Essential Robin Trower

Robin Trower | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 30, 1991)
• Original Release Date: July 30, 1991
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Chrysalis
• ASIN: B000003JBC
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #87,329 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Based on his subtle playing on Procol Harum's "A Whiter Shade of Pale," no one expected Robin Trower to become an arena-rock guitar god in the '70s--a guitarist, in fact, that some pundits compared to Jimi Hendrix. Trower certainly was very much influenced by Hendrix; he loved throwing atonal fireworks into his blues-based rock, as all 16 tracks here demonstrate. Essential is the best U.S. compilation available, with tracks from all eight of his Chrysalis LPs. The only problem is that '70s and '80s FM staple "Day of the Eagle" is absent. Which is a little like calling an album Essential Hendrix and excluding "All Along the Watchtower." --Bill Holdship

Product Description

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: TROWER,ROBIN
Title: ESSENTIAL ROBIN TROWER
Street Release Date: 07/30/1991
Domestic
Genre: ROCK/POP

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Anthology of the Chrysalis Years, May 10, 2001

By 

J. E FELL "boogaloojef" (Carterville, Illinois United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Essential Robin Trower (Audio CD)

This is a single disc compilation of Robin Trower's solo work for Chrysalis from 1973-1981. Robin Trower broke away from Procol Harum after he fell under the influence of Jimi Hendrix. He switched guitars from a Gibson to a Stratocaster and went solo. He formed a power trio and played in the style of Hendrix but did not go over the top like say Frank Marino. His adaption of the style was more funky and bluesy with ethereal type ballads interspersed for contrast. He is no mere copyist however and is good song writer. Most of his songs are originals with the occasional blues cover tune thrown in for good measure. Another reason the band was successful was due in large part to the whiskey-throated vocals of bass player James Dewar. After Dewar left the band Trower's popularity began to wane. One cut on this anthology features the vocals of former Cream bass player Jack Bruce who replaced James Dewar for 2 albums. Some of my favorite tracks include "Too Rolling Stoned", "Lady Love" "Bridge Of Sighs", "Shame The Devil" and "Messin' The Blues". I was disappointed that the compilers omitted "Little Bit Of Sympathy" and "Fool & Me". That being said this is the best retrospective of Trower's solo work currently available. If you enjoy inventive 1970's era axe work, you will enjoy this disc. I also recommend the "King Biscuit Flour Hour" disc and the remastered "Bridge Of Sighs" disc with extra bonus tracks.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Anthology, Even If A Few Songs Are Absent, September 12, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Essential Robin Trower (Audio CD)

THE ESSENTIAL ROBIN TROWER is a great compilation of much (but not all) of Robin Trower's greatest work. Sure, it's missing "Little Bit Of Sympathy", "Day Of The Eagle", and "In This Place", but you do get hard-to-obtain songs such as "Hannah", "Victims Of The Fury", and the vow of caution "Gonna Be More Suspicious." This, and BRIDGE OF SIGHS, are the first Robin Trower albums to get.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars What a Great Collection!, June 3, 2002

By 

James Choma - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Essential Robin Trower (Audio CD)

Before listening to this album, I had only heard the song "Bridge of Sighs" played ad imfinitum on classic rock radio. I had also heard that Robin Trower was a good guitar player, playing in the style of Jimi Hendrix. That's all I knew. After picking up this album on a whim - I realized there was a lot more to this great guitarist than just one song.

While "Bridge of Sighs" is a stand out track - there are so many other great songs that tend to go unnoticed - "Daydream," "Lady Love," "Shame the Devil", and "Victims of the Fury" to name a few. All played in a style Robin can comfortably call his own. Yes, there are similarities to Jimi Hendrix - but who ever said that was a bad thing? As a guitar player myself, I've found that substance will always win out over style - Robin's music stands the test of time and sounds as good today as it did 30 years ago.

After listening to this, I made it a point to check out Robin's other albums and found I have a lot of catching up to do!