Greg Prato, reporting for Ultimate-Guitar.com:
According to rock guitar icon, Robin Trower, leaving Procol Harum was a natural turn of events for him.
Although the band was on the rise and Trower recorded five records with them, it was time to part ways after four years. In 1971, the guitarist set out to do his own thing and only returned briefly in 1991 after Procol Harum’s lengthy hiatus that started in 1977. Despite the turbulent changes, both the progressive rock band and Robin himself have cemented their names in 20th-century music, influencing a whole new generation of musicians and setting standards in the world of prog.
But as he told us in a recent interview, it simply felt like it was time to go back in 1971. This doesn’t mean that he didn’t like the band, of course, but, as it turns out, he simply had too many guitar-centric ideas for a band like Procol Harum.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Was it a difficult decision for you to leave Procol Harum at the time? And what made you decide to leave and embark on a solo career?
Robin Trower: “Well, I think it was because I was starting to write more and more music for the guitar, and that I needed to have my own band to start doing this stuff. It was a bit difficult to leave, because we were doing quite well. But there wasn’t enough room being a ‘keyboard band’ for a lot of guitar tracks.”
Read more at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
Originally released in 1975, For Earth Below, the third studio album by British guitar hero Robin Trower brought considerable commercial success none more so than in the US where the LP reached Number 5 on the Billboard chart further cementing Trower’s profile as a major league solo artist.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this classic, Chrysalis Records are proud to present the most expanded edition of the album to date featuring the album newly remastered at AIR studios, a newly unearthed extended stereo mix of the entire record, a disc of outtakes, rarities and BBC sessions with the majority previously unreleased and a newly mixed concert taped live in Los Angeles from the For Earth Below tour, never available in its entirety before. At the centre of the package is a booklet featuring newly written liner notes by acclaimed journalist David Sinclair.
For Earth Below followed hot on the heels of its impressive predecessor Bridge Of Sighs which had wowed audiences and critics upon its release in 1974. Trower was at the very top of his game as he entered the studio to make For Earth Below and with this album came a key personnel change. Following the exit of Reg Isadore, Trower recruited drummer Bill Lordan who in Trower’s own words “brought a new dimension” to proceedings. Lordan was schooled in r&b and funk, and he came to Trower after spending a year with Sly Stone appearing on the album Small Talk. When listening to For Earth Below, Lordan’s particularly fine work on tracks such as “Fine Day” and “A Tale Untold” completely accentuate the album, providing the perfect platform for Trower’s stunning guitar virtuosity adorned by the unmistakable vocals and bass of James Dewar.
Reflecting on For Earth Below, Trower observed, “You make albums hoping that somebody’s going to think it’s great. And I do think there’s some great tracks on it: ‘Gonna Be More Suspicious,’, ‘Shame The Devil’ and the track ‘For Earth Below’ I really love. It’s a song that I did live for many years that I used to love playing.” Bill Lordan adds “Robin, James and I had a magical chemistry instantly. It was like we had always played together and the music just flowed naturally. I always wanted to play with a blues-rock three-piece band. It gave me the opportunity to play more like a rock drummer than my previous career with R&B and soul bands. I got to play all the drum licks that I would have played with Jimi Hendrix (laughs).”
With its distinctive & iconic cover art by ‘Funky’ Paul Olsen and production duties courtesy once again by ex Procol Harum Matthew Fisher, For Earth Below is another hugely impressive canon in Trower’s recorded legacy. From the album opener “Shame The Devil” to the title track which closes proceedings, this is a commanding blues rock album that now sounds even greater thanks to this stunning reissue package.
Available on June 27. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
CD1: 2025 Remaster
“Shame The Devil”
“It’s Only Money”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“A Tale Untold”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“For Earth Below”
CD2: 2025 Extended Stereo Mix
“Shame The Devil”
“It’s Only Money”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“A Tale Untold”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“For Earth Below”
CD3: Outtakes & Rarities
“It’s Only Money” (Vocal Take 1)
“Fine Day” (Vocal Take Jam 1)
“Alethea” (Vocal Take 2)
“Happy” (Vocal Take 1)
“The Moody One” (Instrumental Take 2)
BBC Radio Top of The Pops with Brian Matthew, 28th Jan 1975:
Interview
“Fine Day”
Interview 2
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“It’s Only Money”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
BBC Live in Concert, 29th Jan 1975:
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
Rehearsal Instrumental Jam
CD4: Live at The Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, LA, 16th March 1975
“Day Of The Eagle”
“Bridge Of Sighs”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“Fine Day”
“Lady Love”
“Daydream”
“Too Rolling Stoned”
“I Can’t Wait Much Longer”
“Alethea”
“Little Bit Of Sympathy”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Rock Me Baby”
“The Fool And Me”
“Shame The Devil” (2025 Stereo Mix):
"Prophets Of Addiction is a modern day Hanoi Rocks meets The 69 Eyes with plenty of Pop hooks and Whisky drenched vocals." - Metal Sludge.
Listen at https://smarturl.it/prophetsofaddiction
The post ROBIN TROWER Opens Up On Why He Really Left PROCOL HARUM – “There Wasn’t Enough Room Being A ‘Keyboard Band’ For A Lot Of Guitar Tracks” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...
According to rock guitar icon, Robin Trower, leaving Procol Harum was a natural turn of events for him.
