photo Neil Calandra
VINTAGE GUITAR MAGAZINE
October, 1997
Robin Trower
more than twice removed from yesterday
By Willie G. Mofeley
Longtime rock guitar lovers are probably aware the title of Robin Trower's first solo album (released in 1973) is included in this interview's title. Trower had previously been the guitarist for Procol Harum of "A Whiter Shade Of Pale" fame (although he didn't play on the song), and some of his collaborations over the years have included the likes of Jack Bruce and Bryan Ferry, but Trower's solo albums and comparisons to Jimi Hendrix have, for decades, been at the core of his respected efforts.
While recording his latest album (which contains a couple of surprises), Trower took a break to converse with Vintage Guitar in a relaxed and eloquent conversation via trans-Atlantic telephone. The affable guitarist was born in south London, but his family moved to Canada when he was two, and from there they moved to New Zealand, then back to England, settling in Essex, where Trower still resides.
VG: I always ask every British interviewee about Radio Luxembourg and/or skiffle..
RT: Well, Radio Luxembourg was where you could hear most of the American music; all of the rock and roll stuff, because the BBC was pretty square (laughs). So Radio Luxembourg was the happening thing, but you couldn't always get a good signal. It was part of my "education." I never really liked skiffle; I was a rock and roll fan from the start.
VG: Tell me about your earliest guitars.
RT: The first guitar I got was a cello-shaped Rosetti; I got it at Christmas when I was 14. I got a pickup put on it and I bought a home-made amplifier. The next guitar I got was a solidbody Rosetti which had a couple of pickups, then I got a German-made Strat copy that had three pickups and a toggle switch for each pickup. It was still an inexpensive guitar; this was around 1958, and it wasn't until quite sometime after that when I saw a real Fender in [England].
VG: What guitar did you consider your first "professional quality" instrument?
RT: A Gretsch Chet Atkins solidbody. Then I got the first Country Gentleman that came into the country, and after that I went on to an old two-pickup Les Paul with humbuckers, and a SG/Les Paul, then a sunburst Les Paul with white pickup surrounds. I started playing Strat when I was in Procol Harum.
VG: The liner notes to a British CD anthology of yours state that prior to Procol Harum you were playing in a R&B combo called the Paramounts. I've talked with other British players who talked about having played in "soul bands" during those times; were there differences between mid-'60s British R&B bands and soul bands?
RT: The Paramounts were more blues-based. We used to do a lot of Chuck Berry, James Brown, Bobby Bland, a bit of Ray Charles. There were soul bands at the same time we were doing R&B, but I think the soul bands were doing more pop; they had horns and were doing Sam & Dave-type stuff.
VG: Didn't you joint Procol Harum when the band first formed?
RT: They had already released "A Whiter Shade Of Pale," but they hadn't really formed a band when they recorded that song. When it became a hit, they decided they needed to make an album, so they sought out other musicians. I did five albums with them.
VG: Is it fair to say Procol Harum was more of an "art rock" band that was quite different from your experiences before Procol Harum, as well as your solo career afterwards?
RT: Definitely; they were more "European."
VG: And is it fair to say that back then, Procol Harum wasn't a guitar-oriented band?
RT: Yeah; their sound had more to do with the fact that they had a piano and an organ. They definitely had a keyboard sound; I was just there for a bit of embellishment (laughs).
VG: But there were some songs, like "Juicy John Pink," on A Salty Dog, that had some notable guitar licks. That particular one started off with nothing but your guitar and Gary Brooker's vocals. Do you remember your instrument setup on that song?
RT: I think that was the first song I wrote with Procol Harum. At the time I was playing a blond Les Paul with two P-90s through a small Gibson amp.
VG: Is the fact Procol Harum was a keyboard-oriented band the reason you departed?
RT: The truth of the matter is that I'd started to write more songs than I could play in that band. It could've worked if they'd done one or two guitar-oriented songs on each album, but I was very prolific around that time, and I needed an outlet, so I decided to go out on my own.
VG: Were you already into your Hendrix influence by then?
RT: After Hendrix died. Keith Reid, Procol Harum's lyricist, thought that he and I should do a tribute track, so I studied the first three albums. We wrote "Song For A Dreamer," which is on Broken Barricades, the last album I did with Procol Harum. We did one concert with Hendrix, two weeks before he died.
VG: You've heard the Hendrix comparisons from the outset of your solo career, but I thought James Dewar had a much more soulful voice than Hendrix did, so that was a difference, in my opinion.
RT: I wasn't trying to imitate Hendrix; I was trying to create the music I wanted to make. I was into singers probably more than I was into instrumentalist. It was a combination of the songs I was writing, with Hendrix influences on guitar, but the vocals were more influenced by Donnie Hathaway, Marvin Gaye and Otis Redding.
VG: Personally, I never did care much for what I heard of Hendrix's work following Electric Ladyland. When your first album came out, I found myself saying something along the lines of "...that's where I wish Hendrix had gone, musically."
