Robin Trower’s upcoming CD, Coming Closer To The Day, is set for
It looks like this album will go a long way to further Robin’s well-earned reputation as a music legend, judging from a pre-release review:
The calibre of the songwriting on Coming Closer To The Day is matched by Trower’s performances, with the bandleader handling all instruments except the drums. His basslines are supple and rhythmic, his vocals growl and soar (“I think I’m getting better at picking keys to sing in”) and the lead guitar work only adds to his reputation as an all-time-great soloist. “When I’m working on a song idea,” he says, “it has to be something I’d really like to play lead guitar on, otherwise I don’t bother with it. In terms of the lead guitar, I tried to make it as soulful as possible. With the solos, I’ve got a rough idea of the area that a piece of lead work will work in. Then I just go in and see what happens. There’s always a certain amount of freedom. It’s loose and relaxed, messing about and trying different things. I’m trying to capture something that happens, rather than something that’s pre-worked out. It’s got to come from the gut.”
Acting on artistic instincts – rather than bowing to market forces – might not be a fashionable or profitable approach in the modern music industry. But in 2019, it’s a philosophy that is driving Trower’s late career to new creative heights, as the bluesman tightens his grip on the long-term fans who fell for his classic ’70s work, while reeling in younger music-lovers who crave something honest and unvarnished in the age of artifice. “I think that I’m drawing much more from my roots now,” he considers, “rather than shying away from them. I’m not worried about what the music is – or what people might think of it. I’m just doing this out of the sheer joy of doing it. My passion for guitar now is stronger than ever. It’s still a great thrill, just to play…”
“Tracklisting:
1. Diving Bell
2. Truth or Lies
3. Coming Closer to the Day
4. Ghosts
5. Tide of Confusion
6. The Perfect Wrong
7. Little Girl Blue
8. Someone of Great Renown
9. Lonesome Road
10. Tell Me
11. Don’t Ever Change
12. Take Me with You
Trower will also be heading out on a U.S. tour in support of the album. The full itinerary is below:
4/02 Alexandria, VA Birchmere
4/04 Glenside, PA Keswick Theatre
4/05 Huntington, NY Paramount Theatre
4/06 Montclair, NJ Wellmont Theater
4/10 Buffalo, NY Asbury Hall
4/11 Northfield, OH Northfield Park
4/13 Grand Rapids, MI 20 Monroe Live
4/14 Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
4/18 Lincoln, NE Bourbon Theatre
4/19 Kansas City, MO Voodoo Lounge
4/20 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
4/24 Austin, TX Moody Theater
4/26 Dallas, TX House of Blues
4/27 Houston, TX House of Blues
4/28 San Antonio, TX Aztec Theatre
5/02 Phoenix, AZ Celebrity Theater
5/03 Anaheim, CA City National Grove
5/04 Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
5/05 Ventura, CA Majestic Ventura Theater
5/08 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst
5/09 Petaluma, CA Mystic Theatre
5/10 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
5/11 Lake Tahoe, NV Harrah’s
5/12 Jackson, CA Rancheria Casino
5/15 Eugene, OR McDonald Theater
5/16 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
5/17 Seattle, WA The Moore Theatre