Trevor Horn - YES, “Owner of a Lonely Heart" Track Breakdowns - Original and Reimagines the 80s
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- Опубліковано 22 тра 2024
- We talk to Trevor about his new album ‘Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties’ and we look at the multi-track sessions of “Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes and Trevor’s updated version from Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties.
If you enjoyed this, watch our second interview where Trevor talks about his production career. • Trevor Horn - The Art ...
Chapters
Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties
00:00 - Intro
01:43 - What Is Trevor Horn Reimagines The Eighties?
02:41 - When Did The Project Start?
06:37 - Arranging Strings
YES, "Owner of a Lonely Heart" Track Breakdown
07:44 - On Recording YES To A Click
08:46 - Drums
09:37 - Bass Part
10:36 - Intro Guitar Power Chords
11:50 - Rhythm Guitar - Rickenbacker 12-String
12:37 - Synth Accents - Synclavier, Fairlight CMI
14:44 - Vocals
15:41 - Owner of a Lonely Heart Reimagined Version
18:01 - Drums
18:27 - Bass
19:00 - New Middle & Ending Arrangements
21:28 - Outro
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Trevor says “now it’s 2018, it’s not an innovative record anymore” truth be told, it’s just as fresh and inspiring as the day I first listened. To be able to make a record like that in the 80’s was cutting edge. No one makes music like that anymore. Today’s music scene is simply sad.
Absolutely true.
I have often wondered why no one today makes music as it was done in the 80s. There's a whole generation of us who would eat up "modern" 80s music.
@@sw6188 Do you know of and follow anyone whom you feel might carry that torch so far? I feel like it’s probably out there, but they get drowned out by the ubiquity of new works nowadays
@@bg357wg Sadly I don't. I think there has been the odd song produced which is reminiscent of the 80s, but as you say they get drowned out by the dross of modern offerings.
@@bg357wg I can think of modern bands who carry the 80s in their heart, so to speak. But *produced* like the 80s? I'm not so sure, and sadly I don't have the expertise to really pin it down.
"That's a Synclavier *and* a Fairlight". The fact that they used both gives away the type of song this is.
The performances in the original are just mind blowing.
Chris squire… not only a great bassist, but a great vocalist.
My all-time hero of producers, Trevor Horn is a legend.
How can someone not like that snare ?!?
Love it!
To be fair, high pitched snares weren't common in the early 80s. It was all fat bottom, deep snares left over from the 70s (thank you Mr.Bonham).
Stewert Copeland taught the world to rethink that, as well as what a hihat is capable of.
🤘
@@MrRezRisingfat bottomed snares make the rocking world go round
If I like a song, there is nothing more fascinating - and pleasing - than hearing the deconstruction of it, and being able to identify the various components. This video is stunning.
people didn't like that snare?! its absolute perfection ...
Blew my mind at the time
I was thinking the same thing. LOL! I loved that song when it was out and I still do.
I want that snare drum sound on every recording I play on, forever. I just need a late-1970s Pearl steel like Stewart's... mine's close, but no cigar!
It's tuned to A as well. Thats part of the reason it works so well
Cooool
I sat in for my older brothers band when I was in high school, (just for a rehearsal).
I was “the kid“ and very nervous, so I quietly tuned my drum set, by tapping my finger. We started jamming and then at one point one of the guys stopped and said “hey, hit those drones for a second”. It turns out I had subconsciously tuned them to EADGBE. Craaaaazy !!
My god, how good does Jon Anderson sound on this in isolation....such a great tone and projection....bloody marvellous.
Rabin, not Anderson
In my humble opinion, this is the greatest feat in audio engineering and production in the 80s. And possibly the best song made in the 80s all together.
I would put tears for fears maybe on the same level regarding engineering and production. But musically i prefer yes.
Bobby Kimball (lead singer for Toto) "hold my drink, we gotta a little song called 'Africa'"
@@benadams1661 Doesn't even come close.
This song also had one of the worst videos of the ‘80s-a packed field. Still, it’s great fun to play this song, and it allows for infinite improvisation.
"Owner of a Lonely Heart" is a great GREAT song and production, but "Slave to the Rhythm" is objectively the peak of 1980s bombast. £800,000, two studios, dual sync'd 24-track machines,, endless remixes, mountains of cocaine-fueled reinvention adding more and more parts. People are still making remixes and reminiscing about the project.
I'd love to hear Trevor Horn talk about many of his other production masterpieces.
