Given the exceptional quality of Robin Trower’s recent output, it’s a bold claim to make that this may be his best work in some thirty years. Nonetheless, a cursory listen to ‘Time and Emotion’, Robin’s twenty-second album since he first unveiled his talents to the world with 1973’s ‘twice removed from yesterday’, reveals an energy that belies Robin’s seventy-two years. Like Buddy Guy, Robin, it seems, was born to play the guitar, and on ‘time and emotion’ his playing reaches sublime heights.
Opening with the hefty stomp of ‘the land of plenty’, Robin leads with his best foot, that hot-wired Fender guitar fed through the creamy distortion of a vintage tube amp and given extra heft by judicious use of the wah pedal. Robin’s voice is time-worn for sure, but that only adds extra grit to his performance and yet a soulful edge still remains, the combination proving to be quite irresistible as an opener. That dark, gritty guitar sound continues on ‘What was I really worth to you’, a slow-paced blues with neatly interwoven guitar lines and a chorus to die for. Best described as classic Trower, ‘I’m gone’ has a slinky riff underpinned by Livingstone Brown’s dark, throbbing bass and Chris Taggart’s smooth beat. Familiar, yet timeless in its simple sincerity, ‘I’m gone’ will have listeners tapping away before the wailing riff of ‘bitten by the snake’ emerges, all flaming guitar and Buddy Guy attitude. The first half of the record wraps up with the lengthy work out of ‘returned in kind’, a seven-minute epic that provides plenty of opportunity for Robin’s deftly intuitive guitar work to shine. The sort of song you can lose yourself in, ‘Returned in kind’ is a mesmerising display as Robin digs deep and puts his heart and soul into every last note.
Similarly lengthy, ‘If you believe in me’ has a sparkling riff and a lighter touch than ‘returned in kind’. With a touch of soul, it’s a smooth, beautifully appointed track which manages to incorporate progressive elements and which, once again, offers plenty of space for Robin’s electrifying guitar work. A short, bitter-sweet track, ‘you’re the one’ is awash with emotion and Chris’ inventive percussion whilst ‘can’t turn back the clock’ has a funky vibe and plenty of wah-drenched guitar. As the title implies, ‘make up your mind’ is a slow-burning, late-night blues that brings to mind low-dimmed lights and the gentle sparkle of a half-full whiskey glass. The production here is so intimate that you can practically here Robin draw breath as he moves to sing, whilst his worn fingers make his guitar sing with barely restrained emotion. Shifting pace once more, ‘try love’ sees Livingstone’s funky bass work come to the fore once more as Robin lets loose with some electrifying licks. Finally, the album comes to an end with the short, sweet ‘time and emotion’, a gentle, satisfying conclusion to a record that wraps itself around the listener like a warm bath.
Robin Trower’s mastery of the guitar is not so much technical as emotional. His solos are not pyrotechnic displays of speed and precision, rather he uses his guitar to draw out the hidden emotions that lie closest to the heart. More eloquent than any lyric, the way his fingers move over the fretboard speaks to the listener and ‘time and emotion’ is a perfect summation of his skill. The heart of the album lies in its two longest songs, as if what comes before and after are simply prelude and epilogue, and the album flows as a single piece – perhaps as a dream setlist for Robin and his band to play live – with ‘returned in kind’ and ‘if you believe in me’ the twin peaks. A beautifully recorded, exquisitely played album, ‘time and emotion’ is indeed a highlight of Robin’s impressive career. 9
