Robin Trower – For Earth Below – 50th Anniversary Edition 4-Disc Set
This was originally Robin’s third solo LP after departing Procol Harum. There was a period when Robin was considered the heir to Jimi Hendrix with his mystical airy leads on Procol Harum songs he wrote (“Song For a Dreamer”). But Robin still had that edgy sustaining sound that he alone created & used on 6 Procol albums with guitar-heavy songs like “Shine On Brightly,” “In Held Twas In Eye”& “Whiskey Train.”
So, when he chose to focus on solo albums (“Twice Removed From Yesterday” & “Bridge of Sighs”), he expanded his new guitar horizon with Hendrix-like spacious lubrication. But he knew he couldn’t maintain an entire career with that sound, so he sharpened his bluesy licks & kept a little of that Procol signature guitar-sound & created the Robin Trower we know today.
This 4 CD 50th Anniversary issue of For Earth Below (Drops June 27/Chrysalis Records) is packaged like a hard-cover book & includes the 8 original tracks from the 1975 album remastered with 8 bonus 2025 stereo mixed cuts on a separate disc. A 3rd disc of 15 unreleased outtakes & rarities with a 13-track live Shrine Auditorium in L.A. performance available for the first time. There’s a 24-page booklet with liner notes, & an interview with Robin (lead guitar) & drummer Bill Lordan.
The original album (36:07) is CD #1 & CD #2 (39:32) is the same tracks in a 2025 stereo mix. We’re getting spoiled. As I remember, the LP unfolded at first with “Shame The Devil” with sweeping wah-wah lead guitar notes for foundation with surreal vibrancy. Then a straight lead guitar that soars over the initial wah-wah exhibit with blues sustaining incisions. No one at this time was playing quite like this. It was Jimi Hendrix-inspired but not quite a Hendrix imitation. This is where Trower, Lordan & Dewar excelled. Dewar had a deep bass blanket spread over the proceedings, & despite all the spacious sonorous voicings & melodies, the blues were the support beams.
Slow & sumptuous “It’s Only Money” has the added benefit of soulfulness. While I always thought “Twice Removed From Yesterday” & “Bridge of Sighs” were the real signature tunes of a new solo lead guitarist & his trio, “For Earth Below,” Trower established his roots a little more defined. The song titles weren’t as abstract or surreal. More of a bluesy nucleus was taking shape. Dewar was even more gritty vocally on “Confessin’ Midnight,” stretching the phrasing beyond just singing the lyrics word for word. This was in a Jimi Hendrix “spirit” wrestling with Buddy Guy. Robin Trower’s playing ricochets off the walls with layers of guitar splashing around in a tub of blues leads.
A steely bite distinguishes many of the cuts on this showcase with an interplay that Trower managed to piece together with brilliance. Yet, by the coda of “A Tale Untold,” he’s laying down an atmospheric conclusion. Bill Lordan’s drums are precise, tasteful, with driving fills.
The blues isn’t often a musical genre of ethereal sounds & haunting notes. This is where Robin Trower took his string-bending blues inflections. James Dewar, in kind, provided the rootsy, humid & misty tonalities on the title track “For Earth Below.” A house of cards built slowly, higher & higher, piece by piece. The approach was unlike anything other lead guitarists were displaying. It wasn’t loaded with showboating, but a skill that was near to creating a second vocalist through the guitar strings.
The stereo 2025 remix has far more clarity & it’s pristine. Losing none of the original album’s luster or blues aesthetic. It just somehow sounds like the trio recorded it skillfully this year. This will appeal to younger ears unaccustomed to the recorded “sound” of 1975. Yet, it doesn’t have that cold digital sound that analog recordings suffer from when readapted. I guess you could say it doesn’t lose its high-fidelity charm. It’s bottom.
The Outtakes & Rarities CD (72:32) is interesting since it’s recorded quite clean also & doesn’t sound like a mess of demos, unfinished pieces & discarded ideas. Right from the opening, “It’s Only Money” is much longer than the original album. The solo guitar is inventive & Trower isn’t afraid to utilize deeper notes with the more popular higher stinging notes most lead guitarists prefer. Trower creates a wonderful musical contrast.
The Live CD (78:56) opens with a fiery “Day of the Eagle” with thunderous drums & a wall of guitar sound that exemplifies the Trower guitar slash at its best. His mastery of capturing a possible futuristic Hendrix was applauded by many during this era. The live concert songs never let up. Vocally, Dewar comes across clearly in an excellent & exciting performance from the sound of it. Listen to that live audience.
The opening strains of “Bridge of Sighs” follow with its electrifying intro & this live take has a heavy-duty solo. “Gonna Be More Suspicious” finds Dewar at his best soul breathing bluesiest & Trower a full-bore volume junkie with so many incendiary notes emanating from his guitar you’d think there was more than one guitarist on stage. Lordan machine guns the beats aggressively & later in the live show unleashes some crisp inventive drum solos.
This showcase would cool your ears off on a hot summer day. Consider this album a fire hydrant sprinkler. Get under this Trower, Dewar & Lordan spray.
Highlights – “Shame The Devil,” “It’s Only Money,” “Confessin’ Midnight,” “A Tale Untold,” & “For Earth Below.” Outtakes/Rarities: “It’s Only Money,” “Alethea,” “The Moody One” (instrumental). Live at the Shrine Auditorium CD: “Day of the Eagle,” “Bridge of Sighs,” “Gonna Be More Suspicious,” “Daydream,” “Too Rolling Stoned,” & “Little Bit of Sympathy.”
Musicians – The late James Dewar (bass & lead vocals).
Color image courtesy of Blackham/Robin Trower/Contributed photo. B&W image of band courtesy of Jorgen Angel/Redferns. CD @ Amazon & https://www.robintrower.com/