Trevor Horn will always be regarded highly in my book because he created one of the most original and best bands of the 80s: The Art of Noise.
Moments in love has got to be one of the greatest and also most underrated songs to come out of the 80s . I have had that track in constant rotation for years whenever I'm demoing or tuning audio systems.
I loved them. Marketed as ' god's backing band' and 'the band that doesn't exist'. Brilliant!
One of the first jobs I had in the 80s was working on a video for the AON.
@@KennyEvansUK Which one?
He also created some of my favourite extended versions of eighties tunes. Legend.
Yes segment starts at 7:45.
Cheers.
Fanks !!!
You can see how The Art of Noise was born. This guy needed that outlet.
AON was not Trevor Horn; it was Anne Dudley, Jj Jeczalik and engineer Gary Langan.
@@soundonsound yeah, but Trevor was involved no? Or does producing count for nothing.
@@WrvrUgoThrUR Trevor was involved! i respect SOS but Trevor was abso-smurfly involved with AON.
Loved hearing Jon's voice on one track without any music.
Goosebumps!
The drop into 3/4 in the middle gives me the goosebumps and the weird jazz section makes me smile. And the ending - what an ending. What a record! Genius.
I've always loved the extreme shifts on this song from massive loose grunge to super tight, crisp tracks. Brilliant.
I'm just glad that Trevor also vocalizes the "bang doodilidilum" part.
"people hated the snare sound". What?! No way, best sounding snare sound I heard during that era. I nearly crapped my pants in awe when I first heard the song. Great song that never gets old.
Yes Paul! This is one of those songs you bring to test equipment with before you buy it. It will move the air in some great ways....... tight!
YES! The Police were setting the pace. The guitar riffs in this tune are influenced by Andy Summers no doubt! Great snare sound!
@@widescreennavel The Police won that Grammy for Best Instrumental, so ....
Yes segment starts at 7:45.
people didn't like that snare?! its absolute perfection ...
Jon Anderson's legendary voice was, and is to this day, a marvel.
Yes, that's exactly to where I skipped.
No Jon, no Yes.
Thanks for that mate...I started thinkin' I was crazy.
@@Twobarpsi Wow, that is an great band title for Jon to use:
"No Jon, No Yes" 😂
@@rabarebra kind of catchy isn't it?😃
That guitar tone is off the charts! One of the greatest productions ever…easily.
I loved the snare sound when the album came out. I was in music school studying jazz and ate this album up. Masterpiece.
Yup, it was all about that tight drum sound/playing for me.
Jon Anderson's legendary voice was, and is to this day, a marvel.
Legendary yes, but marvel, why do you say that? Because he sang such high notes? Have you heard him speak? His voice is naturally VERY high, he speaks at around a D4. Conversely, have you ever heard him sing low notes? I myself, can't recall. That is to say, his range is quite limited. I love his voice and am a Yes fan, but I would not say anything he is doing is superhuman. Geoff Tate, however, in his prime was a marvel. This guy spoke in the second octave(F2), almost 2 full octaves lower than Jon Anderson and could hit the notes Anderson hits plus go even higher, like significantly!! So he sang all those notes Anderson could hit plus higher AND a rich low range. Check out ¨Take Hold of the Flame, live in Tokyo´´ by Queensryche to hear what I mean :) Even Micheal Jackson, who seemed to have a high speaking voice, similar to Anderson had a significantly wider range. Remember, I am not saying he doesn`t have a killer voice, but not a marvel by a long shot.
@@tarekwayne9193 A "Marvel" is, for the one who speaks of it, to behold. It is of their feeling and response to what is ( or in this case, whom ) is creating that "Marvel" for them. You cannot tell them how they should feel, it is for them alone to experience.
@@tarekwayne9193dude, he said voice, not singing voice. thats part of it, but how many singers out there you hear sound like jon anderson. there's a reason every instrumentalist from kitaro to vangelis to mike oldfield wanted to work with him. thats a marvel, and a killer songwriter to, and queensryche sucks.
@@mikearchibald744 Very good points, you are absolutely right.
He said "voice".
Queensryche sucks, however, is a totally unproveable opinion.
I will concede that I'm not a huge fan of their latest incarnations.
In their prime, another story altogether.
@@westrig180 Indeed, I stand corrected💯
Together with Scritti Politti's "Cupid & Psyche" and Rush's "Power Windows", this album is my favorite production from the 1980's. Stellar album, 90125.
