Review Summary: Great solo album by Trower; just bad timing
The year was 1974 and Robin Trower had released his second studio album known as, “Bridge of Sighs”. Robin Trower is a fantastic guitarist and has very good writing ability on this one. But his words are said through James Dewar, the bassist, who is also a skilled singer. His vocals are very fitting for the albums atmosphere I’ve come to notice. Also with Geoff Emerick, their sound engineer, every track sounded great.
Trower’s guitar throughout the album sounds awesome and sloppy. He plays all the notes he wants and makes it sound killer. I would compare it to Neil Young's playing in a way. The genre I’ve come to see for this album is slightly psychedelic/bluesy rock. Trower’s music sounds similar to some of Clapton’s work on Blind Faith and Derek and the Dominos. I can tell it is very much influenced. But, Trower really does rock some kickass jams on here. He plays his music well. This album doesn’t get enough attention in my opinion.
Some notable jams that I listen to a lot are Day of the Eagle, Bridge of Sighs, In This Place, Too Rolling Stoned, and About To Begin. Trower really does some amazing guitar work on Too Rolling Stoned but throughout the album as well. Every song plays very nicely and at a runtime of 35 min, it’s a very nice listen every once in a while. Whenever you’re about to go somewhere and have to get ready, it’s nice to throw it on the turntable. It’s a very nice listen and I don’t really get tired of it.
The only thing I come to realize is that it just sounds familiar. The music on Bridge of Sighs has been played very much through 1967-71 already. This does not mean the tracks don’t sound awesome. Every track is good. But I think it may be why Trower doesn’t get a lot of attention. Maybe if he had his solo career through those years, he would’ve been a lot bigger. But he released this in 1974 and this genre had already been played a lot earlier. This is also why progressive rock bands strived through the mid-70s. Yes, Rush, and Pink Floyd were playing amazing music that no one had heard before.
Definitely recommend this though. It really rocks. Give Too Rolling Stoned a listen if you want to hear his guitar ability. But, I highly recommend just listening through. This album is for sure overlooked because Trower is a great guitarist and writer. Just maybe came up at the wrong time.
Best Tracks: "Day of the Eagle" "Bridge of Sighs" "Fool and Me" "Too Rolling Stoned"
3.7/5
