"SOMETHING'S ABOUT TO CHANGE"
THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM
RELEASED 9th MARCH 2015
VIA MAHATON/V12 RECORDS
DOVETAILS MARCH/APRIL UK TOUR
WITH SPECIAL GUEST
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
Highly anticipated as his first new studio album since 2013’s critically acclaimed Roots And Branches, Robin Trower’s Something’s About To Change, will be released by Manhaton/V12 Records on March 9th 2015 - the same day as his 70th birthday.
The new album coincides with Trower’s nationwide 17-date UK tour with special guest Joanne Shaw Taylor that kicks off on 26th March 2015.
When it comes to a new album by Robin Trower, some things never change. The guitar work will be breathtaking. The song writing will be heartfelt and fearless. The vocal will siphon the soul. True to form, from the opening swoop of electric guitar, Something’s About To Change is a thrilling encapsulation of everything fans love about the celebrated bandleader. And yet, as the title implies, this album finds Trower twisting his talent into bold new shapes.
|
|
|
Photo Credits: © Mike Prior
|
Something’s About To Change confirms a world-class musician at the top of his game. With his own V12 record label allowing Trower to bypass the spirit-sapping protocol of the conventional record industry, it comes to no surprise this new album sounds so vital. While palpably influenced by Trower’s deep love of post-war U.S. blues, its personal themes and visceral music means that it will resonate with every generation. "As a songwriter and a performer, you use everything at your disposal to put into songs," reflects Trower.
The songs remain the cornerstones. Trower’s astonishing fretwork may sometimes take top billing, but the all-original material of Something’s About To Change speaks of the gas in his creative tank. Fallen drips with atmosphere. Riff No. 7 (Still Alive) moves with power and purpose.
Tracking alongside long-standing producer Livingstone Brown at Studio 91 in Newbury, this was not a dry exercise in box-ticking, but a bid to capture the rare chemistry between Trower and his band. On drums, Chris Taggart’s touch can be thunderous or feather-light. On organ, Luke Smith slips between his roles as support player and sparring partner on standout cuts like What You Never Want To Do. Leading the line, of course, is Trower himself, playing bass for the first time, alongside his unmistakable soul-in-fingers guitar parts. "There is some sort of feeling of emotional release," he says, "when you play a note that rings out right."
|
|
|
Photo Credits: © Mike Prior
|
Trower, of course, has plenty of peaks to choose from in his six-decade career. Hailing from Southend, he hit the London circuit of the early ’60s with fledgling R&B group The Paramounts, but it was his 1967 arrival in the line-up of Procol Harum that made his guitar work headline news.
A lesser talent might have settled for that meal-ticket, but Trower soon proved his questing spirit, quitting the British heavyweights to score his first solo smash-hit with 1974’s ageless Bridge Of Sighs - an album that made him a household name in the States and still sells an annual 15,000 copies in modern times. "That’s a powerful piece of work," he told The Blues Magazine, "but it was because of Jimmy Dewar’s singing that it crossed over into the mainstream."
While his ’60s peers were content to tread water and trade on former glories, Trower kept moving through the decades. The ’90s saw him partner Bryan Ferry on the well-received Taxiand Mamounaalbums, while his collaborative nature led to post-millennial alchemy alongside Jack Bruce on 2008’s Seven Moons.
|
|
|
Photo Credits: © Mike Prior
|
Even in recent times, Trower’s work walks a tightrope between fresh and familiar, one foot planted in his formative blues influences, the other boldly striding forward. It’s a dichotomy perfectly summed-up by 2013’s Roots And Branches album, which combined new original material with visionary reboots of cherished blues covers from Hound Dog to The Thrill Is Gone.
"The criteria was that I had to come up with an original arrangement for every song" notes Trower, "or I wouldn’t touch it"
Its curriculum vitae lands with a massive thump. And now, in 2015, chalk up another career high with Something’s About To Change. Whether you spin these songs on your stereo, or catch them live as the bandleader tours the UK through March/April 2015, there’s no doubting the enduring power of Trower. As he told The Blues Magazine: "I still enjoy making music. I practically live for playing the guitar."
|
|
|
Photo Credits: © Mike Prior
|
When one of the most celebrated – but least outspoken – practitioners of electric guitar declares that "I can’t remember ever being so happy with a finished album before", you’d be well-advised to sit up and take notice.
