In a tragic twist of fate rock hero Chris Squire died of Leukemia in 2015, yet in many ways his legacy continues to live on through the many classic albums he released, including those as the leader of prog-rock icons YES. 40 years ago in 1983, Squire teamed YES with South African-born guitarist / composer Trevor Rabin. For some that early 1980’s through the mid ‘90s era YES was a bumpy ride, yet by the time Chris Squire died, Trevor Rabin was almost an afterthought among YES diehards, and the many newcomers soon captured by the Steve Howe version of the band that followed in the wake of Chris’ passing.

A 2016 reunion between Trevor Rabin and YES co-founder Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman, resulting in the ARW lineup, also managed to sadly dissipate but not before the release of a memorable live-in-concert CD/DVD featuring ARW performing YES classics from their 1970s heyday as well as the underrated 1980s / mid 1990s lineup.

Which brings us to Rio, the first rock-based solo album from Trevor Rabin in over 3 decades. Despite turning into one of the foremost soundtrack composers of the past quarter century, the Los Angeles-based Rabin was obviously inching back to the rock arena and the results finally appeared in late 2023 with the CD release of the Rio album on the Germany-based Inside Out label. 20 years back, Inside Out was making waves with a range of memorable YES-related albums, including the second and final Conspiracy album with Chris Squire as well as a series of instrumental fusion albums from YES guitarist Steve Howe.

Trevor Rabin’s 2023 solo album Rio positively reignites the same excitement that he brought to YES during their 1980s era, including their powerful Big Generator album from 1987. The ten-track, 56-minute Rio kicks things off in grand fashion with “Big Mistakes”, a catchy, pumping rock track that would have fit in on any of the three studio albums Rabin released with YES, yet it also paves the way forward with fresh excitement. The fact that Rabin is playing many of the instruments as well as performing lead and backing vocals, thus recreating a solid wall of YES-inspired excitement, is not long lost on the listener.

With his keyboard / guitar / vocals standouts as usual, Trevor does receive support from several players, including ARW drummer Lou Molino, jazz-rock drummer Vinnie Colaiuta, string man Charlie Bisharat and a pair of backing vocalists. On Rio the big-beat is back - the catchy, prog-centric pop songs all have something to offer long time Rabin-watchers and YES fans from just about every era. A good long decade after his guitar-centric, instrumental jazz-rock album Jacaranda, it’s more than gratifying to have prog-rock legend Trevor Rabin back in action with the 2023 album release of Rio.