Those of you who are not familiar with Robin Trower's latest CD's will wonder what a rock guitar player is doing on a blues site. Robin has been playing quite a bit of blues lately and this has been reflected on his last few CD's. Many of his older songs would fit quite nicely into the current blues/rock scene. This particular double CD is comprised of two live performances. One show was taped at Pittsburgh, PA, in 1974, and the second show was taped at Seattle, Washington in 1998. The first part of the 1974 show is of slightly lesser quality due to the recording technology of the day and the fact that the vocal microphones were not turned on for part of the first song, but most of it is very good. The second CD is more diverse with a mixture of 12 songs from Trower's early
CD's and his later blues CD's. The 1998 show is more interesting since Robin seems to be more open to improvisation on most of the songs. The guitar playing is very good, as you would expect from one of the premier guitar hero's of the 70's.
It's definitely a good representation of his live show then and now. I can honestly say that since I've seen his show during both periods of his career. If you're a Robin Trower fan, you should pick this CD up for your collection. If you're a blues purist then this may not be to your liking, but if you like rock/blues music, by all means pick this CD up. The packaging is minimal, without any liner notes or fancy booklets, but the price makes up for the lack of information. The price is only $15 + shipping and for two CD's worth of music, it's a bargain.
1998 tracks
Robin Trower - Guitar & Vocals
Alvino Bennett - Drums
Livingstone Brown - Bass & Vocals
1974 tracks
Robin Trower - Guitar
Reg Isidore - Drums
Jimmy Dewar - Bass & Vocals
Stardust Enterprises, Inc
P.O. Box 27670
Los Angeles, CA 90027-0670
$15 + $3 shipping/handling
Robert T. Murphy's website: http://home.sprynet.com/~murf01
This review is copyright © 1999 by Robert T. Murphy, and Blues On Stage, all rights reserved.
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