Back It Up 1983

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‘Back it up’ (Chrysalis CHR 1420)

It’s hard to see what went wrong with Robin Trower’s career after his success in the mid-late 70s. From being a major influence on players on both sides of the Atlantic, he dropped from sight without any apparent reason.

Still, a new album sees him with long-term ally Jimmy Dewar on vocals (still one of Rock’s finest voices). As ever, Dewar’s singing is superlative, a half-suppressed rage and emotion which, surely, puts him up there with Rodgers, Plant, Chapman, et al?

Trower’s guitar, too, remains as fluid as ever – he’s a master of the Strat/Marshall team, with a unique Blues feel and consummate technique (check the vibrato control on solos plus chord work on tracks like ‘Black to Red’ and ‘BennyDancer’ – guitar slides around like it’s on ice!).

The material on ‘Back it up’ isn’t a revolution – Trower is Trower – he’s player with his own style and a feel for electric Blues unmatched by virtually anyone else. If you’ve either written him or never tried in the first place, there’s so much about handling an electric guitar on full power with taste and feeling that can be learned from him that any player should at least give this a try.

Trower remains a definitive player in his style – you could never mistake him – he deserves far more attention than he’s been getting of late. If this album gets what it deserves, the tide should soon be turning his way again.

Unknown reviewer, UK guitar magazine (A5 format?)

This site is a howardtowers.com production realised in the UK, March 2005.
Published by Alan Howard. Contributions and comments welcome by email