Robin Trower

[MAXIFUNK]

ROBIN TROWER seems to never get the credit or acknowledgment he so justly deserves.

This just one of his many great songs.
Do you have a favorite TROWER song?

 

[Zip]

He comes every year to a club in my little village (same place Johnny Winter comes every year, and lots of others). So I'll see him again this February. Bonnamassa's coming this month, too. I'm a lucky guy. :rockya

 

[ZMAN]

I have always maintained that Bridge of Sighs is one of the top Rock albums of all time.
I recently discovered him as a blues Artist. Another days Blues is an amazing album.
Zip: Please stop it you are killing me.
Robin is the reason I have so many Fulltone pedals. LOL
And of course a BFM. (Big Fargen Marshall)

 

[marnold]

Natch:

 

[tunghaichuan]

I saw him live a couple of times back in the late '80s when I was in college. The first time I got to see him live for free. One of my friends was a journalism student and got free tickets so that she could see and review the show. I believe it was to support his In the Line of Fire album.

The main thing I remember was that he was ungodly loud. The venue was fairly small and he had four 100W Marshall stacks. My ears rang a couple of days after that show.

Great player, and great live. :rockya

 

[Jimi75]

I really dig his playing and his songwriting. His sound is awesome, as is his playing, and yes he's the perfect Fulltone user. Mike can be proud of such an endorser.

My favourite song is "Day Of The Eagle".

 

[Spudman]

I've been greatly influenced by Robin. I about wore this album out while I was out on the road.

 

[Eric]

To be brutally honest, I think part of the reason he doesn't get much credit is because of how he looks. I've heard a few stories about people never taking off musically because of their looks (either butter face or weight).

Seeing pictures of Trower in his younger years, I have to wonder if this was something that factored in.

 

[ZMAN]

The one thing I can't get over with him is that if you hear him in a live, situation say on a DVD, and he plays one of his songs, it sound exactly note for note the way he played it on the mixed record version. It is really amazing.

 

[The Fender Bender]

Thanks for that MAXIFUNK I love that song & I just went & dug my old vinyl copy out & let it rip.
Cheers. :dance

 

[Zip]

To be brutally honest, I think part of the reason he doesn't get much credit is because of how he looks.

Ever seen Slash close up?

Case closed.

 

[Eric]

Ever seen Slash close up?

No, but now I'm curious; can you direct me to any good pictures? Thing about him though is that he at least has the good sense to hide it under a mop, sunglasses, and a big hat.

 

[marnold]

To be brutally honest, I think part of the reason he doesn't get much credit is because of how he looks. I've heard a few stories about people never taking off musically because of their looks (either butter face or weight).

Seeing pictures of Trower in his younger years, I have to wonder if this was something that factored in.

If this were the 80s-onward I'd say that might have something to do with it. In the 70s that wasn't as much of an issue (otherwise it's hard to explain the careers of, say, Tom Petty and Keith Richards). Video did, in fact, kill the radio star (see Cross, Christopher). I would think a good chunk of it is that a) he never set out to be commercial, and b) too many people considered him to be just a Hendrix rip-off artist.

 

[Eric]

If this were the 80s-onward I'd say that might have something to do with it. In the 70s that wasn't as much of an issue (otherwise it's hard to explain the careers of, say, Tom Petty and Keith Richards). Video did, in fact, kill the radio star (see Cross, Christopher). I would think a good chunk of it is that a) he never set out to be commercial, and b) too many people considered him to be just a Hendrix rip-off artist.

Interesting points. I'll buy that explanation.

 

[Katastrophe]

This one's my favorite - slow and moody!



Thanks, Maxifunk, for reminding me of an artist that I don't listen to enough.

 

[Zip]

OK, Eric - which one is Slash, and which one is your Aunt Theresa from Brooklyn?

 

[msteeln]

If this were the 80s-onward I'd say that might have something to do with it. In the 70s that wasn't as much of an issue (otherwise it's hard to explain the careers of, say, Tom Petty and Keith Richards).

I'd say it's big part, the first thing I thot when I first saw his pic was 'boy, he's got an uphill battle'. But once the music plays, you know he's sincere, and that's what matters.

Keef had Mick (who wasn't much himself...), and went for bad boy reputation over looks, and Petty looked OK when he first hit big. If starting off in today's market, both would have different careers.

 

[Eric]

Keef had Mick (who wasn't much himself...), and went for bad boy reputation over looks, and Petty looked OK when he first hit big. If starting off in today's market, both would have different careers.

I dunno. It's not all Taylor Swifts and Jonas Brothers out there these days. The band Fall Out Boy is/was pretty big in some emo-pop circles, and look at their lead singer:

I think it depends on how you go about marketing yourself, but as you say, some people do have 'an uphill battle.'

 

[bigoldron]

Natch:

THIS is my favorite Trower song. I LOVE the Bridge of Sighs album. I've got it on CD and listen to it all the time. Too Rolling Stoned and Bridge of Sighs are really good songs too.

 

[oldguy]

I always liked Trower's music. I used to think he'd of had more commercial success had he been a singer as well as guitarist, like Jimi was, but that might have just pigeonholed him more as a Jimi copycat, I don't know.
Frank Marino sang as well as played, yet had limited commercial success, despite being a great talent, same as Robin.
I know I had Bridge of Sighs and Mahogany Rush/Live on the turntable so much I wore them out.
Great players and songwriters, and both still making music, good music.

 

[Eric]

I always liked Trower's music. I used to think he'd of had more commercial success had he been a singer as well as guitarist, like Jimi was, but that might have just pigeonholed him more as a Jimi copycat, I don't know.

So...question about this. Wasn't SRV the ultimate Jimi copycat? He may have been, what, more blues-oriented than Jimi, right? But his attire, all of the playing tricks, the covers, everything screams Hendrix to me. Why does he get worshiped while Trower is seen as a copycat?

Listening to some of Bridge of Sighs, I can see why Trower wasn't that commercially successful. From my limited listens, it seems to be a nice record, but just not that catchy. I think you need hooks to sell.

 

[marnold]

So...question about this. Wasn't SRV the ultimate Jimi copycat? He may have been, what, more blues-oriented than Jimi, right? But his attire, all of the playing tricks, the covers, everything screams Hendrix to me. Why does he get worshiped while Trower is seen as a copycat?

Trower's general sound is more Hendrix-y than SRV. When I think of SRV's overall work, I think of an Albert King fan who also did some Hendrix covers. The other thing is that Trower was a contemporary of Hendrix whereas SRV certainly was not.

 

[MAXIFUNK]

Maybe since I was in Detroit during that time frame but Robin Trower was played constantly on the radio there.I thought it that way everywhere.
He was getting as much air time as Zep, Aerosmith, Kiss (Detroit favs at the time) and more than the Stones and the Who.