Throughout
his long and winding solo career, guitarist Robin Trower has had to
endure countless comparisons to Jimi Hendrix, due to his uncanny ability to channel Hendrix's
bluesy/psychedelic, Fender Strat-fueled playing style. Born on March 9,
1945, in Catford, England, Trower spent the early '60s playing guitar in
various London based outfits; the most successful one being the R&B
group the Paramounts, who specialized mostly in
covers, but managed to issue several singles between 1963 and 1965. It
wasn't until 1967 that Trower received his big break however, when he
joined Procol Harum. The group had just scored a worldwide
smash hit with "A Whiter Shade of Pale," but the only problem
was that the band's leader, singer/pianist Gary Brooker, didn't have a proper band to back him. Brooker
was previously a bandmate of Trower's in the Paramounts, and offered the guitar slot in his new fast-rising project to
his old friend. As a result, Trower appeared on such Procol Harum classics as 1967's Procol Harum, 1968's Shine on Brightly, 1969's A Salty Dog, 1970's Home (which spawned the popular Trower tune
"Whiskey Train"), and 1971's Broken Barricades. While Procol Harum helped launch Trower's career, the guitarist realized there was
limited space for his guitar work, and eventually left for a solo career.
Enlisting singer/bassist James Dewar and drummer Reg Isidore (who was soon replaced by Bill Lordan) as a backing band, Trower issued his solo debut, Twice Removed From Yesterday, in 1973. The album barely
left a dent in the U.S. charts, but that would change soon enough with
his next release, 1974's Bridge of Sighs. With rock fans still reeling
from Hendrix's death a few years earlier, the album
sounded eerily similar to the late guitarist's work with the Jimi Hendrix Experience (especially his 1968 release, Electric Ladyland), and as a result, the album
sky rocketed into the U.S. Top Ten, peaking at number seven. Although Bridge of Sighs was to be his most popular
solo release, Trower's stock continued to rise throughout the mid-'70s,
as he became an arena headliner on the strength of such hit albums as
1975's For Earth Below, 1976's Robin Trower Live!, and Long Misty Days, plus 1977's In City Dreams. Further releases followed,
yet by the dawn of the '80s, it became quite obvious that Trower's star
was rapidly fading, as each album sold less than its predecessor. A brief
union with ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce spawned a pair of releases, 1981's B.L.T.and 1982's Truce, before Trower returned back to his solo
career. The '80s saw Trower try and expand his audience with several
releases that attempted to update his blues-rock style (such as 1987's
slick produced Passion), but none returned the
guitarist back to the top of the charts. During the early '90s, Trower
returned back to Procol Harum for a brief reunion (1991's Prodigal Stranger), before backing ex-Roxy Music singer Bryan Ferry on a few releases (1993's Taxi and 1994's Mamouna, the latter of which Trower earned a
co-producer credit for). Trower continued to issue solo albums in the
21st century (2000's Go My Way), while a steady stream of
live sets and compilations appeared. Trower returned to work with Ferry
once more on 2002's Frantic, again earning a production
credit.
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