ROBIN TOWER
Projected sales might be modest, but Trower’s power remains undimmed. “This is the best thing I’ve ever done,” he tells us.
The challenge facing every 60s guitar god is to stay relevant in the modern age. And yet on August 4 Robin Trower will release what he considers some of his best music to date on Time And Emotion, its title a fair indication of the weighty themes within.
“I liked the title, because I’ve been around a long time,” chuckles the 72-year-old, whose breakthrough came with Procol Harum in 1967, “and emotion is the key to what I do. The Land Of Plenty is my reaction to the riots in America and an overview of poverty in the West. You’re The One is about my late wife. Bitten By The Snake is about people being hooked on drugs, basically. It’s a little bit preachy, that lyric, I know, but these are the things I feel strongly about.”
Did he consider including a few lighter moments? “When something is fundamentally blues-influenced, I’m not sure how positive it can be. But it can still be uplifting, that’s the key to it. There’s always a certain amount of joyfulness to my guitar playing, whatever I’m doing. It’s the most fun you can have – at my age, anyway.”
Despite his ‘music before fretwork’ outlook, Trower doesn’t spare the Stratocaster on these 11 tracks, many of them cocksure, wah-drenched power-blues with a hint of 1974’s solo benchmark Bridge Of Sighs. “I think there may be elements to this album that surprise people,” he says, “but there is what I would call some vintage stuff on there.
“Returned In Kind,” he says of the Hendrixian, seven-minute, slow-blues centrepiece, “is the best thing I’ve ever done, I think. It’s got all the things you’re aiming for: groove, funk, soul. My other favourite on there is What Was I Really Worth To You, which harkens back to the stuff I did earlier in my career, back in the 70s. As a guitar player, I think I’m always trying to be more soulful. It’s not about speed or anything like that. It’s all about: how soulful can you make one note? For me, it’s more about making great music than ability on the instrument.”
Soul, admits Trower, doesn’t sell like it used to. There will be just one UK concert on the back of Time And Emotion – he doesn’t anticipate ringing tills. “There’s not enough places to play where it’s worthwhile doing,” he says.
“But,” he brightens, “the most important thing with this album is that it satisfies me that I’ve done something really good. That’s the driving force. I’m trying to make better records. You’re driving for something that’s up ahead. You never get there, but you keep working at it.”
“FOR ME, IT’S MORE
ABOUT MAKING GREAT MUSIC THAN ABILITY ON THE INSTRUMENT.”
ROBIN TROWER