Twice Removed From Yesterday

Robin Trower | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Capitol
• ASIN: B00000DQM6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #482,182 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Robin Trower s departure from Procol Harum he embarked upon a remarkable solo career with the aid of James Dewar (vocals and bass) and Conrad Isadore (drums). The power trio s debut release has been remastered by Grammy-winning engineer Vic Anesini and features new liner notes that include a fresh interview with Robin himself. Robin Trower s initial offering was produced by former Procol band mate Matthew Fisher and the album unleashed the full force of Trower s incredible guitar playing. The Fender Stratocaster was his weapon of choice and the sheer fury with which Robin attacked uptempo rock and blues was astonishing considering that those elements of his playing had only been hinted at in his former band. The contrast of that was the subtlety and pure lyricism that was displayed on less aggressive materiel like 'Daydream', an FM radio staple from back in the day. This is the album that paved the way to 'Bridge of Sighs' and superstardom. The Iconoclassic release is augmented by 'Take A Fast Train', the B-side of the album s first single 'Man of the World'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debut Album RE-Issued, April 12, 2010

By 

LBloom (Hollywood) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Twice Removed From Yesterday (Audio CD)

This is the beginning or as it said on the plastic cover "The Bridge to The Bridge of Sighs" an often overlooked, underrated album in my book. This is a little underproduced compared to Bridge of Sighs but is still a classic. It was only available for a long time as one of the two on one cds (with Bridge of Sighs on same cd) and then that went out of print. I guess if you want the debut of a master musician, this is it.
This would be better for the fan that is already familiar with Trower and just wants a new copy for prosperity or whatever; the new fan may be better off with "The Essential Robin Trower" as more of an overview of Robin Trower.
Solid playing on solid songs, no nonsense and yes, for those that don't know, if there are any, it is derivative of Hendrix. All in all a great debut and welcom re-release. Also includes the bonus track "Take A Fast Train"

25 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars quality recording, July 22, 2008

By 

B. E Jackson (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Twice Removed From Yesterday (Audio CD)

Update May 12, 2011.

Alright, perhaps I did make one too many comparisons to other artists in my original review of Robin Trower's Twice Removed From Yesterday, which explains all the negativity in the comments section. I should have explained the album in detail like I normally do. I'm not sure why I didn't do that originally.

Anyway, here's a better review of Twice Removed from Yesterday.

What instantly strikes me about this album is the mood. It's dreamy yes, but underneath the beautiful guitar playing and vocal melodies I sense a fairly melancholy and depressing vibe. It's like being in heaven alone.

"Daydream" contains shades of Jimi Hendrix in the guitar solos and atmosphere, but what blows me away is how HUGE the music sounds. This is definitely different from most 70's hard rock bands. When I say "huge" I mean it sounds like some important grand statement, like this is how a beautiful song is supposed to be written. Hendrix never quite reached a level *this* awesome.

One key difference between Trower and Hendrix is that Robin Trower tends to really dig into your emotions with his guitar playing, whereas Hendrix occasionally goes for emotion, but also had his moments of showing off. I also feel that Hendrix's music is more immediately enjoyable whereas Trower's guitar skills take time to absorb.

I can imagine how magical this song must have sounded when it was originally released, and even today it still sounds pretty cool. I believe Rainbow was influenced heavily by this song because "Catch the Rainbow" contains a strikingly similar flow and atmosphere.

"I Can't Wait Much Longer" has a surprisingly soulful vocal melody. I like the way the verse melody builds with emotional intensity until the incredibly sad "Cuz every day gets stronger, and every day grows and grows, and I can't wait much longer" lines comes in. The guitar riff even seems to follow with the vocal melody, and it's a perfect moment of songwriting really. It's truly amazing. The feeling matches the album cover, too.

"Hannah" features a slow-moving but very powerful guitar riff in the beginning until James Dewar really blows me away with just as much passion here that he illustrated in the two previous songs. I can't recall another hard rock band that utilized so much soul. The guitar solo seems hard to notice at first since it's covered in a thick layer of haze, but with repeated listens you can make out most of it.

A song like "Rock Me Baby" would have been in danger of becoming just another attempt at the blues by a 70's rock band, but luckily some quality guitar licks save what would have otherwise been an average song because the vocal melody fails to make an impression on me. Dewar sounds like he's disappointed while singing it, like he wants to put some soul into it but forced to restrain himself and sing a simple blues pattern instead.

"Sinner's Song" starts out innocently enough with a decent verse melody before totally catching me off guard with a fantastic guitar solo. It feels more like a freak out jam, though. It's *awesome*. Anyone who likes this guitar jam absolutely must hear Santana's Love, Devotion & Surrender album. It contains the same kind of guitar intensity but stretched out much much longer.

What an eerie way to end the album with "Ballerina". Is it pretty? Yeah. Is it dreamy? Yes it is. Does it feel unsettling? Absolutely!

Anyway here's my older review and you know, I still stand by most of it, but an album of this quality definitely deserved a more detailed review.

People keep comparing Robin Trower's guitar playing to Jimi Hendrix, but to me, his first album closely resembles the classic period of Cream. He doesn't necessarily have Eric Clapton's guitar style, but the mood is similar to the psychedelic period of Cream.

I'd say Trower's guitar playing reminds me of a slower, and more atmospheric Ritchie Blackmore with a vocalist that isn't much different from the singer of Bad Company.

The songwriting on Twice Removed From Yesterday is pretty strong. Back in the 70's hard rock bands didn't just rock out- they could also back it up with strong songwriting, and that's exactly what this album delivers. I really like it. The way the album was recorded is really cool too, because it feels like everything's a dream. I recommend it.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure emotion, May 1, 2010

By 

WKT (Knoxville, TN United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Twice Removed From Yesterday (Audio CD)

Great album (sorry I'm of the Album generation!) We don't have many Robin/Dewar recordings to savor--so I'm grateful for the ones we have! I still to this day remember the first time I heard TR. I was a teenager living in Germany. I was sitting on the couch one evening just listening to the radio--most likely plucking on my cheap Framus (German) Strat copy dreaming of being able to play like Jimi and carry the flame for him (dreaming!) And I distinctly remember the disk jockey introducing the next song because he said something to the effect that: "this brilliant new guitarist was going to make a big impact on the guitar world with his Hendrix like vibe or tone"...then, blasting out of the little radio speaker came a cascade of pure sonic nirvana, "Little Bit of Sympathy." I don't think I even slept that night. I wasn't even sure I believed my ears--I was both excited and crest fallen that someone had beaten me to my childish goal! It was a double wammy as I was as impressed with the vocals as I was the guitar playing! RIP James! One of Rocks greatest vocalist ever! Robins guitar and James' soulful voice were a match made in heaven! Needles to say the very next morning I went out and found the 'Sighs" album and "Twice Removed". I was astounded! No doubt BOS was a better album but "Twice Removed" is still one of my favorites. It's a slice of guitar history. Compare him to Hendrix or not--what sets Trower apart is his Raw Emotion. That ability to push emotion through your finger tips out the speaker/or soundhole and into the listener--some call that the Blues. Whatever it is, it's not an easy task to accomplish...and very few players ever achieve it: Trower HAS IT, Hendrix certainly had it in spades, Bloomfield, Rory Gallagher, The Kings (BB,Albert,Freddie), to name a few. Trower once said in an Guitar Player interview that he wasn't happy with the sound quality of this album being the groups first studio attempt they didn't take as much control over the recording and mixing duties as they did with the next recording. You can clearly hear the difference between this and BOS in the overall sound quality--but the material is still very strong. I highly recommend it! If your just discovering Trower it's a must have!