To support the release of Something’s About To Change Robin Trower will embark on a 17-date March/April Tour. His special guest will be guitarist and singer/songwriter, Joanne Shaw Taylor.
Tickets for all regional shows are priced at £22.50, while London tickets are priced £25.00. Tickets can purchased at www.thegigcartel.com or from the 24 hour box office - 0844 478 0898.
MARCH 2015 UK TOUR
With very special guest
JOANNE SHAW TAYLOR
BOOK ONLINE: www.thegigcartel.com
24 HR BOX OFFICE: 0844 478 0898
Regional Show Tickets: £22.50
London Tickets: £25.00
BURY ST. EDMUNDS, THE APEX
Friday 27th March 2015
Tickets: £22.50 / Box Office: 01824 758 000
Book Online: www.thegigcartel.com
Charter Square, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3FD
www.theapex.co.uk
BIRMINGHAM, TOWN HALL
Saturday 28th March 2015
Tickets: £22.50 / Box Office: 0121 345 0600
Book Online: www.thegigcartel.com
Victoria Square, Birmingham, B3 3DQ
www.thsh.co.uk
GLASGOW, ARCHES
ABERDEEN, LEMON TREE
STOCKTON, ARC
MILTON KEYNES, STABLES
Friday 17th April 2015
Tickets: £22.50 / Box Office: 01908 280800
Book Online: www.thegigcartel.com
Stockwell Lane, Wavendon, Milton Keynes,
Buckinghamshire, MK17 8LU
www.stables.org
|
|
|
Joanne Shaw Taylor. Photo Credit: © Adam Kennedy
|
Robin Trower - Biography
Hailed as one of the finest guitarists in rock history, Robin Trower’s career has spanned more than four decades.
Trower spent the early 60’s playing guitar in various London based bands, the most successful being The Paramount who specialised in mostly covers, and released several singles from 1963 and 1965. The Rolling Stones were big fans. In 1967, Trower received his big break when he joined Procol Harum; and remained a member until 1972.
After leaving Procol Harum, Trower embarked on his solo career, formed a power trio that transformed him into a celebrated guitar innovator. His early albums share a tough, explosive guitar style mixed with his trademark "soft psychedelia" that made Robin Trower stand out from the rest of the crowd.
Throughout his solo career, Trower has been regarded as the "White" Hendrix due to his uncanny ability to channel Jimi’s bluesy, psychedelic, Fender Strat playing style.
Trower released his solo debut, Twice Removed From Yesterday, in 1973. The album barely left a dent in the US charts, but that would change soon enough with his next release 1974’s Bridge of Sighs. The album skyrocketed into the US Top Ten, peaking at number seven selling a million and a half copies. It still sells 15,000 copies yearly worldwide.
Although Bridge of Sighs was to be his most popular solo release, Trower’s stock continued to rise throughout the mid 70’s, as he became an arena headliner on the strength of such hit albums including 1975’s For Earth Below, 1976’s Robin Trower Live, Long Misty Days, and 1977’s In City Dreams.
Further releases followed in the 80’s, including a brief stint with ex-Cream bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce which spawned the albums, 1981’s B.L.T. and 1982’s Truce.
The 80’s saw Trower expand his audience with several releases that updated his blues-rock style, most notably on 1987’s slickly produced album Passion).
During the early 90’s, 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). The 90’s saw Robin consistently touring the USA with his power trio.
In 2002, Trower returned to the production role, linking up with Bryan Ferry again, to work and play on Bryan’s Frantic album. In the following years Trower concentrated on writing and producing film music for releases such as Good Humour Man.
In 2005, Fender are scheduled to release a Robin Trower signature guitar to mark the 50th anniversary of the Stratocaster, along with this there will be a Bridge of Sighs custom shop Stratocaster, of which only 100 will be made and will mark the legendary album’s 30th anniversary. To celebrate this event, Trower returned to live work in Europe, and has been touring regularly since.
Robin Trower Online
Jeff explains, ''I've been in the game for a long time but my roots started more on the heavier side of the tracks, I thought it was about time I came home to visit the family and stick around for a while!''.
