, most of whom then favour something sci-fi-y connected to Roger Dean's artwork.

Broadway beckons

Yes on Broadway? With Jon Anderson back? A recent interview with Chris Squire mentions the idea in passing. It's an interesting interview, mainly about Squackett, but this remark, made in response to the familiar question of whether Anderson will ever return, is just the sort of whacky idea with minimal details that gets us fans speculating. So let's take a look at it. Here's what Squire says:

"There’s been talk of YES possibly doing something on Broadway in New York. People have approached me with that idea and there are discussions about that. A possible project like that and you might see Jon [Anderson] re-involved as you would other ex members of YES. Once again there’s nothing concrete about that yet and now that we have Jon Davidson [sic] on board, our next project will probably be making a studio album with him. But we won’t close the door on other possibilities in the future …we’ll see what happens."

In interpreting this, I would start with two big caveats: it's not at all clear what this is about, so let us recognise that we are speculating here; and, whatever this is, it's an early stage of discussion and so there's a high chance it won't happen.

Also, Squire says their "next project will probably be" a studio album with the current line-up. So, work on a studio album is unlikely to seriously start before the beginning of 2013, so if this Broadway thing is to happen, it would seem unlikely to be before the second half of 2013 and could well be much later.

So, what is it? My first thought was a musical based on Yes songs, with the band being involved putting it together and promoting it, but not performing, as Queen did with "We Will Rock You", as other acts have done. However, Frumious B on Yesfans.com suggests some sort of run of special live shows, going back to a classic line-up of the band, connected to the band's 45th anniversary (although the timing, it seems to me, would put this activity possibly beyond 2013 and that anniversary). Those seem like the two most obvious possibilities, but could it be anything else?

There's been talk in recent years of a film using Yes songs. This would either involve Roger Dean and some fantasy story, the "Floating Islands" project (see this 2008 interview); or something biographical about the band's history, which Squire mentioned in a 2007 newspaper interview. The 2007 article made the comparison with "Yellow Submarine", so possibly there's a middle ground between these two approaches: about the band and a fantasy story. Could one of these ideas have mutated into a theatrical production? This would seem to get us back to some sort of 'Yes - The Musical'.

So two options: (1) Yes - The Musical (maybe somehow related to prior film ideas); (2) special live shows. Anyone else want to throw out other ideas?

Let's look at what Squire says more carefully. He speaks of "YES possibly doing something", so active involvement from the band. I'm not certain that really tells us much. They could be actively involved in a musical without performing, or that would readily fit a live show option.

He goes on: "and you might see Jon [Anderson] re-involved as you would other ex members of YES". Note he says "might" and note he talks about "other ex members", not just Anderson. If the plan was a special run of live performances re-uniting the classic band, you would think they would have to have Anderson or some other key ex-members (Wakeman R? Rabin?) on board. What would be the point of the current line-up doing it; how would it differ from any other live dates? It seems to me that this sort of optional involvement of various past band members might imply a musical, something where past band members can have input or help promote the endeavour (and they'd want to as it's a money-spinner for songwriters), but the process is driven by the Howe/Squire/White core regardless.

As I said, whatever it is, it probably won't happen! But if it did, what would you want to see? I've started a poll on the Where Are They Now? front page where you can vote for an option or make suggestions, or leave comments on this blog post the usual way.

[EDIT 25 May 2012] Squire has now expanded on the Broadway concept in a new interview. Frumious B was right. I quote:

Squire is open to the idea of a Yes reunion as part of a residency at a Broadway theater in New York. "The idea of 'Yes on Broadway' has come up," he says. "It would reflect the history of Yes. It requires the collaboration not only with Jon Anderson, but also other ex-members, including keyboard players like Patrick Moraz and obviously Rick [Wakeman] would be looked at as well. Of course, it would have to depend on if there's any interest from that side as well. It's something that's brewing, but it's very much on the backburner."

Yesmen outside Yes: poll part 2

The previous poll on the Where Are They Now? front page covered non-Yes albums featuring 3+ Yesmen from the 1970s. Part II of the poll is now up covering the 1980s and 1990s.

The Part I results are in and the winner, as could be expected, is Fish Out of Water, Chris Squire's first solo album, with Bill Bruford on drums and Patrick Moraz on some of the keyboards. A perennial favourite; a classic album. The full results are...

1. Chris Squire: Fish Out of Water - 71 (47%)
2= Rick Wakeman: The Six Wives of Henry VIII - 26 (17%)
2= Rick Wakeman: Criminal Record - 26 (17%)
4. Steve Howe: The Steve Howe Album - 16 (11%)
5. Steve Howe: Beginnings - 5 (3%)
6= Johnny Harris: All to Bring You Morning - 1 (1%)
6= Eddie Harris: E.H. in the U.K. - 1 (1%)
8. Alan White: Ramshackled - 0

There were 4 other votes: 2 for albums with 3+ Yesmen not from the 1970s, and 2 for '70s albums with only 1 Yesman each.

So, a dead heat for second place between the two Wakeman albums. "Catherine of Aragon", the opening track of 6 Wives, was originally recorded with most of the Fragile band (everyone except Anderson) because it was originally to have been Wakeman's solo spot on Fragile, before contractual problems meant it couldn't be used. Bruford and Alan White then appear on further tracks. One side of Criminal Record features Squire and White: Wakeman gave them free rein to record rhythm tracks and then added to the results; shades of Levin Torn White! Nearly all the remaining votes then went to the two Steve Howe albums.

The other three contenders received two votes between them. While they may not be the best and are overshadowed by Fish and Wives, I hope there is still some love for all three.