Scritti Politti ❤
Classic Material..... Always loved this track... Man this dude is a legend... Moments in love, Video Killed the radio star, Slave to the rhythm... Just a few of the classic records he produced I was raised on.... Legend 👑 💯
This man knows how to make drum tracks sound amazing. Slave to the rhythm is a masterpiece!
My husband is a singer reakeses with a German label his producer says slave to . Is the best production ever . the holy grail
no its not
@@AL-PAKA Personal taste will always have huge variations :). In it's genre ( Jazzy/ funky / atmospheric) it's definately a stand out production. And it was way ahead of it's time.
@@taccamine8312 no it wasn't ahead of its time at all, plenty of other artists tried this before, you know nothing about music.
@@AL-PAKA I don't know how old you are, or if you are a musician (I've been a musician for 40 years). This was released in 1985. Name some other act that did something slightly comparable at that time?
Back when music had dynamic range. Very cool to see the various tracks!
There are still bands that have dynamic range. Tool sticks out as one. Stupid loudness wars.
And melody. And a memorable hook. And originality too.
Nowadays there's really no reason not to have at least some dynamic range in your music, since every streaming platform (which are what matters now) and even UA-cam will normalize the volume.
Great music doesn't get talked over.
well actually! compression is used so often because of the different situations in which people will find themselves listening to music in nowadays. often through some little headphones with the sound of the world around them, or in their noisy but affordable car, or on their cheap laptop or computer speakers that are not at all specialized for music. the majority of us listen to music now in subpar situations on subpar systems and its for this reason that dynamic range has been lost. music has to compete with the listeners situation, and squashing the range a little is how they do it. so its not like they do it just cause they like to(although that is applicable too), its because it is necessary!
One of the best produced of all time in my opinion and so ahead of its time. When it's broken down like this it seems so simple.
Rhythm section is a killer on this track. Trevor Horn and Trevor Rabin are geniuses.
That snare works JUSSSSST fine!
11:42 “Baaang, boodedeleeduhdum” pure magic right there!
11:43 Bang! Doodooleeadlow. 😂 now I'm going to hear that every time I hear this song!
We're a young band and when our dad played the original for us, it floored us. The musicianship, the vocals, the production... AND the snare. Outstanding!
wait till you hear them do the gates of delirium
Regardless of whether people feel dissapointed it has been redone having TH take us into his making of the original was pure gold.
That Electra Bass with "the Chip In It" is pure magic!
That Trevor Rabin arpeggio sequence during the Verses is absolutely unforgettable! And then there's the Bridge part with Chris Squire's descending pattern! Awesome! 90125 marked a brilliant return for Yes. Kudos to Sound on Sound for posting this!
yeah. But they hated it. And the Dinosaur Yes fans forever grumble about Rabin.
David Rollo ... Agreed... I have 90125 in my top 3 best performed, written, and produced. Every track is just pure perfection.
@@XHuntinatorX Agreed! It felt like a Masterpiece as soon as I slipped it out of the wrapping and tossed it onto the turntable and the sound came out of the speakers! It Can Happen is an All Time Favorite. Especially where Rabin and Squire's voices blend in near the end with Anderson's! Perfection!
@@XHuntinatorX big generator is excellent as well
I just hate when it’s old Yes fans vs new Yes tracks. My point: I would listen to nearly all Yes and love it! This track is a gem - had YES not recorded it, I’m certain the OG Yes fans could have appreciated it. Liking this track takes nothing away from Fragile, Starship Trooper, etc… Musicians love it all because Yes is killing.
That snare is glorious. As glorious as it was back when it came out. I remember being completely blown away by the album, it's songs and the sound.
I love Trevor - he's been in my musical life these past 40 years. He's so straight forward and honest - and of course he's incredibly knowledgeable and gifted.
Have you heard Frostbite? Wonderful!
No, no, and just no.
Higher standards back then for radio music
Trevor Horn, truly one of the most brilliant producers not only in the 80s but he’s a great bass player and he plays horn as well no pun, brilliant guy, you put Trevor Horn and Trevor Rabin in a studio together - hits are going to come out of it.
The original album track was just stunning at the time. A groundbreaking marriage of writing and production.
Trevor is the wizard of all wizards. My absolute favorite. Thank you for this.
I can remember sitting in a club back in the 80’s and a guy walked in with a lady , sat down, sat quietly seemed to be engrossed in listening to the music, someone in the know said that’s Trevor horn, I said who ? … if it was him, my apologies, what a Legend 👌🏻😎
That's crazy that people were hating on the snare drum! I loved it when it came out. I thought that was such a cool departure from the trends.
