Robin Leonard Trower born 9th March 1945 in Catford, East London, achieved success with the highly acclaimed Procul Harum during the 1960’s and then later with his own band. Well known for his blues/rock guitar exploits and associated with a hosts of famous names such as Ronnie Montrose, Cream, and Jethro Tull to name but three. Trower has produced an epic array of music starting from 1962 to present day – with ‘Where are you going to?’ being labelled as one of his strongest albums to date by Planetmosh.
Robin is credited with Guitar, Vocals, and Bass with Chris Taggart on Drums, and Livingstone Brown also on bass, co-production and mixing/mastering. Robin created the art piece that was turned into a classy package by Graphic Artist Eric Krause.
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I think it is very fitting that the new album by Trower should be released on the legend’s Birthday, although I never really got into this maestro’s work in the early days, preferring to opt for a more metal kind of leaning, but there is no denying this man is a true genius. At 71 years of age and it seems so hard to believe, but there is no keeping a true guitar legend down.
One of my favourite tracks of yesteryear was ‘A Whiter Shade of Pale’ by Procul Harum and still remains a favourite today, of which Trower lent his hand and vocals to, so indirectly his influence did reach me, even if it was on a small level.
Today, however, listening to this album I cannot help but feel I missed out on some fantastic Trower moments of the past, but grateful to be able to catch up and savour the big sounds that he is now world famous for on this special album.
The sultry strings are just mind bending as are the contrast his vocals that prowl unconditionally. It is seriously catchy and impressive. Capturing the nostalgia of a time gone by and all out hypnotising. There is no getting away from Trower’s unmistakable sound and the way he manipulates the strings making them his own. The blues element so prominent, utterly stunning and so easy to digest.
He makes playing the guitar sound easy and effortless, so now is the time to fully immerse oneself into the timeless blues genre and just go along with the flow. This is very emotional music played by an absolute genius.
