Motherfucking Robin Trower

[Hardrock69]

Recently I got a boot Robin Trower DVD of a French TV broadcast in 1973. Not long, only about 20-25 minutes long. Original lineup (James Dewarr/Reg Isidore rhythm section). Day Of The Eagle has different lyrics.

If you can find this and you care anything about rock music, it is a worthy addition to any collection.

It has been one of my favourite acquisitions, and am watching it now.

Three badass muffukkers!!!! Especially on "Little Bit O' Sympathy". And a killer version of "Spellbound"!

Ha....guess what? It be on yootoob.

Here Part 1:

YouTube - Robin Trower - Live 1973 - part 1 of 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLLu2VMMkmE)

Here Part 2

YouTube - Robin Trower - Live 1973 - part 2 of 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6aIrHnx2cY&feature=related)

Part 3

YouTube - Robin Trower - Live 1973 - part 3 of 3 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdEJCjW8k28&feature=related)

[GreenBayLA]

haha as a casual fan I assumed Robin sang too. Interesting version of Day of the Eagle but I prefer version 2.0 lyrics

Waldo2384 had this insightful observation:
That guitarist looks like Robin Hood fucked a Keebler elf.

[chefcraig]

At that time, "DOTE" was using the working title of "Another Day, Another night". "Spellbound" eventually was retitled "Daydream".

If you are enjoying this, pick up either the 1999 or 2007 remasters of Bridge Of Sighs. The former has some live tracks from 1974, while the latter has a bunch of tracks from 1974 and 1975 from the John Peel show.

[Kristy]

Wasn't he the guy who was heavily criticized at the time for being a strait-out-of-the-box Hendrix clone/rip off? I only had heard of him because he was producing Bryan "Christ, this guy so annoys me" Ferry at one time.

http://www.virginmedia.com/images/bryan-ferry-gal-models.jpg

Life is full of surprises, I guess.

[ELVIS]

Trower admitted to being a "Hendrix like trio" years ago...

He loved the idea...so do I...


:elvis:

[chefcraig]

Wasn't he the guy who was heavily criticized at the time for being a strait-out-of-the-box Hendrix clone/rip off?

Pretty much. He had one magnificent album, and several pretty good ones. He had a good run between 1974 and 1982, then pretty much fell off the map. Sadly, the band's bassist and lead vocalist Jim Dewar passed away from a long illness in 2002.

Trower has recorded three albums with Jack Bruce, but you could barely make one worthwhile compilation cassette out of them, even if it was 15 minutes per side. :(

Say what you will about his inspiration, at least it wasn't as questionable as that of Frank Marino (and Mahogany Rush), who claimed the spirit of Hendrix came to him and told him to play guitar. Apparently, Hendrix also told him to steal every last lick he had, as well.

[Kristy]

Was it 'Bridge Of Sighs'? I only know that from working in a music store when there was a player of two in there that would churn out the riff to 'Lady Love' - and that's not bad riff, either.

[ELVIS]

Yes...

[chefcraig]

Yep, that was it. If you take a good look at the album cover, you'll more than likely figure out what the title refers to.

http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/4160/albumbridgeofsighs.jpg (http://img193.imageshack.us/i/albumbridgeofsighs.jpg/)

[Kristy]

Hehe - I can see it has no relation to the Bridge Of Sighs in Oxford, England

http://daviding.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/02/20070902_oxford_bridge_of_sighs.jpg

[Kristy]

...at least it wasn't as questionable as that of Frank Marino (and Mahogany Rush), who claimed the spirit of Hendrix came to him and told him to play guitar. Apparently, Hendrix also told him to steal every last lick he had, as well.

No idea as to who that is (I'm much too lazy to Google) but take him as being the Green Day of his...day? Y' know, where you blatantly steal every riff, tone, look and attitude all of that have gone before only to claim it as your own.

[chefcraig]

You tell me...

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/skLEPoFf7h4&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/skLEPoFf7h4&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

[Kristy]

Oh my! That's horrible! He even goes one step further and tries to imitate Hendrix's voice.