Yeah, I guess they weren’t ready to let go of the LINN snare chip 2 or whatever.
Jesus first I found out Trevor Horn did Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Duran Duran and now OWNER OF A LONELY HEART BY YES!? I’ve really gotten to live this song properly but I had forgotten about the video and helping YES creating this masterpiece of a song!! He defines a legend and the greatest producer of the 80s!!
This is a brilliant analysis by Trevor of a wonderful song. It will be 40 years old next year, but the album 90125 still sounds as fresh as a daisy.
Omg i have always been wondering about all these crazy tracks since i was a boy in the 80s how and who made these, oh wow now i can die peacefully :)
I always loved that snare sound. It was perfect for that track. Everything you did on that track was PERFECT! Masterful production. Thank you for the years of quality recordings to listen to. LOVE GREAT AUDIO.
11:42 "Pang! Drinnininoong!" Yep, that's EXACTLY how I remembered it went. LOL
HAHA
lol
Pang! Diddliddliong! 😅🎶
That cracked me up when he did that, because I know 99.9999% of the people watching this did something like it there, too. (I'm more of a Bap than a Pang, but we can all get along. 😂)
Amazing, that record was so ahead of it's time, crazy good. New version is wonderful!
I can watch and listen to this kind of thing all day, every day. Fantastic.
Love Trevor. The stuff he did on Frankie goes to Hollywood, esp. on the 12" mixes, are huge-sounding groundbreaking stuff. And it still sounds great today, (with a little bump up in the low end )
The breakdown of the 80s tracks gave me a whole new appreciation for this song, especially the nerdy tech stuff like balancing a high pitched snare with Chris's sub octave bass... brilliant.
However, I think the orchestral version was a missed opportunity. The power of an 85 piece orchestra lies in the ability to weave & mesh dozens of different parts. But here we have everyone hitting the same note. That's how soundtracks to cheesy made-for-tv movies are done.
The original "Owner" was a minimalistic song, produced brilliantly, and that was its power. In the new version, the minimalism is cranked up to 11 which defeats the purpose (sort of like Spinal Tap mocked in "Big Bottom" with 3 basses playing the same part).
Trev, I love what you're doing, but if you had an 85 piece orchestra at your disposal I would've LOVED to hear something more intricate like "Changes" or even going back to the Drama album, "Does It Really Happen" where you could've really made those orchestra musicians earn their pay!
I still consider the long album version of Welcome To The Pleasuredome to be an early taste of what later would evolve into techno. The middle part with its 4 on the floor beat, the offbeat hihats, and that room filling bass. Sonically it was light years ahead of its time and even today it's as hifi as it can get.
ya masterpiece indeed
Nah techno was already a thing mate. Detroit had it down pat. Maybe for Europe though.
Agreed. And then Trevor Horn turned the knobs to 13 for "Slave to the Rhythm"... I wouldlove to hear Trevor Horn talking about those two songs.
@@zachary6737 hello, Kraftwerk anybody?
13:35 - My new phone notification. Thank you
Always loved the song. Eventually I know a bit better why. Incredibly driving rhythm. What a perfect recording. Thanks so much for sharing!
Great Music Always....Thank you Trevor 🙏
the man who put YES back on the Billboard charts...
that song was Yes' ONLY #1 single ever, masterpiece!
The orchestra is playing the Stravinsky Firebird sample from the Fairlight, aawesome! Very meta. Incredible orchestration and performance :)
madtheory - I always wondered what sample that was. Thanks.
always wanted to know thx!
I thought it was from Firebird.
@@simonvetter2420 Oh yes, you're right. Will edit to correct.
This was my warm up song all through the 80s.
Alan's snare sound hit me like my best friend's laugh.
trevor is a producing god...period
A producing good period? Gross.
That snare is one of my favorite things in that Yes song lol.
Great to hear the Fairlight and Synclavier samples in isolation. The mix of those breaks all make sense now!!!!
I think that's the first time I've ever heard TH mention the Synclavier in a positive light, other than what Steve Lipson got out of it.
Cutting edge tech for 83. I was a big fan of AON at the time 90125 came out which is really AON/Yes.
@@jbforce10 I think he liked the Synclavier... when he delegated someone else to fiddle around with it!
Yeah, he wasn’t a fan of the Synclavier. That might be more to do with Lipson experimenting. TH was so in awe of the CMI he made it the sound of the Eighties.
