Posted on: September 28, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Robin Trower – Living Out of Time / 2006 Music Video Distributors / 83 Minutes / http://www.trowerpower.com / http://www.mvdb2b.com /

I always am shocked by these individuals; skinny, British guitarists that I would normally assume would play a brand of music that wouldn’t be too incongruous with James Taylor. Starting off “Living Out of Time” with “Too Rolling Stoned”, Trower shows fans that ey has not lost any of the fury from the Procol Harum and eir later solo career, as well as showing new fans that this old cat has a number of tricks. There is a heavy blues influence through each of the tracks on “Living Out of Time”; to say that songs like “Sweet Angel” are funky is to simply cut Trower short.

The music here infects the soul of anyone listening in; those individuals that merely listen to music for the sound can be excited, but the complexity of the average track on “Living Out of Time” is enough that technical fans can be excited. What is impressive about “Living Out of Time” is that tracks like “What’s Your Name” are penned just a few years ago and yet sound as if they were pulled straight from the middle-seventies. The tension between having a very radio-friendly sound and being some of the most difficult music I’ve ever hear is something that is dissipated by the extreme talent of Trower; individuals will come from watching this near-hour and a half DVD singing each of the disc’s thirteen cuts. The production of the video is nothing less than impeccable; the shots are the typical found in concert videos – quick and spastic. However, what is done here with the footage is that there are a lot of shots specifically focused in on the incredibly skill shown in each constituent element of Trower’s band. All of the tracks on “Living Out of Time” are not the fast, heavier sounds present during “Too Rolling Stoned” and “Sweet Angel”. For example, “Daydream” is a trippy type of track that uses spread-out guitar lines and a slower tempo to make Trower’s equivalent to a slow song at the prom.

While I am not sure whether it is a specific nuance with the soundboard recording for this show or not, but the audience here in Germany really is sedate There is nothing in the way of audience participation; everyone seems tuned in to Trower’s music instead of trying to actively involve themselves. With the virtuosity shown in the drums, bass and guitars of the Robin Trower band, this fact really makes sense. To be honest, there are simply no weaknesses to be found on “Living Out of Time”; there is little in the way of extraneous chatter to annoy and break with the momentum that has been carefully cultivated during the rest of the DVD. Trower has not lost any skill in the length of time ey has been on the market; if anything, the selection of songs on this DVD is sufficient to show that ey has actually increased, instead of decreased in talent. If one is of a fan of Trower, pick it up; if one likes hard, classic rock, pick it up.

Top Tracks: Breathless, Too Rolling Stoned

Rating: 6.5/10

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