On paper, Johnny Harris's All to Bring You Morning has everything going for it. I believe it was the first album to feature 3 Yesmen together outside Yes (just ahead of Wives). It was recorded around the same time as Close to the Edge with the involvement of Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Alan White and Eddie Offord (although Offord is on the 2 tracks Howe and White aren't). Yet far from being some lost prog masterpiece, most of All to Bring You Morning is a throwback to the '60s: easy listening, orchestral covers of well known pieces. It's the 14 minute, original, title track -- with vocals and lyrics by Anderson, guitar by Howe, drums by White -- that stands out if you're a Yes fan.

All to Bring You Morning also features guitarist Pete Kirtley, bassist Colin Gibson and Steve Gregory on flute/sax. All three also appear on Ramshackled. Ramshackled is another of the 1975/6 albums along with Fish and Beginnings. However, to call it an Alan White solo album is perhaps misleading. White wrote none of the music. What he did was re-assemble a former band he'd be in. White, Kirtley and organist Kenny Craddock had worked together backing Alan Price in the 1960s, before becoming Happy Magazine. With the addition of Gibson, they formed Griffin, but the band only ever released one single in 1969 before disbanding. But the band members continued to work together in various arrangements before the opportunity arose to do Ramshackled.

Ramshackled reflects that late '60s/early '70s rock sound. It's not very prog, it's not very Yes-like, but, as with All to Bring You Morning, one track stands out for the Yes fan: "Spring—Song of Innocence", a setting of a William Blake song, with guitar by Howe and sung by Anderson.

Eddie Harris (no relation to Jonny) was an American jazz saxophonist. For E.H. in the U.K., he recorded in London with a selection of British musicians, including Albert Lee, Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood, Ian Paice and three Yesmen. Kaye, Squire and White are together on the final two tracks. (I believe this is the first time White and Kaye worked together.) Instrumental jazz, lots of improvising and jamming, this is a context in which you might expect to find Bill Bruford, but not Squire, White and Kaye. And at times they seem uncomfortable, but there's some interesting playing along the way in the 16-minute "Conversations of Everything and Nothing", including the closest I think Squire has ever come to a King Crimson vibe.

Part II of the poll covers the 1980s/90s: you can vote now. There will be a part III subsequently and then the top albums in each poll will go forward to a final! Many of the qualifying albums in the 1980s/90s feel like they're only in on technicalities: e.g. Squire's mysterious minor credit on Adventures in Modern Recording; Horn's only role on Esquire is co-mixing one track; Rick Wakeman is on Jabberwocky but as a narrator, not on keyboards. We also see the first tribute albums, what would become a very fertile territory for multi-Yesmen projects. I'm also surprised that 4 out of the 11 albums involve Peter Banks, not someone we always think of as having as large a discography as other Yes alumni.

Trevor Rabin's Jacaranda

This is not the album I expected, but it is a testament to Trevor Rabin that he has delivered something not merely good, but also surprising. Highlights on the album like "Anerley Road" and "Market Street" have Rabin departing from his past rock or film score work, turning instead to jazz influences. There is a restless energy to the music, with arrangements and instrumentation rarely staying still for more than a few bars. Pieces that are four or five minutes long feel epic in terms of the ground they've covered. The usual jazz approach would be a statement of the melody, various solos based on that melody, before a final re-statement. Being close to a one-man band (he plays nearly everything save drums -- full details are on Where Are They Now?), Rabin instead varies instrumentation and arrangements as he explores the core theme of each piece, producing some of the best work of his career.

There is also an eclecticism to the album. There are slower tempo numbers: for example, penultimate track "Zoo Lake" is like an old-time jazz ballad. The short "Spider Boogie" opener does bluegrass. Album finisher "Gazania" is typical of the album's variety: a classical guitar skeleton, with bluegrass interludes and strong piano sections.

Expectant fans have been looking back to Can't Look Away, Rabin's last solo album, or Talk, his last significant non-score project, as possible reference points. The closest we get to those is "Through the Tunnel" and "Me and My Boy", where a heavier rock sound echoes pieces like "Sludge" or "Cinema". Yet we're 18 years from Talk; 23 years from Can't Look Away. 18 years before Talk, Rabin was still in Rabbitt, and given the change from Rabbitt to Talk, we shouldn't be wary of as much change again. Ironically, tracks like "Storks Bill Geranium Waltz" or "Anerley Road" may appeal to fans of the Steve Howe Trio or Time more than fans of Talk or 90125.

What we have heard from Rabin in recent years is a vast amount of film score work, which you could be forgiven for forgetting about. Until, that is, the album completely changes direction with track 6 and the cinematic "Rescue", based on his work for the film "The Guardian". The next track, "Killarney 1 & 2", brings us back towards the style of the rest of the album in its arrangement, if not its instrumentation for this is mostly a solo piano piece on what is mostly a guitarist's album. It is worth noting that the keyboards throughout the album are strong.

Trevor Rabin's Jacaranda has been some time coming, with Rabin busy with film scoring and supporting his son Ryan as his career gets going. Ryan drums on two tracks here, including, as the name suggests, "Me and My Boy". The cover art is by Hannah Hooper, who plays keys in Ryan's band Grouplove. But with the album almost here, Rabin has made some positive comments about the possibility of touring. [9 May: correction of Rabin's comments] If this comes off, it will be a show worth catching.

While I'm here... "Sea of Smiles", the single from Squackett, out on limited edition on 21 April. It's a big, joyful, catchy piece of music: I love it. While there is nice instrumental work, this is melodic rock more than prog. And it feels more 'ackett' than 'Squ': this would not have sounded out of place on Hackett's Beyond the Shrouded Horizon, although Squire's bass and singing are more to the fore than there.