Between his organically thick sustaining guitar tone and ear-catching note selection, Robin Trower is one of a few guitarists whose signature can be identified within a few seconds of hearing him play. He’s never been one to follow the obvious route in his soloing, choosing to energize his blues phrases with unexpected twists and an emotive quality that wrings the most from every single note.
His career has been long, starting with the British R&B band the Paramounts in 1962 and continuing in 1967 with Procol Harum, the progressive-rock act with whom he made five albums before launching his own successful solo career in 1973. After hitting pay dirt with 1974’s Bridge of Sighs, Trower and his band racked up three more Gold albums, and he’s been going strong ever since.
But as the guitarist explains, he’s now closer to the end of his career than the beginning. That accounts for the title of his newest release, Coming Closer to the Day (Provogue/Mascot Label Group), a set of songs with very personal lyrics. It’s the third of his recent albums on which the guitarist handles lead vocals, giving his tunes a singular character every bit as distinctive as his unique guitar voice.
“Back in the day, I was lucky enough to stumble across [the late Robin Trower Band bassist] James Dewar,” Trower says. “He had such a wonderful voice, and with a singer like that, you know you’re not going to do a better job. But recently, as my songs have become much more personal lyrically, I feel that it’s better for the words to be sung by me, as it’s my life and experiences that I’m relating.”
Between the new album’s title and some of its songs, it sounds as if you’re pondering the end of your