ROBIN TROWER
''A TALE UNTOLD: THE CHRYSALIS YEARS (1973-1976), DISC THREE''
JULY 26 2010
223:33
DISC ONE
1. Somebody Calling (feat. James Dewar)/4:58
2. Sweet Wine Of Love/2:57
3. Bluebird (feat. James Dewar)/5:32
4. Falling Star (feat. James Dewar)/2:47
5. Farther On Up The Road/Joe Medwick, Dan Robey/2:35
6. Smile (feat. James Dewar)/4:49
7. Little Girl (feat. James Dewar)/4:53
8. Love's Gonna Bring You Round (feat. James Dewar)/4:41
9. In City Dreams (feat. James Dewar)/5:15
10. Bluebird (7'' Edit) (feat. James Dewar)/3:21
11. My Love (Burning Love) (feat. James Dewar)/3:17
12. Caravan To Midnight/5:00
13. I'm Out To Get You/5:25
14. Lost In Love/4:29
15. Fool (feat. James Dewar)/3:46
16. It's For You/4:37
17. Birthday Boy (feat. James Dewar)/3:50
18. King Of The Dance/3:10
19. Sail On (feat. James Dewar)/4:00
Tracks By Trower, Except 5
DISC TWO
1. Jack And Jill/2:45
2. Roads To Freedom/3:54
3. Victims Of The Fury/3:47
4. The Ring (feat. James Dewar)/3:14
5. Only Time (feat. James Dewar)/3:58
6. Into The Flame/3:27
7. The Shout (feat. James Dewar)/2:34
8. Mad House (feat. James Dewar)/2:49
9. Ready For The Taking/3:03
10. Fly Low (feat. James Dewar)/3:06
11. One In A Million/2:47
12. Into Money (feat. Jack Bruce)/2:55
13. What It Is (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:24
14. Won't Let You Down (feat. Jack Bruce)/4:24
15. No Island Lost (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:51
16. It's Too Late (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:40
17. Life On Earth (feat. Jack Bruce)/Jack Bruce/3:41
18. Once The Bird Has Flown/3:59
19. Carmen (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:39
20. Feel The Heat/2:50
21. End Game (feat. Jack Bruce)/5:10
Tracks By Trower, Except 17
DISC THREE
1. Gonna Shut You Down (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:04
2. Gone Too Far (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:49
3. Thin Ice (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:40
4. Last Train To The Stars/3:22
5. Take Good Care Of Yourself/4:47
6. Fall In Love/2:40
7. Fat Gut (feat. Jack Bruce)/Peter Brown, Jack Bruce/3:22
8. Shadows Touching (feat. Jack Bruce)/4:30
9. Little Boy Lost (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:35
10. Back It Up (feat. James Dewar)/3:55
11. River (feat. James Dewar)/3:50
12. Black To Red/2:56
13. Benny Dancer (feat. James Dewar)/8:51
14. Time Is Short (feat. James Dewar)/3:41
15. Islands (feat. James Dewar)/4:08
16. None But the Brave (feat. James Dewar)/2:37
17. Captain Midnight (feat. James Dewar)/3:09
18. Settling the Score (feat. James Dewar)/5:18
Tracks By Trower, Except 7
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
A year-and-a-half after the release of A Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years 1973-1976, we get the remainder of Robin Trower's Chrysalis catalog in the three-disc Farther on Up the Road: 1977-1983. During this decade, 11 albums would appear under his name, six of them -- all studio recordings -- are available here, beginning with 1977's In City Dreams. Trower cut it and its follow-up, 1978's Caravan to Midnight, while living in Florida; they are heavily influenced by funk with drummer Bill Lordan and bassist Rusty Allen (both of whom had played on Sly & the Family Stone's Small Talk), as well as former and future Trower bassist James Dewar taking lead vocals. Both were produced by R&B ace Don Davis. The former album is a largely unheralded standout in Trower's catalog, with its funky vamps and backbeats melding with his brand of post-Hendrix blues-rock. Dewar's vocals are the most soulful of his career. The latter album suffers a bit from a dearth of ideas, though as an extension of In City Dreams, it works well. Victims of the Fury was a return to the power trio with Dewar back on bass. It also featured former Procol Harum bandmate, lyricist Keith Reid, as Trower's songwriting partner. It is the heaviest of the albums here, though far from the best. Trower and Lordan enlisted former Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce for B.L.T. While it's a somewhat studied record, it contains plenty of spark, fire, and potential -- realized on Truce, which brought back drummer Reg Isidore from Trower's first two albums, Twice Removed from Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs. The ideas here were more complex although they don't stray far from hard, post-psych blues rock. Bruce's songwriting in particular and his interplay with Isidore are remarkable. The final album is Back It Up, with two alternating drummers -- Bob Clouter and Alan Clarke -- bassist Dave Bronze, and Dewar back in a vocal capacity. It's an uneven record with some very atypical, rave-up big chorus-type numbers ("River") and vies with Victims of the Fury as the least successful effort here. That said, given the fact that most Trower fans will have this material already, the two bonus cuts -- a single edit of "Bluebird" and the B-side "One in a Million" -- and truly excellent sound will entice them to grab this volume anyway.
BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
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. Reassembling most of his late-'80s band, Trower released Living Out of Time in 2004 and returned with Another Days Blues in late 2005. What Lies Beneath appeared in 2009 from V-12 Records.
