Robin Trower: Where You Are Going To Review
Robin Trower is five decades into his professional music career and showing no signs of slowing down. On May 6, the 71-year-old guitarist will release his latest solo effort Where You Are Going To, a 10-track album that continues Trower’s tradition of dispersing sharp moments of intricate guitar work among deeper psychedelic-trending movements. Joined by Chris Taggart on drums and taking care of the guitar, bass and vocals himself, Trower’s Where You Are Going To taps directly into his stream of consciousness, reflective of times of worry, longing, frustration and joy that are alternately simple and complex, but always timeless.
Where You Are Going To opens with a repeating hi-hat that pricks the ear before Trower’s soft guitar riff slips in to kick off “When Will the Next Blow Fall.” The song starts slowly, quietly – and by the time the bass and drums join in, Trower’s ready to pick up the pace. The title track follows, a bluesy number that serves as a reminder of the comparisons critics have drawn between Trower’s and Jimi Hendrix’s playing styles since the 1960s. Trower’s voice echoes slightly in “Where You are Going To,” a subtle nod to the lyrical themes of distance and movement. One of the album’s most honest moments appears a few tracks later on “We Will Be Together Someday,” a song Trower wrote for his late wife. “Wide awake, in the dark,” he begins mournfully, leading slowly to the title’s promise: “We will be together someday.” The lyrics evoke loneliness and yearning; the guitar chords are sparse and drive the emotion home.
Songwriting aside, this album shows that Trower’s soloing abilities are in peak condition. He jams for nearly a full minute on “The Fruits of Your Desire,” encouraging his listeners to lose themselves in the music (as perhaps he himself does). Where You Are Going To is notable as much for these poignant moments as for its smaller details – the hi-hat in “When Will the Next Blow Fall,” the bass compliments on “Where You Are Going To” – that form the album’s identity. It’s thoughtful and judicious, capable of grabbing its audience with short guitar bursts amid the mellow tempos of most tracks. Throw Trower in with the rest of the blues greats – reflective and respectful of the universal emotions that pester all listeners, Where You Are Going To, simply put, is the blues.
The Review: 8/10
Can’t Miss Tracks
– When Will the Next Blow Fall
– Where You Are Going To
– We Will Be Together Someday
– In Too Deep
The Big Hit
– Where You Are Going To
Review by Meghan Roos
Buy the album: Amazon
