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‘Long Misty Days’ (Chrysalis)
In March this year Robin Trower described his last album ‘Robin Trower
Live’ as the best thing the band had put on record. By now, he should have revised his opinion, because ‘Long Misty Days’ stands as his finest achievement to date.
Unfortunately, there is one serious
flaw on this collection – ‘Sailing’ the Sutherland Brothers / Rod Stewart song that has become a rock and roll cliché faster than anything in recent years.
No matter, because even Robin Trower is
allowed an error of judgment and he more than makes up for it. There are at least four instant classics here, which will rapidly become a standard feature of Trower’s live repertoire.
First, there is a mood
on this album, which previous Trower studio works have lacked. It is an almost imperceptible feeling of confidence which lasts undiminished from track one, side one, till the grooves run out.
During this
time Trower contributes, through his guitar, a beautifully controlled selection of styles – from the straight-ahead funky boogie of ‘Messin’ the Blues’ and the scintillating runs on ‘Caledonia’ to the
controlled fury of ‘Long Misty Days’.
Furthermore, the band itself has greater coherence ten in the past. Bill Lordan has honed his art to a fine point of economy and technical excellence, which he has
never before reached.
James Dewar’s bass work is more strident and confident which his vocals are an impressive exercise in mid-Seventies blues singing. And that is the crux of the matter. Trower himself
has always professed his near-worship of the old blues masters and has continually stressed is what he plays. But argument has lacked conviction before.
Trower’s detractors have harped on what they supposed
was his debt to Hendrix. But they were missing the point. There was a flaw in Trower’s musical make-up, which had nothing to do with Hendrix.
They both tried to play the blues in the context of their
present day surroundings and experience, but instead produced a filtered form, which was influenced by blues but not actually blues itself.
Hendrix, however, was one of the first to experiment in this manner
and thus collected the kudos. When Trower went through the same experiences he was branded as a Hendrix impersonator.
But now with ‘Long Misty Days’ he has achieved the summit he has always strived for
before – he is finally playing the blues. The honest to God 1976 electric blues. And it’s a pleasure to hear.
The title track is a slow tortured song with tremendous feel for mood and emotion. The
heavily fuzzed guitar and bass contrast superbly with Lordan’s inventive and scintillating cymbal work.
Dewar’s voice has just the right air of angst about it, echoed by Trower’s solo runs. The same
mood is echoed in ‘I can’t live without you’ a theme to desolation and desertion.
This is Jimmy Dewar’s finest moment, something that is sensed by Trower, who takes a sympathetic back seat to his
colleague’s vocals. In contrast, the trio shake loose a little on ‘Caledonia’ and ‘Pride’, two fine medium-paced rockers on which Trower is in characteristically clever and speedy form.
‘Same
rain falls’ is a pile driver of an opening track with Bill Lordan pushing things along like a stagecoach driver cracking the whip. Dewar and Trower perform an impressive double act with the lead playing little
embellishments around the chunky bass lines.
The final track ‘Messin’ the Blues’ is a ready-made show-closer, destined to supplant Trower’s current favourite ‘Rock me baby’. It’s a basic Bo
Diddley beat, which allows the band to really hang loose. Great stomping stuff.
In the context of all these fines numbers, it’s little wonder that a re-work of ‘Sailing’ sticks out like a broken guitar
string. It’s competent for sure but the feeling of the song doesn’t fit into the overall mood.
Never mind, you can always skip this one. It’s a fine album, full of fire, skill and taste and destined to
be Trower’s biggest hit to date on both sides of the Atlantic.
Brian Harrigan, Melody Maker.
RTL Webmaster’s Note: 1976 is still the best, yet to be topped, year for Trower
fans in the UK. A spring tour, London dates in the autumn and not one but two great albums.
But it would be audiences amassed in the USA which would make more noise, tempting our hero to move his operation
across the waters. It would be four years until Robin’s next live dates in the UK.
In the meantime, Robin delivered three of his most thoughtful rock funk albums– ‘In City Dream’, ‘Caravan to
Midnight’ and ‘Victims of the Fury’. All firm favourites here despite what UK critics might say here.
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