Search - Robin Trower :: Rt @ Ro 08

Love the music, but...

Mark Crawford | Indiana | 08/09/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I am a long time Robin Trower fan, with his original "Live" album being a whim purchase on 8-track way back when. I saw Robin's tour last year at the Music Mill in Indy and he tore it up. The band was outstanding that night. The CD RT @ RO brought back memories of how good I thought the Indy show was. The song set on this CD is strong with an outstanding sound quality. However...



Like other reviewers I am appalled at the sound gaps between songs. It kills the listening experience, stops the great flow of the show, and, really makes this a hard listen. I was also shocked at what seemed to be a short version of "Too Rolling Stoned" on CD 2. Did Detroit really get this version, or, is this an edit job to leave space for the video content? Speaking of the video content, I was disappointed with the format and picture size. This is NOT the quality and sound we enjoy from "Living Out of Time - Live."



I would prefer a reissue of this as a 2-CD set with the entire show, no gaps...and a completely seperate DVD of the concert to enjoy. In the meantime, to negate the gaps issue, play this CD on "random play" as it won't detract from the experience (someone beat you to that) and the gaps will seem natural!"

Slapped Together On the Cheap

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 08/18/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"As a fan of Robin Trower since his days with Procol Harum, I was somewhat surprised and taken aback by the shambolic quality of this CD which seems to have been slapped together on the cheap and issued only as a way to generate funds. That seems to be the most common complaint among reviewers and the fact that so many are complaining should serve notice on the band to be more careful with future releases.

Beyond that, fans will notice immediately that RT@RO.08 leans heavily on Robin Trower's earlier and better known solo work. That is fine, but it lacks the most important element: James Dewar on vocals. For that reason, I think that the show should have concentrated on featuring more modern material that fits Davey Pattison's vocal style better. All the old songs just don't have the punch they had when Dewar sang.

OK, so Dewar isn't here but there still is a lot to enjoy if you concentrate on the music itself. My favorites on disc 1 are For Earth Below, The Fool and Me, Day of the Eagle, an elongated and quite spectacular Bridge of Sighs, Gonna Be More Suspicious, Hannah, and A Little Bit of Sympathy. On the all too brief disc 2 I most enjoyed Go My Way. Too Rolling Stoned was curiously castrated and overall the second disc has the feel of being just an afterthought.

This 2-disc set is accompanied by an attractive but oddly brief booklet that features some useful album information and some pictures. If you are a Trower completeist, then naturally you will want to own this. But RT@RO.08 is far from essential and stands as somewhat of an embarrassment in the face of the much better quality of other modern Trower releases."

Great song performances!

Jeffrey C. Platt | Broken Arrow | 12/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I was curious about the "gap" issues raised separating the tracks and how sometimes they interrupted the song itself--well my enjoyment of this cd goes so far beyond the separation of tracks --every song or piece of music is so well performed I so easily ignore the pauses. All numbers come from one concert at the "Royal Oak" theater in suburb of Detroit Mi. in 2008 hence the title "RT @ RO '08"--just to say the band plays these songs so well and the quality of the songs is so high that we are treated to a fantastic value. Robin Trower is a great musician, arranger and band leader. He has assembled an outstanding group of guys who have such talent and experience that the quality of the performance is never in doubt. The vocalist Davey Pattison is the kind of singer I first enjoyed so much in the late '60's & 70's a singer who was committed to the song and the music. Not so much the performance ala "rock star" he just sings and is so into his singing he doesn't have to twirl his mike stand or dance around in spandex tights. The drumming is excellent, Pete Thompson who has drummed for a number of prestigious acts including Robert Plant plays not just tight but expressively and is a cool rhythm section with bassist Glenn Letsch who not only is a wonderful musician but one who designs his own instrument. Robin Trower himself is an artist. He is so enjoyable to see and hear on guitar, he makes it look so easy. The volume should be loud but not deafening. When you see them live his sound envelops you and is successfully achieved on this CD. This is a 2 disc set with the second disc playable on computers in a way you get dvd performance on 4 songs. An added benefit. Classics like Bridge of Sighs, Day of the Eagle and Too Rolling Stoned are obvious crowd pleasers but the highlights for me are the quality of blues rockers like Shame the Devil, the Fool and me, Go My Way, Little Bit of Sympathy, and the songs No Time and Hannah. Also included are For Earth Below which I particularly like as well as Victims of the Fury. Rise Up Like the Sun has a lot of elements of the Robert Johnson classic Crossroads-performed as a rocker ala Cream. Islands is a nice instrumental. When I first sought this cd it wasn't available on Amazon but is now. A great value."