STEEVI BACON
DRUMMER ON FOUR TRACKS "GO MY WAY' ONE TRACK ON "ANOTHER DAYS BLUES'
Robin Trower's release of 2000's Go My Way was once again, a change of direction for his music. This is a very raw album with a new sound, Robin still at the mic for the most part and new vocalist Richard Watts is heard for the first time. Robin recorded with three drummers for this cd, Alvino Bennett, Chris Taggert and Steevi Bacon.
Steevi saw my site and wrote in to say hi. A really friendly guy, who I asked, after a number of emails, if he would share a bit of the experience of being in the studio recording Go My Way.
November 1999 U.K.
After passing a nerve racking audition whilst invited to jam with Robin in the recording studio, I was booked to record the last few tracks on Go MyWay scheduled to carry on at the beginning of the New Year...
January 2nd 2000 U.K.
We all met at the rehearsal studio (Robin, Richard and myself ) the day after New Years Day where we worked on the pre-production of many, many mind-blowing tunes for nigh on a week...
"where were the tunes coming from?" I kept asking myself!
I could see Robin was putting us thru our paces as well as seeing how the material sat within the trio, (his attention to detail -impeccable)..until he had decided which tracks were favourites for the Album...
I found Robin to be not only an incredible musician, but he had a "way" (maybe his smile!!) to coax and encourage exactly what he needed out of his band members so as to bring the songs to life... my flash 'chops' were not welcome here... less was most certainly more!!
A week later I started recording live with Robin and Richard at Trackside II (my good friend Paul Page's Studio- He co-produced with Robin - as it was actually Paul that recommended me to Robin.
( cheers m8!)
The recording sessions were both challenging and rewarding, we got such an earthy sound from my kit... the 24" kick just bit into the 2"master tape!!
The songs had their own pockets and grooves... you just had to go with them like a moth to a flame...
The colour palettes Robin uses are very seductive... his music seemed to have a life of its own, we just needed to be there to let it thru us ...
Richard was also an inspiration to work with and I later went on to play on his own solo album -Radiate
It was a real honour to work for the legend that is Robin and to be asked to' fill in' for Alvino Bennett.... a drummer so way outa my league - Steevi Bacon
Steevi's website
GO MY WAY 2000
Track list
Go My Way
Breathless
Into Dust
Run With The Wolves
Too Much Joy
Blue For Soul
This Old World
On Your Own
Take This River
Long Hard Game
In My Dream
Eleven songs, all written by Trower except "On Your Own" by Trower/Watts.
Musicians credited are Robin Trower, Alvino Bennett, Paul Page, Steevi Bacon, Chris Taggart, and Livingston Brown.
Cover concept by Robin Trower
"Go My Way"
artwork by Funky Paul
Review
UK magazine "Classic Rock" by Dave Ling
April 2001
*****
You have to hand it to old fish face, he makes it seem so goddamn easy. It takes just one song for Robin Trower to remind us why some of us loved him in the 70's and 80's and missed him so much during the 90's.
Nine minutes long, the albums title track features a strong vocal hook and is primed by plaintive, haunting guitar. Similarly understated yet no less beguiling, "Breathless" shimmers like a pearl and is gone in three minutes flat. " Into Dust", one of three numbers sung with passion by Richard Watts, really allows Trower to spin out his spider's web with a vintage solo. "Run With The Wolves" and "Too Much Joy", meanwhile, are more chorus conscious, yet still overlain with lashings of piping-hot guitar. And that's just the first five of these eleven new numbers....
How nice to report that "Go My Way" contains not a solitary duff track, and that it is about as far away from tired, re-treaded old blues licks as you may have imagined. Trower's voice is a pleasant surprise too. Now can we have some gigs please?
ONE OF THE IDEAS
