Bridge Of Sighs (50th Anniversary Edition) CHRYSALIS
British guitar hero’s finest hour, expanded.
Possibly peaking too soon, Robin Trower’s career-defining second album, came out in 1974 and propelled him into the pantheon of the Second Wave Of British Blues Guitarists.
Bridge Of Sighs never made the British chart, but spent over five months in the US chart, reaching No.7. The snobby British blues clique branded him a Hendrix copyist without bothering to listen beneath the surface. Sure, Trower sounded like Hendrix, but he certainly didn’t play like him, eschewing Hendrix’s fuzz and feedback, and focusing on the reverb from his own Stratocaster, his distinctive use of the whammy bar and his own melodic sense with its emphasis on single notes and tone.
Bridge Of Sighs also added a new dimension to the concept of a power trio, broadening the boundaries from the opening Day Of The Eagle with its strong, speedy riff before Trower launches into a blistering solo. He then takes the tempo right down without dropping the intensity in preparation for the slow and lugubrious title track. And you become aware of how well Trower’s guitar dovetails with bassist Jimmy Dewar’s alcohol-soaked vocals as he sings: ‘The sun don’t move, the moon don’t move the tides to wash me clean.’ Heart’s Ann Wilson, who covered the song on her 2022 Fierce Bliss album, says it’s “one of the best blues songs ever written”. Steve Luka