[ELVIS]

It is very Hendrix-like...

[Hardrock69]

Say what you will about his inspiration, at least it wasn't as questionable as that of Frank Marino (and Mahogany Rush), who claimed the spirit of Hendrix came to him and told him to play guitar.

Ahh no. He never claimed anything of the sort.

Here is what he has to say on the matter, posted at the mahoganyrush.com site:


It was during those days that his experimentation with LSD would lead him to what was later to become the definition of his life. As a young person doing far too much acid, he couldn't really understand when it finally caught up with him and gave him such an incredibly vivid experience that was so overwhelming, that it landed him in the hospital. "This experience became the basis of everything that I was to do in music, including the name Mahogany Rush, which was a description I would use to describe a certain sensation that I was having on the trip. The artwork on the albums, Child of the Novelty and Strange Universe are an artist's rendition of my trip as told by me to the artist, Ivan Schwartz, who has since passed away".

Since this early drug experience later became known to the press that covered his career, and since he played much in the style of Jimi Hendrix who had recently died, these sensationalists created stories that to this very day Frank has tried immensely and unsuccessfully to dismiss. "The most often heard story is that I took an overdose and woke up from a coma in the hospital and somehow became the spirit of Hendrix, or that I met this spirit and it entered me, endowing me with this amazing ability to play a guitar and magically know everything about it. Later on the story changed into a version that said I was in a car accident, died and came back as Jimi Hendrix in my body. They never ask me the truth and when I told them, they wouldn't listen. The short truth about it is that I learned how to play guitar while recuperating from my trip. The guitar became a soothing help for me because of my great fear of letting my mind wander back into the trip if I wasn't occupied and besides it was the only thing in the hospital relaxation room. I never even thought about the guitar before since I played the drums quite well anyway. I had this trip while Hendrix was still alive and began to play his music because it matched perfectly to what I was going through at the time".

[chefcraig]

Ahh no. He never claimed anything of the sort.

Friend, I was up, around and taking in solid foods when the guy first offered those Hendrix statements in CREEM and Circus magazines in the early seventies. I'm sure those comments appear naive and more than a little embarrassing, seen in the harsh light of today. It comes as no surprise that he'd attempt a little revisionist history as a form of damage control, but I assure you (as someone who was there at the time) that it was Marino himself, and not a group of "sensationalists" that first offered the remarks.
;)

[ZahZoo]

Friend, I was up, around and taking in solid foods when the guy first offered those Hendrix statements in CREEM and Circus magazines in the early seventies. I'm sure those comments appear naive and more than a little embarrassing, seen in the harsh light of today. It comes as no surprise that he'd attempt a little revisionist history as a form of damage control, but I assure you (as someone who was there at the time) that it was Marino himself, and not a group of "sensationalists" that first offered the remarks.
;)

Exactly!! I was around too and recall reading that crap in interviews. Actually if you listen to all of Marino's albums... most of his work sounded nothing like Hendrix. He did a song called Electronic Reflections of War that mirrored the feedback of guns, bombs, etc like Henrix's Machine Gun and Star Spangled Banner. For years he'd play Purple Haze as an encore song... beyond that he was no Hendrix. More of a funk, blues and electric blues rock genre.

For Trower... during his peak solo period after Procal Harum who opened for Hendrix in 1967... some compared his tone and electric blues style to Hendrix but it was his use of the Uni-Vibe effect that Jimi used a lot in his last 2 years with us.

Trower was performing and touring with PH during 67-70 while Hendrix was at his peak. Clearly an influence but far, far from a copy-cat. More of a product of that era in the UK.

Procal Harum was one of the 1st "progressive" rock bands using classical song structures within rock compositions. After leaving PH in 1971... Trower focused more on electric blues.

[Hardrock69]

Well, I can only go by what he says, as I read all that crap too when it came out (I was in high school), and he claims that the journalists who interviewed him back in the day made all that stuff up.

Doesn't matter really, he is one of the most kickass guitarists I have ever seen in my life. :D