Robin Trower

English blues-rock guitarist and songwriter Robin Trower cultivated an enduring worldwide audience across decades of recording and performing, despite persistent critical comparisons to Jimi Hendrix that he has long viewed as unjust. Although his own note choices and chordal sensibilities remain distinctive, Trower has acknowledged that his custom-built Fender Stratocaster, flowing array of effects, and Marshall stack trace directly to Hendrix’s psych-blues model. Following his departure from Procol Harum, the guitarist launched his solo path with Twice Removed from Yesterday in 1973; the project gained immediate traction the next year when Bridge of Sighs climbed into the Top Ten, initiating a sequence of ten entries on the Billboard 200. In 1981 and 1982 he joined forces with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce for the albums BLT and Truce. During the 1990s Trower contributed to Bryan Ferry’s Taxi (1993) and Mamouna (1994). Establishing the V-12 imprint allowed him to issue well-received titles under his own direction, among them 2003’s Living Out of Time. Seven Moons, a 2007 collaboration with Bruce, followed. In 2020 Trower, reggae singer Maxi Priest, and bassist Livingstone Brown united on United State of Mind, while No More Worlds to Conquer and Joyful Sky arrived in 2022 and 2023.

Born March 9, 1945, in Catford, England, Trower spent the early 1960s performing in several London groups, most notably the R&B outfit the Paramounts, whose repertoire consisted largely of covers yet yielded a handful of singles from 1963 to 1965. His major opportunity arrived in 1967 when he entered Procol Harum, whose worldwide hit “A Whiter Shade of Pale” had already appeared; singer and pianist Gary Brooker, a former Paramounts colleague, invited Trower to supply guitar for the rapidly ascending ensemble. Consequently the guitarist participated in Procol Harum (1967), Shine on Brightly (1968), A Salty Dog (1969), Home (1970, which included his popular composition “Whiskey Train”), and Broken Barricades (1971).

Although his tenure with Procol Harum advanced Trower’s profile, he sensed insufficient room remained for extended guitar expression. Having witnessed one of Hendrix’s final performances on September 4, 1970, at a Berlin festival shared with Procol Harum, Trower soon afterward borrowed guitarist Martin Barre’s Fender Stratocaster—reserved exclusively for slide—while touring with Jethro Tull. After only minutes on the instrument he reportedly declared, “This is it!” and abandoned the Les Paul in favor of a Stratocaster paired with a Marshall stack and Hendrix-associated effects including the Uni-Vibe, Fuzz Face, and wah-wah pedal. Beyond equipment, Trower’s evolving harmonic language reflected a deeper affinity that transcended simple emulation.

He exited Procol Harum on amicable terms after Broken Barricades, recruiting singer and bassist James Dewar plus drummer Reg Isidore—later succeeded by Bill Lordan—to form his rhythm section. The resulting solo debut, Twice Removed from Yesterday, appeared in 1973 under the production of Procol Harum organist Matthew Fisher and registered modestly on U.S. charts; Bridge of Sighs, issued the following year and again produced by Fisher, altered that trajectory. With listeners still absorbing Hendrix’s death, the record evoked the late guitarist’s Electric Ladyland (1968) so closely that detractors labeled Trower an imitator, yet audiences embraced it, propelling the album to number seven and gold certification in America while British listeners largely overlooked it.

Bridge of Sighs remained Trower’s strongest commercial showing, yet momentum persisted through the mid-1970s as he filled arenas behind five consecutive gold-certified releases: For Earth Below (1975), Robin Trower Live! (1976), Long Misty Days (1976), and the James Brown–tinged In City Dreams (1977).

Chart fortunes diminished by the early 1980s. In 1981 Trower and Lordan united with Jack Bruce under the B.L.T. banner for a self-produced album bearing lyrics by Procol Harum’s Keith Reid; the set reached the Top 40. Truce, recorded the next year with Isidore returning on drums, peaked at number 109. Back It Up (1983) became Trower’s last Chrysalis release and barely entered the Top 200. Subsequent efforts to refresh his blues-rock approach included the glossy Passion (1987), which charted inside the Top 100, and two Atlantic titles: Take What You Need (1988, number 131) and the non-charting In the Line of Fire (1990).

Trower rejoined Procol Harum briefly for the 1991 reunion album Prodigal Stranger, then supported Bryan Ferry on Taxi (1993) and Mamouna (1994), the latter also carrying a production credit. Seeking independence, he inaugurated the V-12 label with 1994’s 20th Century Blues, his first recording alongside bassist and vocalist Livingstone Brown, who did not yet become a permanent member. During a 1996 interview on the Procol Harum website, King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp described Trower as both peer and influence, noting that he had taken lessons from him. Someday Blues, Trower’s final studio album of the century, featured Isidore’s return behind the kit.

At the start of the 2000s Trower continued releasing solo work. Go My Way (2000) earned strong notices despite modest sales. He again assisted Ferry on Frantic (2002), receiving another production credit, while maintaining a near-constant touring schedule. Reconvening much of his late-1980s band yielded Living Out of Time (2004) and Another Day’s Blues (2005). After a twenty-five-year hiatus, Bruce and Trower reunited with ex-Level 42 drummer Gary Husband for Seven Moons; the accompanying audio and video document Seven Moons Live returned Trower to the charts, reaching number five on Billboard’s Blues Albums tally. The more progressive What Lies Beneath followed in 2009, again featuring Brown on bass, alternating drummers Chris Taggart and Sam Van Essen, organist Roger Cotton, and string players Clare Hinton and Andrew Haveron.

Steady recording persisted. The Playful Heart (2010) included Brown, vocalist Davey Pattison, and drummer Pete Thompson. EMI issued two multi-disc retrospectives that year—Tale Untold: The Chrysalis Years (1973–1976) and Farther On Up the Road: The Chrysalis Years (1977–1983)—followed in 2011 by At the BBC 1973–1975. State to State: Live Across America 1974–1980, another Chrysalis-era double-disc live collection, appeared in 2013; that same year Trower delivered the widely praised covers album Roots and Branches on V12, which climbed to number four on the blues chart.

Something’s About to Change arrived in 2015, with Trower handling both guitar and bass while Brown produced and Taggart played drums; former bassist Richard Watts and keyboardist Luke Smith completed the lineup. The album reached number two on the blues chart. Additional 2015 releases comprised Repertoire’s Rock Goes to College and Germany’s Ruf Records retrospective Songs from the Road, drawn from dates with Bruce and Husband and peaking at number five. Where You Are Going To (2016) landed at number four, Time and Emotion (2017) debuted at number two and remained on the chart for three months, and Coming Closer to the Day (2019) became Trower’s first album to top the blues listing.

In 2020 Trower and Brown joined soulful reggae singer Maxi Priest for the R&B-inflected United State of Mind; Brown contributed bass and keyboards, Taggart remained on drums, and horn and string sections were added. The album, received favorably worldwide, peaked at number three on the blues chart. No More Worlds to Conquer, issued through Provogue in 2021, presented twelve original tracks with Watts on bass and vocals alongside Taggart on drums. In 2023 Trower partnered with powerhouse vocalist Sari Schorr for the smoldering Joyful Sky.