ROBIN TROWER - STATE TO STATE: LIVE ACROSS AMERICA - 1974-1980

ROBIN TROWER
STATE TO STATE: LIVE ACROSS AMERICA 1974-1980,
OCTOBER 4  2013
118:11

DISC ONE
PHILADELPHIA (1974)
1 - Twice Removed From Yesterday/4:10
2 - Lady Love/3:00
3 - Daydream/7:40
4 - Too Rolling Stoned/5:54
5 - I Can't Wait Much Longer/6:46
6 - Day Of The Eagle/3:59
7 - A Little Bit Of Sympathy/5:09
CALIFORNIA (1974)
8 - Bridge Of Sighs/5:35
9 - Alethea/4:06
10 - Rock Me Baby/4:58

DISC TWO
ILLINOIS (1976)
1 - Daydream/10:25
2 - Same Rain Falls/3:34
3 - Sailing/5:12
4 - Long Misty Days/4:59
5 - I Can't Wait Much Longer/6:46
6 - Too Rolling Stoned/9:04
OKLAHOMA (1977)
7 - Somebody Calling/6:07
8 - Bluebird/4:18
MISSOURI (1980)
9 - The Ring/2:47
10 - Jack and Jill/3:34
11 - The Shout/2:34
12 - Hannah/1:20
13 - Victims of the Fury/3:53
14 - Mad House/3:05

Robin Trower/Guitar
James Dewar/Vocals, Bass Guitar
Reg Isidore/Drums (Disc One)
Bill Lordan/Drums (Disc Two)
Rustee Allen/Bass Guitar (Disc Two Tracks 7 & 8)

REVIEW
A two CD set released on October 04, 2013 includes twenty-four previously unissued 'live' performances by the Robin Trower band. The album includes performances recorded in Philadelphia and California (1974), Illinois (1976), Oklahoma (1977), and Missouri (1980).

The late, and supremely gifted, James Dewar sings on each track on the album, and plays bass guitar on all but two tracks on Disc 2: 'Somebody Calling' and 'Bluebird'. Robin was feeling his way into a new phase of his career, and brought in Rustee Allen on bass guitar with the intention of exploring new rhythms, themes and sounds. Robin believed this would enable Jimmy Dewar to concentrate on fresh ways of delivering his distinctive and expressive voice. Whether this experiment was successful, or not, is left to the listener to decide, and also those lucky to see the different groups in performance. I believe the personnel change, while 'changing' the scope of Robin's music, left James Dewar, musically and personally, exposed on stage without his bass guitar.              

All of the tracks on Disc 1 feature the magnificent drumming of the late Reg Isidore. Disc 2 highlights a significant change to the group; Bill Lordan replacing Reg Isidore on drums. Both magnificent musicians, with different musical identities and style.

This 'live' collection contains music of the highest caliber (even where the recordings are of a low standard) played by superb musicians, and fronted by a guitar player who pushes himself to the limit each time he takes to the stage.

For me, the highlight of the performances are those recorded in Illinois, during 1976. All of the tracks, especially, 'Daydream', the wonderful 'Same Rain Falls', and 'Too Rolling Stoned' contain some of Robin's most expressive, moving, and inventive guitar playing. His excellent musicianship, guitar tone, and use of effects, confirm that Robin had arrived at an artistic peak. This, however, could not have been achieved without the evocative, subtle, and tremendous James Dewar on vocals & bass, and Bill Lordan on drums, who both combined to create a tight and superb rhythm section.  

A striking feature of the recordings is the power, texture, and soulful voice of James Dewar. At times, the unique quality of Jimmy's voice elevates itself above the atmospheric music, and the listener is drawn to the magical and beautiful expressiveness of his vocals. Magnificent music.
BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
Throughout his long and winding solo career, guitarist Robin Trower has had to endure countless comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix's bluesy/psychedelic, Fender Strat-fueled playing style. Born on March 9, 1945, in Catford, England, Trower spent the early '60s playing guitar in various London based outfits; the most successful one being the R&B group the Paramounts, who specialized mostly in covers, but managed to issue several singles between 1963 and 1965. It wasn't until 1967 that Trower received his big break however, when he joined Procol Harum. The group had just scored a worldwide smash hit with "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but the only problem was that the band's leader, singer/pianist Gary Brooker, didn't have a proper band to back him. Brooker was previously a bandmate of Trower's in the Paramounts, and offered the guitar slot in his new fast-rising project to his old friend. As a result, Trower appeared on such Procol Harum classics as 1967's Procol Harum, 1968's Shine on Brightly, 1969's A Salty Dog, 1970's Home (which spawned the popular Trower tune "Whiskey Train"), and 1971's Broken Barricades.

While Procol Harum helped launch Trower's career, the guitarist realized there was limited space for his guitar work, and eventually left for a solo career. Enlisting singer/bassist James Dewar and drummer Reg Isidore (who was soon replaced by Bill Lordan) as a backing band, Trower issued his solo debut, Twice Removed From Yesterday, in 1973. The album barely left a dent in the U.S. charts, but that would change soon enough with his next release, 1974's Bridge of Sighs. With rock fans still reeling from Hendrix's death a few years earlier, the album sounded eerily similar to the late guitarist's work with the Jimi Hendrix Experience (especially his 1968 release, Electric Ladyland), and as a result, the album sky rocketed into the U.S. Top Ten, peaking at number seven.

Although Bridge of Sighs was to be his most popular solo release, Trower's stock continued to rise throughout the mid-'70s, as he became an arena headliner on the strength of such hit albums as 1975's For Earth Below, 1976's Robin Trower Live!, and Long Misty Days, plus 1977's In City Dreams. Further releases followed, yet by the dawn of the '80s, it became quite obvious that Trower's star was rapidly fading, as each album sold less than its predecessor. A brief union with ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce spawned a pair of releases, 1981's B.L.T. and 1982's Truce, before Trower returned back to his solo career.

The '80s saw Trower try and expand his audience with several releases that attempted to update his blues-rock style (such as 1987's slick produced Passion), but none returned the guitarist back to the top of the charts. During the early '90s, Trower returned back to Procol Harum for a brief reunion (1991's Prodigal Stranger), before backing ex-Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry on a few releases (1993's Taxi and 1994's Mamouna, the latter of which Trower earned a co-producer credit for). Trower continued to issue solo albums in the 21st century (2000's Go My Way), while a steady stream of live sets and compilations appeared. Trower returned to work with Ferry once more on 2002's Frantic, again earning a production credit. Reassembling most of his late-'80s band, Trower released Living Out of Time in 2004 and returned with Another Days Blues in late 2005. What Lies Beneath appeared in 2009 from V-12 Records.
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