RT: I appreciate that. The first three albums of his are "the ones;" after that. I think, there was definitely a decline.
VG: Around 1975, Guitar Player put out a Jimi Hendrix special edition, and one of the comments from a noted player quoted in that issue referred to you as Hendrix's "spiritual double."
RT: Robert Fripp, from King Crimson, gave me that issue, but I don't remember that comment. You have to feel complimented if you're compared to somebody who was that brilliant, but I've always said that if it hadn't been for players like Hendrix, Albert King, B.B. King, Bo Diddley, and Chuck Berry, I wouldn't "exist" as a musician. That's what influences are all about.
VG: What did you think of Frank Martino?
RT: I never heard a lot of his material, but I did a couple of shows with him in the '70s. When he was playing Hendrix songs, you couldn't tell the difference. It was amazingly close; a lot closer than I ever got (chuckles)! He didn't try to duck the comparisons, and he was great at it.
VG: What was your setup in the early days of your solo career?
RT: On Twice Removed From Yesterday I was using Marshall 8x10s, but was blowing them up too much (laughs). So I'd switched to 4x12s by the time we got to Bridge Of Sighs. I had a booster/overdrive unit custom-made for me, a wah-wah and a Uni-Nibe, and just Strats for guitars.
VG: Has there ever been any time during your solo career where you've made a serious attempt to utilize another type of guitar, other than a Strat?
RT: Not really. I bought another SG/Les Paul, but I never really used it. At one time I had a great collection of vintage Strats, but they were all stolen; about 18 of them. So I decided to play brand new guitars after that, and Fender's been really great to me. They've built some great instruments for me.
VG: You and Martino also participated in the IRSGuitarspeak project.
RT: Miles Copeland asked me to do an instrumental, and when I handed it in, he didn't like it too much, but he put it on the album anyway (chuckles).
VG: Then there was the Procol Harum reunion album. The Prodigal Stranger. Why did you opt not to tour with them?
RT: By that time, I was co-producing an album with Bryan Ferry, and I was committed to that project. I went out on the second leg of Bryan's world tour, which took us to Scandinavia, Holland, Britain, Singapore, Australia, Japan, Florida, Argentina, and Brazil. I was a sideman; it was fun.
VG: The bassist on your most recent album, 20th Century Blues, is Livingstone Brown, who was on IRS Guitarspeak projects as well. Is that how you hooked up with him?
RT: Right; I did a "Night Of The Guitar" tour, and Livvy and Mayuyu were the bassist and drummer, and I decided to use them on my next album. Livvy took the vocals. We "toured" the material and "broke it in," then went into the studio and laid it down in just a few days. It was more or less recorded live in the studio. It was a three-piece idea again, like the early days, but the material was coming from a different place. I think it's a bit less rock and roll, and a bit more R&B.
VG: Brown's vocals are somewhat raspy-sounding, and some of the material reminds me of tunes like ZZ Top's "Fool For Your Stockings."
RT: Well, I think it's in the same "ballpark." They're a very blues-influenced rock and roll band. I'm a big Billy Gibbons fan.
VG: You've played Squier Strats, as well.
RT: Yeah, when I couldn't get decent American-made ones. At one point the American Strats were not made well at all, and it wasn't until the company was bought back by the workforce that they started to make decent guitars again.
VG: What's keeping you busy these days?
RT: At the moment I'm working on a blues record; I think it's my first "real blues" album. I'm using new Fender tube amplifiers and a beautiful Strat the Custom Shop built for me. It's pretty much stock, but it has a flatter neck, jumbo frets, and locking tuners. I've been using some Fulltone devices; a Deja-Vibe and his new overdrive unit. They've got a beautiful sound.
VG: A lot of manufacturers are attempting to get back to "retro" sounds these days; tube amps and reissued devices like you just cited are examples.
RT: Well, those were the times when we were hearing the best tones; the best music; the best sounds from electric guitars. I still listen to players like Cliff Gallup with Gene Vincent, he used to get some incredible sounds, and from what I could tell, it was just a Strat through an old Fender amp. I'm really into the sound I've been getting out of these new Fender amps.
VG: Other details on your up-coming album?
RT: I'm going to come over to the States and try out a couple of Hammond organ players for some songs on the album, and I want to mix in America, as well. This will be the first album where I've done the vocals, and I'm using the original drummer from my solo career, Reg Isidore. Paul Page, the co-producer, is playing bass.
VG: You hit the half century mark a while back, but my perception is that you haven't slowed down a bit.
RT: I think I'm working harder now than I ever did; I'm doing more things, what with producing Bryan and being on the road with him, and doing my own thing. I'm really excited about this new blues album; I've been promising myself for about 20 years, that one day I'd have a go at this, and it's been enjoyable.
Up until now, Robin Trower's "musical eloquence" has been heard via his guitar playing; i.e. he's done his talking through his Strat, for lack of a better phrase. That he's now assuming vocal responsibilities as well as recording what he terms a "real blues" album is indicative of his forward-looking vision, especially when you consider how long he's been a respected player.