''A TALE UNTOLD: THE CHRYSALIS YEARS (1973-1976), DISC THREE''
JULY 26 2010
223:33
DISC ONE
1. Somebody Calling (feat. James Dewar)/4:58
2. Sweet Wine Of Love/2:57
3. Bluebird (feat. James Dewar)/5:32
4. Falling Star (feat. James Dewar)/2:47
5. Farther On Up The Road/Joe Medwick, Dan Robey/2:35
6. Smile (feat. James Dewar)/4:49
7. Little Girl (feat. James Dewar)/4:53
8. Love's Gonna Bring You Round (feat. James Dewar)/4:41
9. In City Dreams (feat. James Dewar)/5:15
10. Bluebird (7'' Edit) (feat. James Dewar)/3:21
11. My Love (Burning Love) (feat. James Dewar)/3:17
12. Caravan To Midnight/5:00
13. I'm Out To Get You/5:25
14. Lost In Love/4:29
15. Fool (feat. James Dewar)/3:46
16. It's For You/4:37
17. Birthday Boy (feat. James Dewar)/3:50
18. King Of The Dance/3:10
19. Sail On (feat. James Dewar)/4:00
Tracks By Trower, Except 5
DISC TWO
1. Jack And Jill/2:45
2. Roads To Freedom/3:54
3. Victims Of The Fury/3:47
4. The Ring (feat. James Dewar)/3:14
5. Only Time (feat. James Dewar)/3:58
6. Into The Flame/3:27
7. The Shout (feat. James Dewar)/2:34
8. Mad House (feat. James Dewar)/2:49
9. Ready For The Taking/3:03
10. Fly Low (feat. James Dewar)/3:06
11. One In A Million/2:47
12. Into Money (feat. Jack Bruce)/2:55
13. What It Is (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:24
14. Won't Let You Down (feat. Jack Bruce)/4:24
15. No Island Lost (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:51
16. It's Too Late (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:40
17. Life On Earth (feat. Jack Bruce)/Jack Bruce/3:41
18. Once The Bird Has Flown/3:59
19. Carmen (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:39
20. Feel The Heat/2:50
21. End Game (feat. Jack Bruce)/5:10
Tracks By Trower, Except 17
DISC THREE
1. Gonna Shut You Down (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:04
2. Gone Too Far (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:49
3. Thin Ice (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:40
4. Last Train To The Stars/3:22
5. Take Good Care Of Yourself/4:47
6. Fall In Love/2:40
7. Fat Gut (feat. Jack Bruce)/Peter Brown, Jack Bruce/3:22
8. Shadows Touching (feat. Jack Bruce)/4:30
9. Little Boy Lost (feat. Jack Bruce)/3:35
10. Back It Up (feat. James Dewar)/3:55
11. River (feat. James Dewar)/3:50
12. Black To Red/2:56
13. Benny Dancer (feat. James Dewar)/8:51
14. Time Is Short (feat. James Dewar)/3:41
15. Islands (feat. James Dewar)/4:08
16. None But the Brave (feat. James Dewar)/2:37
17. Captain Midnight (feat. James Dewar)/3:09
18. Settling the Score (feat. James Dewar)/5:18
Tracks By Trower, Except 7
REVIEW
by Thom Jurek
A year-and-a-half after the release of A Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years 1973-1976, we get the remainder of Robin Trower's Chrysalis catalog in the three-disc Farther on Up the Road: 1977-1983. During this decade, 11 albums would appear under his name, six of them -- all studio recordings -- are available here, beginning with 1977's In City Dreams. Trower cut it and its follow-up, 1978's Caravan to Midnight, while living in Florida; they are heavily influenced by funk with drummer Bill Lordan and bassist Rusty Allen (both of whom had played on Sly & the Family Stone's Small Talk), as well as former and future Trower bassist James Dewar taking lead vocals. Both were produced by R&B ace Don Davis. The former album is a largely unheralded standout in Trower's catalog, with its funky vamps and backbeats melding with his brand of post-Hendrix blues-rock. Dewar's vocals are the most soulful of his career. The latter album suffers a bit from a dearth of ideas, though as an extension of In City Dreams, it works well. Victims of the Fury was a return to the power trio with Dewar back on bass. It also featured former Procol Harum bandmate, lyricist Keith Reid, as Trower's songwriting partner. It is the heaviest of the albums here, though far from the best. Trower and Lordan enlisted former Cream bassist and vocalist Jack Bruce for B.L.T. While it's a somewhat studied record, it contains plenty of spark, fire, and potential -- realized on Truce, which brought back drummer Reg Isidore from Trower's first two albums, Twice Removed from Yesterday and Bridge of Sighs. The ideas here were more complex although they don't stray far from hard, post-psych blues rock. Bruce's songwriting in particular and his interplay with Isidore are remarkable. The final album is Back It Up, with two alternating drummers -- Bob Clouter and Alan Clarke -- bassist Dave Bronze, and Dewar back in a vocal capacity. It's an uneven record with some very atypical, rave-up big chorus-type numbers ("River") and vies with Victims of the Fury as the least successful effort here. That said, given the fact that most Trower fans will have this material already, the two bonus cuts -- a single edit of "Bluebird" and the B-side "One in a Million" -- and truly excellent sound will entice them to grab this volume anyway.
BIOGRAPHY
by Greg Prato
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. Reassembling most of his late-'80s band, Trower released Living Out of Time in 2004 and returned with Another Days Blues in late 2005. What Lies Beneath appeared in 2009 from V-12 Records.