Frankie and Grace Jones were not my thing back in the 80's, but listening to them more attentively 35 years on, the production on Pleasure Dome and Slave is epic.
A well preserved copy of Welcome to the Pleasure Dome on Vinyl will make anyone wonder why they bother with CD.
One of the most fascinating tunes in history! 🙏
Trevor is one of THE major influencers on 1980’s pop synth music which has been so readily mimicked in last 40 years, but rarely bettered… so sad he lost his wife.
Wow!! I was always intrigued by this track because it was waaaay ahead of it's time with the sounds and samples.I was hoping that they made more songs like this! The other version of this song is SICK!! Trevor Horn is a true musical genius!
Wunder Audio console...a dream!
That sample on the Fairlight is the beginning of the break on Funk Inc's 'Kool Is Back' 14:29
that's the kinda stuff i'd like to see on this channel :)
Sometimes even the creator of a great thing can't just leave it alone.
I always liked the snare drum sound and thought it was the center of that song.
Agreed. And I am not a fan of high tuned snare drums, quite the opposite actually....but that snare just drives it. Crazy they cut it with that gate tho. I’ve done crazy things in sessions (like a famous producer that wanted to run the singer through a DJ mixer prior to tape so they could “scratch” the singer to tape. Of course it didn’t work out. But gating a snare to tape is pretty aggressive. Nice commiment there.
Classic LinnDrum in the background. One of my favorite producers EVER!
Those are real drums
This is great! Oz behind the curtain. A rare glimpse of a master at work. Thanks to Trevor and SOS!
I.LOVE.THIS.VIDEO . All my life I've been wanting to listen to the separate tracks. THANK YOU !!!!
I liked the end bit. But ultimately the original is and always will be a stone cold classic.
legend
This is *awesome* ...thanks for posting. To get a breakdown of these songs not only brings them back to life, but gives fans a whole new perspective on them. Huge for us long-time Yes fans.
Fantastic video, this kind of multitrack analysis makes for great content!
BRILLIANT! PLEASE films more like this!
Pure gold to be able to look into this.
I'd watch a whole movie of Trevor Horn doing track surgery and also tinkering a bit with his classics!
id bring the popcorn and soda!
Taking a song where the minimalist aspect really made it work and then adding a 64 piece orchestra, horns, flutes, timpani, percussion, big modern drum sound, drum editing, more strange samples, a much more elaborate arrangement, a bee-bop inspired bridge with an organ solo, a big vocal outro with many vocal tracks, tempo changes and a big ending really fucked it.
the two minute long intro to that one sounds like the intro music to a ride at Epcot Center "Get ready for the experience of a lifetime and climb aboard the Star Voyager as we take you through the....brought to you by Qualcomm and BASF - for a brighter tomorrow!" not in a good way. why do this
Yeah- but it still sounds small. Way smaller than the original, and it sounds like fake orchestra!
Philip Brodermann they really made a mess of it... the orchestra does nothing for that song at all 🤦🏼♂️
Fascinating breakdown of the multi-track, as well as the info on the upcoming project, thank you very much!
My favorite producer in many inspiring ways. Love to hear a breakdown of Seal on whatever song you'd choose. Thank you for your great records
saw Trevor with Art of Noise way back when they toured as a 9-piece.....i've seen a lot of things but THAT was definitely one of them.
What a legend! Very informative and entertaining, thanks for posting :)
Anyone else love the originals intro which sounds like a drumkit falling down stairs followed by that crunching riff?
You say it Trevor NO MELODYNE, you got to have talent, that's the main reason those records are so good, those were the days were not only we got great musicians we got excellent producers like you, hat's off!
Long live the 80'S!
This is 50l karat solid gold....brilliant!!
This is incredible, thanks!
What a great watch, so cool! Trevor Horn is a legend!
What an awesome interview with an awesome artist, grew up hearing all this and it's in my veins as a musician, thanks!
This song introduced me to the YES catalog. Amazing musicians!! And wholy crap! This is going into my study book!
This is Fabulous Trevor Horn is now Mr Horn himself (string arrangements)
My hero of sound. Trevor is the best !
What a treat, thank you!
oh dear Lord Trevor, what have you done to this originally classic track?!
I love these ! I really get sunk into the info.
well thats interesting. good to see you here
Fantastic. The song had so much open space.
LOVE IT SO MUCH!!! Thank you Trevor!!!
What a treat to come across this on May 3, 2023 !! I really liked the original "tight" snare drum - perfect! Thank you for this - Cheers from Seattle 🍻 Alex