Reviews

Robin Trower’s 1974 album Bridge of Sighs sent the English guitarist and ex-Procol Harum member into the stratosphere on both sides of the Atlantic.  His next four albums, including 1976’s fiery Robin Trower Live!, all followed Bridge up the charts to a Gold sales certification.  Now, that landmark LP has returned from Chrysalis Records in a new 50th anniversary edition (on both CD and vinyl) which pairs the original album with a new remix of the complete concert in proper sequence.

Having been with Procol Harum from just after the 1967 release of the band’s debut single “A Whiter Shade of Pale” up to mid-1971, Trower’s next move was to form a power trio in the vein of his hero Jimi Hendrix. James Dewar sang and played bass, while Reg Isidore initially kept time on drums. 1974’s For Earth Below brought the American-born Bill Lordan into the fold on drums, imbuing the group with a new sense of funk, drive, and urgency.

Live! was recorded on the tour for Earth at the trio’s February 3, 1975 concert in Stockholm, Sweden. For Earth Below‘s “Alathea,” “Confessin’ Midnight,” “Fine Day,” and “Gonna Be More Suspicious” were among the selections performed by Trower, Dewar, and Lordan that night, but only “Alathea” made the cut for the original Live! album. (It was rounded out by tunes from both Twice Removed from Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs.)  Trower has professed that the band only knew the concert was being aired on the radio, not taped for posterity, leading to a performance of exceptional intensity and spontaneity without the pressure of recording a live album.  Live! reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200 and No. 15 on the U.K. Albums Chart upon its release in early 1976.

This new 50th anniversary edition has been remixed from the original multitrack tapes by engineer Richard Whittaker and restores the complete concert in sequence, including those missing For Earth Below songs as well as “Day of the Eagle” and “Bridge of Sighs,” both originally recorded on the album of the latter title.  The result is the portrait of a power trio at its most powerful.  There was some controversy over the cover, which depicted the band at an outdoor stadium rather than the Stockholm Concert Hall, but – authenticity aside! – there’s no doubt the sound matches the image.

David Sinclair’s liner notes reveal that Dewar’s vocals were re-recorded for the original 1975 album, a not-uncommon occurrence in that era.  (The original engineers believed there was too much spill from the drums, and the technology did not yet exist to properly remove it.)  The previously unreleased tracks here are presented as heard on that February night in Stockholm, while as many of the original vocal tracks as possible have been seamlessly reinstated to the seven songs found on the ’75 iteration.

“Eagle” kicks off the complete show on a high-octane note.  The blues-drenched groove of the torrid “Bridge of Sighs” finds Trower taking an additional, impressive solo after the second verse.  For Earth Below’s incendiary “Gonna Be More Suspicious,” with its gravelly vocals, searing guitar, and thunderous bass, leads into another new track, “Fine Day,” with its more relaxed gait and Lordan whacking away on the cymbals.  It’s one of numerous cuts here on which Dewar shows off his soulful chops as vocalist.

The rip-roaring ode to a “Lady Love” has a near-pop-like concision, and the set cools down with the pastoral “Daydream.”  Trower dedicated it in Stockholm to Jimi Hendrix, using it as a ripe springboard for ample soloing and stretching out into a hazy reverie.  It’s not until we’re seven songs into the concert that the original album opener, “Too Rolling Stoned,” is heard.  Frenetic locomotive energy and galloping bass drive it along and it builds to a stop (“I think I have to sit this one out,” goes the lyric) before the song changes its gait.  Another unexpected, evolving Trower solo develops, with the trio locked in over Lordan’s anchoring drums.  It’s clear to see why this majestically shifting track was chosen to introduce the ’75 album.

“I Can’t Wait Much Longer” further encapsulates the grandiosity of the Trower sound:  sweeping, swooping, deliberate yet freeing.  The driving “Alathea” allows for a tight drum solo from Lordan.  (“I’ve never really been one for drum solos, to be honest,” Trower reveals in the liner notes.  “But Bill’s was short – just to the right length.  He knew how to make it musical rather than just noise.”)  The original album closer, “Little Bit of Sympathy,” is another heavy riff-rocker designed to raise the roof with a touch of danceability.

Among the most striking qualities of the complete Live! is the energy that anticipates punk and lacks the pomposity and self-importance often associated with ‘70s hard- and blues-rock; an encore of “Confessin’ Midnight” and B.B. King’s “Rock Me, Baby” closes the gig on a high and joyous note.  The audience is clapping for more as the tape ends, and the listener just might be inclined to join in, too.

The 2CD set overseen by James Batsford is handsomely packaged in a digibook format, with the discs in slots and the 24-page full-color booklet containing Sinclair’s notes and an afterword by Bill Lordan as well as copious photos and memorabilia images including tape box scans.  Phil Kinrade has mastered the audio to fine effect.

Chrysalis’ ongoing series of Robin Trower reissues has happily shed new light on the guitar hero’s ‘70s triumphs, and Robin Trower Live! is no exception.  It’s a fine day, indeed.

Robin Trower Live! is available now from Amazon in all territories.  As an Amazon affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.

2CD: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada
2LP: Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada