Customer Reviews

Long Misty Days/in City Dreams

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I've been a Robin Trower fan since hearing the first note he recorded with Procol Harum. I kind of lost track of him after his outing with Jack Bruce but have recently begun to acquire on CD what I have on album.
BGO is pairing up some of the old Trower albums in order of issue. Unlike the last set (For Earth Below and Robin Trower Live), the two albums here complement one another in such a way that it seems they should have been issued together.
I like Trower's hard-rocking songs, there are plenty on offer here: Same Rain Falls, Hold Me, Pride, Further On Up The Road, and Caledonia. But I also like his more experimental and innovative side: Somebody Calling, Smile, Love's Gonna Bring You Round, and In City Dreams. Guitar lovers will thrill to Trower's heroics and James Dewar's matchless voice gives depth and soul to his music in much the same way that Jack Bruce's vocals expressed the soul of Cream.
There is also a softer angle to some of Trower's songs which sometimes works very well, as on Sweet Wine of Love and Little Girl, though Dewar's voice is usually at it's best on the grittier songs.
Long Misty Days and In City Dreams feature some of the best of Robin Trower's early solo work. If you have been with Trower all along, you already know that. But if you are a recent convert. this is one of the key recordings you should add to your collection. BGO has put together a pairing that really works and is worth every penny of the price.

Oh boy, where to begin?

"Long Misty Days" chugs along with the intesity of all Trower's blues-driven rock albums, and is a solid listen. However, "In City Dreams" is the ultimate listening experience. The atmosphere on this album is THICK. It's 40 minutes of hypnotic listening, from the haunting "Somebody Calling" to the optimistic "Smile" to the incredible title track. The guitar work is impeccable; the songwriting phenomenal. Not a popular Trower album, but if you want pure emotion combined with beautiful guitar effects and vocals, this is IT!

Individually, either one of these albums is a good listen. But as a 2 for 1 CD, it's a must. Neither is an example of Trower's most demonstrative work - he solos much more intensely on, say his "Bridge of Sighs" CD, one often compared to Hendrix sound. But there are some similarities. There's no "Too Rolling Stoned's" but tunes like "Same Rain Falls" and Trower's version of "Caledonia" seem to fit the "Day of the Eagle" mold, and "Long Misty Days" and "Hold Me" (All from the "Long Misty Day's" end of this 2 for 1 CD) do bear a resemblence to other elements of the "B.O.S." CD. Though collectively, they don't set the same mood as effectively. That's where "Long Misty Days" benefits from being paired with the "In City Dreams" CD. Add this title track to that CD, along with "Somebody's Calling, Sweet Wine of Life, Bluebird" and "Smile" and, minus a few seemingly out of place tunes in between, you have a great sampling of Trower at his mood setting best. Not the tour de force work that Trower-ites will compare to other guitarists of the time. But as for work that creates a feel, sprinkeled with plenty of Trower flavor, this is a great CD. "In City Dreams" represents Trower's last stylish venture. The mid 80s seemed to create something of an identity crisis to Trower and subsequent CDs would tend to meander a bit. Knowing that, to acquire both these recordings on one CD is an opportunity to good to pass up. Also, the remastering of these CDs makes this CD even more of a treat. The sound is fabulous.

Boy, that combination of Robin Trower and Jimmy Dewar just grows on me more and more every time I listen to this stuff. They were made to play together, from the sound of it...

Some really good stuff on this Cd -I particularly liked "Some Rain falls", "Long Misty Days" and "I Can't Live Without You". I have LIVED that song... they hit that one out of the park. All in all, I can heartily recommend this CD to you.

Robin is absolutely one of the most talented, most underated guitarists in the world. Why he's not a household name is beyond me. Must be too talented???

While Long Misty Days is a pretty good album, it does unfortunately show signs of either a decline or maybe a slight misstep. Not a BIG drop in quality compared to the previous three studio albums mind you, but the album immediately has a different feel. You'll notice this right away.

"I Can't Live Without You" is a brilliant song. The guitar playing reminds me of Ritchie Blackmore is several spots, and the vocals are just... absolutely *beautiful*. This track is the definition of dreaminess.

The title song is another fantastic song. In fact it may even be better than the previous track I mentioned. It's another song that keeps my attention with a highly melodic and dreamy vocal melody, and in fact, despite being almost 6 minutes long, the vocals pretty much dominate the entire track. The guitar playing in this one is few and far between, but that hardly matters. This song is a winner.

I could probably do without this version of "Sailing". It's not a bad version, but it's not as good as Rod Stewart's IMO. A lack of memorable guitar lines is another problem- this song badly needed some guitar lines in between the vocal melody.

"Hold Me" reminds me of the Stormbringer era of Deep Purple. Soulful vocal melody, and a groovy rhythm- I can dig it, baby.

Overall, I'm impressed with this album, but it does have a few weak songwriting moments. Perhaps if the songs were longer allowing Robin to contribute more of his tasty guitar licks, it would be able to stand on the same level as the first three Robin Trower albums. As it stands, it's just a solid rock album.

In City Dreams review

Emotionally the music of Robin Trower knows *exactly* how to trigger a sad reaction out of the listener: by implementing soulful guitar playing and vocals.

By the year 1977, Robin Trower had begun changing ever so slightly into a more straight forward rock band with less focus on Robin's emotional blues guitar soloing. However, what the guitar might lack, the vocals pick up the slack.

These are seriously some of the most touching vocal melodies the band ever created up to this point in time. Right here, right now. Not on Bridge of Sigh, not For Earth Below, the magnificent vocals are showcased on *this* album.

And the songwriting? The songwriting is probably as good as ever. "Smile" has some of the dreamiest vocals I've ever heard... well, right next to the title track which is ANOTHER dreamy track... but both of these songs can't compete next to the dreamiest tune to end all dreams! That being the heavenly vocals featured on "Little Girl". Talk about THREE songs that move me immediately and passionately.

"Falling Star" rocks hard, "Somebody Calling" is just plain awesome thanks to the 2-minute plus guitar intro, and the only weak point is perhaps "Love's Gonna Bring You Down" (but it's not *that* bad- at least it has pretty solid vocals).

Overall, Robin Trower fans who haven't yet heard In City Dreams, I can assure you- the disco movement didn't distract from what the band had created here. This is solid songwriting from beginning to end with vocals so good describing them is simply beyond words.

These two-fer Robin Trower albums are great items because the original LPs were relatively short. If any of the tracks don't work for you, chances are two or three others will get you pressing repeat or turning up the volume. Classic stuff, if you are a fan of Trower and James Dewar. If not, you may be my wife, and you should go back to your Bee Gees LPs. Get these now, I doubt they will be available for long.

Well Robin outdid himself again. That's a usual procedure with him. These two albums sound different, but then Long Misty Days has remnants of his earlier work on them too. Very nice work however. In City Dreams has very slick low register guitar lines in it that really stick in your head. It's a moderate tempo piece that rolls along and takes you with it. I've heard people say that Robin is trying to rip off Jimi Hendrix. Nothing is further from the truth. If you've listen to Jimi at all and then Robin, the difference is night and day. They have two completely different techniques and sounds. Nobody will ever replace Jimi, and like wise no one will ever replace Robin either. I have tried to emulate Robin and I just get lost. I don't think it can be done. These two albums deserve to be in your collection along with Twice Removed From Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs. GO ON Buy them!!! Trust me you'll be glad you did. You're not buying the London Bridge just really great ! music!

Long Misty Days marks the 2nd phase to Trower's career. Following a trio of classic albums plus a powerful live record released in '74; Long Misty Days was released in 1976 marks a tenture of obscure albums from him and band. His orignal 3 albums remain his most known but the mid/late 70's work also have some great songs waiting to be rediscovered.
Opening with Same Rain Falls, its a standard style Trower song, not a powerful opener but still hits its marks. As does Hold Me, offering some more blues the band was known for. Caledonia features some more imperssive cymbal work from Bill Lorden which we heard alot of in From Earth Below, his debut with the band. Pride brings the album back to classic Trower territory, a nice rocker with a memorable chorus it gives way to Islands. Another great ballad style track easily on par with his classic slow burn favorites like Hannah and In This Place, only replacing the more spacey nature of those songs with a gentle approach. It's an essential. SMO another good rocker along with I Can't Live Without You offers a more variation on the blues/rock style formula the band had perfected in the past only offering a slight more mainstream sound. Messin' The Blues is of course what it says. A dirty blooze style number more commonly found on an early Fleetwood Mac album. The major highlight besides Islands though is of course the title track. A heart wrenching riff provides this sedate slightly spacey piece into another Trower masterpiece.

1977's In City Dreams offers another dose of the core Trower band sound only another slight variation. the opener Somebody Calling has a nice more mellow rock feel to it. There's a groove but this is the album where the band really loses alot of its more aggressive rock energy in favor for slowed down material. Also interesting to note, new bassist Rustee Allen joins the band while bassist/vocalist Dewar moves over to strictly vocals. Sweet Wine Of Love has a nice mellow groove and its mainstream lyrics and more funkier bass work (notable popping techniques used here not familar of Dewar's style) def make you notice a change in style. It's a highlight for sure as is Bluebird another song that reminds you of Hendrix's One Rainy Wash, a gently and lovely ballad punctuated by Dewars sweet vocal. Falling Star and Farther Up On The Road offer a little more of old Trower. Ala For Earth Below, funky more uptempo rockers that compliment the mellow songs nicely. Smile once again has a real burning groove that sounds like something George Clinton would be doing and Loves Gonna Bring You Around has a nice more melodic blues rock approach. Closed out with the title track in more mellow fashion this is a different more mainstream Robin Trower but that shouldnt stop you from owning these albums just listening with a different ear than you would Bridge Of Sighs.

I have a copy of this in my car dubbed or burned from this and I have found that this works great because the first half (Long Misty Days) is more upbeat like at the beginning of the trip and the second half (In City Dreams) is more mellow like you're winding down at the end of your journey. Two great albums in one and it makes driving a pleasure.

These two albums are good examples of panning for gems among stones. LONG MISTY DAYS is in the same vein as the first three Trower studio albums before it, but there's just something off about it. Except for the title track and "Caledonia," none of the songs are particularly good, and the playing and singing mostly sound rote, if technically accomplished. That title track, though, is fantastic, right up there with "Bridge of Sighs" as one of Trower's best slow power dirges. IN CITY DREAMS is an interesting experiment in getting more of a "soul groove" feel to Trower's mix, and I actually think a lot of it is just fine. "Somebody Calling," "Falling Star," "Smile" and the title track are particularly good, one reason being that the late James Dewar was in great singing form here and his soulful tenor finally has parity with Trower's equally soulful guitar.

In sum, these are two albums that have their moments, though they aren't Robin Trower's best, and if you're patient (or forgiving of some lapses), you'll be rewarded.