Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
There is no need to visually imagine how glorious sound is, to think of it as an experience that only the eyes can feast upon, that witnessing something magical is reserved just for a single sense to covet as a dragon might upon a pile of gold, all that is required in the willingness to confront and embrace clarity, to prepare the soul for every audible moment that may come your way.
One Moment In Time: Live In The USA is the latest recording from a wizard of Blues expression, Robin Trower, and is one that exemplifies the engaging sound that has been built up with self-respect and one that keeps the silence completely at bay, that showcases once again just how vital the musician is to the history of British music.
The United States of America is a very different world to almost anywhere on Earth, its past is one of glittering promise to which so many were drawn, and those memories of boldness, of opportunity, and of acclaim away from the country of origin, where the performer was appreciated, but perhaps never truly seen for the presence in art they held.
From the days of music awakenings with Procol Harum, the quality of sound has grown to the point of leader, sage representative of a time that has flowed almost without hinderance and which is exposed for its cool and revealed as impactful and accessible.
An abundance of live recordings caught on the road during the last tour, but it is to the moments, more than just one, framed at the Music Box at The Bortaga in Atlantic City and the Tupelo Hall in Derry, New Hampshire, which places all that British audiences have come to love, and one to which he purposely chose, for as he says he did a lot of listening, and you cannot have a greater endorsement than that from an artistic point of view.
It comes down to embracing almost every era of his solo career, or at least the time of where classics meet industry, and across tracks such as Too Rolling Stoned, Wither On The Vine, Distant Places Of The Heart, the excellent Day Of The Eagle, Bridge Of Sighs, and No More Worlds To Conquer, what is evident is the passion of the piece and the emotion running through the fingers of a master.
A terrific live recording, in a world filled with competing seconds and the evidence of filled hours, it falls to One Moment In Time to remind us of what is important, the ability to listen without prejudice, but always with pleasure.
Robin Trower releases One Moment In Time: Live In The USA via Artone/Provogue on January 30th.
Ian D. Hall