Although the band was on the rise and Trower recorded five records with them, it was time to part ways after four years. In 1971, the guitarist set out to do his own thing and only returned briefly in 1991 after Procol Harum’s lengthy hiatus that started in 1977. Despite the turbulent changes, both the progressive rock band and Robin himself have cemented their names in 20th-century music, influencing a whole new generation of musicians and setting standards in the world of prog.
But as he told us in a recent interview, it simply felt like it was time to go back in 1971. This doesn’t mean that he didn’t like the band, of course, but, as it turns out, he simply had too many guitar-centric ideas for a band like Procol Harum.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Was it a difficult decision for you to leave Procol Harum at the time? And what made you decide to leave and embark on a solo career?
Robin Trower: “Well, I think it was because I was starting to write more and more music for the guitar, and that I needed to have my own band to start doing this stuff. It was a bit difficult to leave, because we were doing quite well. But there wasn’t enough room being a ‘keyboard band’ for a lot of guitar tracks.”
Read more at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
Originally released in 1975, For Earth Below, the third studio album by British guitar hero Robin Trower brought considerable commercial success none more so than in the US where the LP reached Number 5 on the Billboard chart further cementing Trower’s profile as a major league solo artist.
To celebrate the 50th Anniversary of this classic, Chrysalis Records are proud to present the most expanded edition of the album to date featuring the album newly remastered at AIR studios, a newly unearthed extended stereo mix of the entire record, a disc of outtakes, rarities and BBC sessions with the majority previously unreleased and a newly mixed concert taped live in Los Angeles from the For Earth Below tour, never available in its entirety before. At the centre of the package is a booklet featuring newly written liner notes by acclaimed journalist David Sinclair.
For Earth Below followed hot on the heels of its impressive predecessor Bridge Of Sighs which had wowed audiences and critics upon its release in 1974. Trower was at the very top of his game as he entered the studio to make For Earth Below and with this album came a key personnel change. Following the exit of Reg Isadore, Trower recruited drummer Bill Lordan who in Trower’s own words “brought a new dimension” to proceedings. Lordan was schooled in r&b and funk, and he came to Trower after spending a year with Sly Stone appearing on the album Small Talk. When listening to For Earth Below, Lordan’s particularly fine work on tracks such as “Fine Day” and “A Tale Untold” completely accentuate the album, providing the perfect platform for Trower’s stunning guitar virtuosity adorned by the unmistakable vocals and bass of James Dewar.
Reflecting on For Earth Below, Trower observed, “You make albums hoping that somebody’s going to think it’s great. And I do think there’s some great tracks on it: ‘Gonna Be More Suspicious,’, ‘Shame The Devil’ and the track ‘For Earth Below’ I really love. It’s a song that I did live for many years that I used to love playing.” Bill Lordan adds “Robin, James and I had a magical chemistry instantly. It was like we had always played together and the music just flowed naturally. I always wanted to play with a blues-rock three-piece band. It gave me the opportunity to play more like a rock drummer than my previous career with R&B and soul bands. I got to play all the drum licks that I would have played with Jimi Hendrix (laughs).”
With its distinctive & iconic cover art by ‘Funky’ Paul Olsen and production duties courtesy once again by ex Procol Harum Matthew Fisher, For Earth Below is another hugely impressive canon in Trower’s recorded legacy. From the album opener “Shame The Devil” to the title track which closes proceedings, this is a commanding blues rock album that now sounds even greater thanks to this stunning reissue package.
Available on June 27. Pre-order here.
Tracklisting:
CD1: 2025 Remaster
“Shame The Devil”
“It’s Only Money”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“A Tale Untold”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“For Earth Below”
CD2: 2025 Extended Stereo Mix
“Shame The Devil”
“It’s Only Money”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“A Tale Untold”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“For Earth Below”
CD3: Outtakes & Rarities
“It’s Only Money” (Vocal Take 1)
“Fine Day” (Vocal Take Jam 1)
“Alethea” (Vocal Take 2)
“Happy” (Vocal Take 1)
“The Moody One” (Instrumental Take 2)
BBC Radio Top of The Pops with Brian Matthew, 28th Jan 1975:
Interview
“Fine Day”
Interview 2
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“It’s Only Money”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
BBC Live in Concert, 29th Jan 1975:
“Fine Day”
“Alethea”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
Rehearsal Instrumental Jam
CD4: Live at The Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall, LA, 16th March 1975
“Day Of The Eagle”
“Bridge Of Sighs”
“Gonna Be More Suspicious”
“Fine Day”
“Lady Love”
“Daydream”
“Too Rolling Stoned”
“I Can’t Wait Much Longer”
“Alethea”
“Little Bit Of Sympathy”
“Confessin’ Midnight”
“Rock Me Baby”
“The Fool And Me”
“Shame The Devil” (2025 Stereo Mix):
"Prophets Of Addiction is a modern day Hanoi Rocks meets The 69 Eyes with plenty of Pop hooks and Whisky drenched vocals." - Metal Sludge.
Listen at https://smarturl.it/prophetsofaddiction
The post ROBIN TROWER Opens Up On Why He Really Left PROCOL HARUM – “There Wasn’t Enough Room Being A ‘Keyboard Band’ For A Lot Of Guitar Tracks” appeared first on BraveWords - Where Music Lives.
Continue reading...