Robin Trower

Infobox musical artist
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Name = Robin Trower
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Background = non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth_name = Robin Trower
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Born = birth date and age|1945|3|9|df=y
Catford, South East London, England
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Occupation = Musician, Songwriter
Instrument = Guitar
Genre = Rock, Blues, Blues-rock
Years_active = 1962-present
Label = Chrysalis, Atlantic
Associated_acts = Procol Harum
URL = [http://www.trowerpower.com/ www.trowerpower.com]
Notable_instruments = Signature Model Stratocaster

Robin Trower (born 9 March 1945 in Catford, South East London, England) is an English rock guitarist who achieved success with Procol Harum during the 1960s, and then again as the leader of his own Hendrixesque power trio.

He grew up in the seaside resort of Southend-on-Sea, Essex, England.

In 1962, Robin Trower formed a group that would come to be known as The Paramounts, later including fellow Southend High School pupil Gary Brooker. The Paramounts disbanded in 1966 to pursue individual projects. Trower then joined new band Procol Harum in 1967, with whom he remained until 1972. After going solo in 1973 (his place in Procol Harum being taken by Dave Ball), he found the individual identity and style that have brought him acclaim to this day.

Before launching his own eponymous band, he joined singer Frankie Miller, bass player James Dewar, and former Jethro Tull drummer Clive Bunker to form the short-lived combo Jude. Although this outfit played some well-received gigs, it did not record and soon split up.

Trower retained Dewar as a bassist, who took on lead vocals as well, and recruited drummer Reg Isidore (later replaced by Bill Lordan) to form the Robin Trower Band in 1973.

Perhaps Trower's most famous album is "Bridge of Sighs" (1974). This album, along with his first and third solo albums, was produced by his former Procol Harum bandmate, organist Matthew Fisher.

In 1977, feeling he had already proven himself as a performer, Trower ventured into new musical realms, as demonstrated by the release of the "In City Dreams" album. The 1978 release of "Caravan to Midnight" was in a different style from the rest of his earlier work, symbolising a change in direction for him. "I am spending much more time and energy and effort on writing and arranging the material," he said at the time, adding "I think music today is suffering greatly from a cleanness. It's too set, too pat, too clever, there's not enough spontaneity."

In the early 1980s, Trower teamed up with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and his previous drummer Lordan for two incarnations, BLT and Truce respectively.

Trower's album, "Living Out of Time" (2003), features the return of veteran bandmates Dave Bronze on bass, vocalist Davey Pattison (formerly with Ronnie Montrose's band Gamma) and Pete Thompson on drums - the same lineup as the mid 1980s albums "Passion" and "Take What You Need".

Trower toured the United States and Canada in summer and autumn 2006. A 2008 World Tour began in Ft. Pierce, Florida on January 16, 2008. Joining Davey Pattison and Pete Thompson is Glenn Letsch (formerly of Gamma) playing bass. European dates began in April.

Equipment

Trower has been a long time proponent of the Fender Stratocaster. He currently uses his custom built Strat (made by the Fender Custom Shop) which comes in Black, Arctic White and Midnight Wine Burst. The guitar is equipped with a 50s reissue pickup in the neck position, a 60s reissue in the middle position, and a Texas Special at the bridge. [Guitar Player April 2008] Other features included a custom C-shaped maple neck featuring a large headstock with a Bullet truss-rod system, locking machine heads and a maple fingerboard with narrow-spaced abalone dot position inlays and 21 frets. The ones he plays live are an exact model of his signature guitar, which is entirely unmodified. During live performances, his guitar is tuned a full step down, to a DGCFAd tuning, instead of the "standard" EADGBe tuning.

Trower is known to use anywhere from one to three 100-Watt Marshall heads with four to six cabinets on stage. Usually two JCM 800s, and a JCM 900. But, has also been known to link 100-Watt Marshall Plexi heads. It is not uncommon for Trower to play at very high volume levels through his rigs, even in relatively small venues, to achieve his desired tone. In studio sessions, Trower uses a mix of amplifiers, such as Fender Deville and Cornell Plexi Amplifers models to acquire different tonality.

He has recently been using Fulltone pedals and effects. He favors the OCD, Distortion Pro, Fat Boost, CLYDE Deluxe Wah, Deja Vibe 2, Soul-Bender, and a BOSS Chromatic Tuner. He runs his Deja Vibe into his distortion pedal to get his famous tone.

Discography

With Procol Harum

* 1967 "Procol Harum"
* 1968 "Shine on Brightly"
* 1969 "A Salty Dog"
* 1970 "Ain't Nothin' to Get Excited About" (members of Procol Harum, as Liquorice John Death)
* 1970 "Home"
* 1971 "Broken Barricades"
* 1973 "Best of Procol Harum"
* 1991 "Prodigal Stranger"
* 1995 "The Long Goodbye"

With Robin Trower Band

* 1973 "Twice Removed from Yesterday" ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1974 "Bridge of Sighs" ----- Certified Gold by RIAA [http://www.riaa.org/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH]
* 1975 "For Earth Below" ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1976 "Long Misty Days" ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* "Robin Trower Live"
* 1977 "In City Dreams" ----- Certified Gold by RIAA
* 1978 "Caravan to Midnight"
* 1979 "Victims of the Fury"
* 1980 "No Stopping Anytime"
* 1983 "Back It Up"
* 1985 "Beyond the Mist"
* 1987 "Passion"
* 1988 "Take What You Need"
* 1990 "In the Line of Fire"
* 1991 "Essential Robin Trower"
* 1993 "20th Century Blues"
* 1994 "BBC Radio One - Live"
* 1996 "King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents Robin Trower"
* 1997 "Someday Blues"
* 1999 "This Was Now '74-'98 (Live)"
* 2000 "Go My Way"
* 2002 "Speed of Sound: The Best of Robin Trower"
* 2003 "Living Out of Time"
* 2005 "Another Days Blues"
* 2006 "Living Out of Time LIVE" (Concert DVD, recorded in Germany, March 9, 2005)
* 2008 "Day of the Eagle: The Best Of"

With Bryan Ferry Band

* 1993 "Taxi" (Bryan Ferry Band)
* 2000 "Mamouna" (Ferry)
* 2007 "Dylanesque" (Bryan Ferry Band)

With Jack Bruce

* 1981 "BLT" (with Jack Bruce and Bill Lordan)
* 1982 "Truce" (with Jack Bruce and Reg Isidore)
* 1989 "No Stopping Anytime" (Compilation with Bruce, Lordan, and Isidore)
* 2008 "Seven Moons" (with Jack Bruce and Gary Husband)

Notes

External links

* [http://www.members.shaw.ca/stevesplace/ Steve's Place] - The complete history on the Robin Trower Band"'
* [http://www.trowerpower.com/ TrowerPower.com] - Robin Trower's official website
* [http://www.modernguitars.com/archives/001649.html 2006 Robin Trower Interview] with Brian D. Holland, Modern Guitars Magazine
* [http://RobinTrower.net/ RobinTrower.net] - 'Robin Trower Network' (Fan Site)
* [http://www.angelfire.com/ca/RobinTrower/ AngelFire.com] - Robin Trower Unofficial California Homepage
* [http://home.ca.inter.net/~suth/trower/ Inter.net] - "Bridge of Sighs" fan site: Robin Trower on the 'Net
* Trower fan page at [http://www.procolharum.com/procolrt.htm procolharum.com] - 'Beyond the Pale' (Procol Harum's website)
* [http://www.robintrowerlive.co.uk/ RobinTrowerLive.co.uk] - Unofficial UK tribute site
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89727088] - Robin Trower on NPR