Where to start with Robin Trower?

They are very good.

 

I picked up originals of Bridge of Sighs and Twice Removed for like $3 each in pretty much perfect condition. Bridge of Sighs is where I would start.

 

These are the original lineup titles with James Dewar. Go there!!
Trower's original vocalist and bass player.
The live album is a killer!!

Bridge of Sighs
Robin Trower Live!
Long Misty Days
For Earth Below
Twice Removed From Yesterday
Victims Of the Furies (a little later, back to the older sound)
In City Dreams (Rustee Allen hired on bass. Dewar as frontman. Not a popular record.)
Caravan to Midnight (different direction)

There is a later era, with Davey Pattison.
Some good songs. Less consistent.

Other one offs. More recent Trower on vocals.

Forget the Procol work. You don't hear him. The point of Trower is to hear him.

 

IMO stay away from greatest hits because the albums have very few weak tracks if any, you'll be missing too much going for just the "hits". A fool proof way to go with Trower is start with Bridge Of Sighs then go to the beginning with Twice Removed From Yesterday and go in order from there. I did it that way, and ended up collecting all of the albums. Trower can get in your blood.

 

Those EMI boxsets are the way to go although they may be OOP & pricey by now.
I scored them when they came out for like $20 each.

 

Robin with Procol Harum: A Salty Dog and Home showcase his work well.

 

I started with Bridge of Sighs.

 

What about the Procal Harum tune "Whiskey Train"? Wall to wall guitar on that one (along with cowbell out the yin yang)!

I'd also like to give a shout out to "In City Dreams" and "Passion". Both very good if underrated albums.

 

Daydream is possibly my favorite Trower song, proving he is truly a master of the instrument.

I say the OP should look for the BGO CD pressing which contains "Twice Removed" and "Bridge of Sighs" on one disc; no reason to be forced to choose between two great albums when you can have both (and the mastering is decent enough, if not the best available).

I'll also put in a plug for the Jack Bruce collaborations, with "BLT" being my favorite. Marshall tone to die for, perfect use of Cry Baby, and fantastic songwriting - do play it loud:

"That's alright, I'm cool now." - Hell yes you are!

 

I'd start with the live album. Despite the front cover being photographed at a "Day On the Green" concert at the Oakland Coliseum in Oakland, CA on August 3, 1975, the LP was actually recorded at the Stockholm Concert Hall for the Swedish Broadcasting Corp., February 3, 1975. I often find that if I can get into a band based on their live performances, then I'll probably enjoy their studio albums. But... that's just me. Per Wikipedia, "In an interview with Guitar Player in May 2006, Trower explained that the band was not aware the show was being taped, thinking they were playing for a radio broadcast only. Hence, he says, "We were loose and uninhibited, and we played one of our best shows."
If you haven't seen this yet, it might be worth a gander. Winterland, San Francisco, March 15, 1975 I'm generally not one to bandy about terms like "underrated" but in this case it's the truth. James Dewar was a great vocalist and probably one of the most underrated of that era.

 

Re-invigorated by punk and NWOBHM:


Robin Trower Victims of the Fury 1980

 

As nearly everyone else has said, it always starts with Bridge of Sighs. This song is also one of my favorites.

 

Agree with most everyone that Bridge of Sighs is the place to start. Actually, the first four albums starting with Twice Removed From Yesterday are all excellent. Trower never really stopped recording, but he has enjoyed a bit of a comeback playing and also singing his own vocals over the past decade. Start with What Lies Beneath from 2009. That and anything since is pretty consistently strong. He has a new one coming out in the next month or so and having heard a couple of cuts, he hasn't lost his chops at 70.

 

Worth repeating.

I presume that the onset of the punk/disco era made it difficult for him to move on from the Robin Trower Band along with the fact that his only solo album wasn't released until 20 years after it was recorded.

..Stumbledown Romancer

I never made the grade

Never on the dance-floor when the music played

Always moving on when I should have stayed...

 

"Bridge of Sighs," of course. I played it a while back and was amazed at how perfect it remains. Every freakin' note.

A great teaser would be "Broken Barricades," especially the hugely psychedelic "Song for a Dreamer."

 

Bridge of Sighs was exactly the answer I got to the same question today.

So I hit a nice record warehouse place today with a buddy, open to public once a month I grabbed a Buggles album which hit no chords with my friend. Adventures in modern music or something, I am not home and am undoubtedly murdering the title. I got it because it had I Am A Camera which I think is another version of Into the Lens from Drama.

He didn't know Trower was in the Buggles (nor in Procul when I played Salty Dog later
But I posed the question about the best Trower album to get and he said Bridge of Sighs

PS I am never going to do this much formatting on a phone post again CRAP!

 

Chrysalis just released a box containing his first 10 albums, including the BLT and Truce albums he did with Jack Bruce, and it's only about $30.

What?!

 

Bridge of Sighs is a great album, and one I never tire of. Twice Removed from Yesterday is also very good. There's something about "I Can't Wait Much Longer" that really moves me!

 

It's that shift in tempo at the 2:50 mark that takes it to another level.

 

If you want vinyl it can get expensive but if CDs work you can't go wrong with this box set

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07KLCY961/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

Ships in 1 to 2 months?

 

Maybe on back order as I got mine a few weeks ago but I did preorder it. It was also $29.79 on preorder so has gone up a little.

 

Bridge of Sighs. End there as well.

 

You should probably specify which format you favor.

 

These are both good overviews and he is also good live.