Further reading on Super Seventies RockSite!: Album Review: Twice Removed From Yesterday Album Review: For Earth Below Album Review: Live! Album Review: Long Misty Days Album Review: In City Dreams Robin Trower Lyrics Robin Trower Videos Robin Trower Mugshots

Guitarist Robin Trower admits to drawing his inspiration from Jimi Hendrix, and has the arsenal of licks, tricks and tunes to prove it. He has also assembled a balanced band to accompany his solo flights: Bassist James Dewar is a proficient soul-styled singer capable of admirably filling vocal chores without detracting from the guitarist's show.

Original album advertising art. Click image for larger view.

Trower's own tone is meaty, his hand sure: In coherence and flash, his solos bear comparison with his mentor's. But while his present group plays with commendable restraint, and despite Trower's instrumental prowess, Bridge Of Sighs, like its predecessor, Twice Removed from Yesterday, lacks that creative spark which separates derivative finesse from more personal stylistic elaboration. The very polished assurance of Trower's lines misses the pathos animating Hendrix's last recordings. Evidently Trower will have to cast off Hendrix's ghost before he finds his own voice. In the meantime, his current band plays with a concise potency that fills a contemporary void.

- Jim Miller, Rolling Stone, 6-6-74.

Bonus Reviews!

Former Procol Harum guitarist again goes the heavy metal route with his second LP, but this time in a more bluesy vein than with his debut set. Best cut: "Bridge of Sighs."

- Billboard, 1974.

Bridge of Sighs is the epochal Robin Trower album, with his best batch of songs ("Day of the Eagle," "Too Rolling Stoned," "Lady Love," the title track) and empathetic backing from vocalist/bassist Jimmy Dewar and drummer Reggie Isadore. * * * *

- Gary Graff, Musichound Rock: The Essential Album Guide, 1996.

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