Another dose of breathtaking guitar wizardry from the prolific Robin Trower.  With new album, Shine, Robin mixes sultry melodies and pulsating funk and comes up with yet another winner.

KEEP PUSHING...

It seems that the advance of years serves only as encouragement, as far as the prolific Robin Trower is concerned.  It wasn’t much more than a year ago that we were thrilled by the quality of Robin’s previous album, Come and Find Me.  What’s more, the past couple of years has seen a veritable deluge of Trower product.  That’s a deluge that includes deluxe reissues of three of Robin’s classic albums – Bridge of Sighs, For Earth Below and Live!  Then there was the excellent One Moment in Time – the document of Robin’s landmark 2025 US Tour.  Most recently, UK-based Trower-ites have enjoyed a highly successful tour.

All this from a musician who recently entered his 82^nd year…

And, when asked to explain this late-period burst of creativity and output, Robin can only shrug and say: “I think you’ve either got to keep pushing – or give up.”  So, keeping going it is, and the songs just keep on coming.  While many of Robin’s 60s peers are content to rest on their (often well-earned) laurels, Robin still starts each day in his workroom, clutching his battle-scarred Strat, searching for the magic note or lick that will spark his next song.  “Then I’ll wake up in the middle of the night,” he smiles, “with a line for a lyric.”

SULTRY MELODIES, STRIDENT ROCK AND PULSATING FUNK

Shine is self-produced with Robin opting to handle both guitar and bass duties.  Long-term collaborators Chris Taggart (drums) and Richard watts (vocals) complete the line-up and the result is an album that mixes sultry melodies, strident rock and pulsating funk to deliver what fans everywhere will recognize as the signature Trower sound.

And it’s that sound that hits the spot right from the opening salvo of The Missing Place, the track that gets Shine underway.  The guitar is clean and fluid and Robin’s playing is packed with emotion.  The same can be said for Richard’s gritty, soulful vocals, whilst Chris holds everything together with his crisp, precise drumbeat.

A solid, throbbing bass and drum rhythm provides the solid foundation for the album’s title track.  There’s a nice wha-wha effect on the bass and the melodic aspect of Robin’s playing comes across loud and clear.  Next – a clangy guitar and Richard’s husky voice build the suspense before the band kick in with the “It’s all in the game – love by any other name” punchline to Love By Any Other Name.  Bass and drums provide the thunder, whilst Robin supplies the lightning on a hot, moody number.

CRANK UP THE AMP!

There’s a lot of funk on Shine and that’s a description that’s particularly true of Live Your Time, the album’s lead single.  “The [song’s] opening riff is one of the best things I’ve ever come up with,” says Robin.  “It’s always very loud in the studio – and that’s how you get the tone – by cranking up the amp.”  It’s an album highlight; the funky rhythm gives Robin the space to stretch out and Richard delivers one of his finest vocals.

There’s more classic Trower on offer with Faith, one of the album’s mellower songs.  Robin’s guitar sizzles, simmers and soars and Richard dials back the passion in his delivery, without surrendering any of his characteristic earthiness.  But the attention is definitely focused upon the rhythm for Driving on Through. It is unquestionably the album’s funkiest track.  Richard’s voice is lower in the mix for this one, but that doesn’t matter – it’s all about body movement – and the sparkles that erupt from Robin’s guitar.

Guest Jess Hayes, from UK blues/soul 5-piece Connolly Hayes, supplies a tender, bluesy lead vocal for the soulful Truth and even Robin is kept (relatively) under wraps.  But the wraps certainly fall away for The Race – perhaps the most obviously Hendrix-inspired track on the album. Richard delivers a trademark vocals and Robin fills every available crevice with a flourish of guitar, whilst – behind it all – Chris keeps up sharp, precise drumbeat.

THE TROWER POWER REMAINS UNDIMINISHED

I’ve always liked the sultry numbers within the Trower songbook and Without You ranks up there alongside the likes of I Can’t Wait Much Longer and Bridge of Sighs.  The rhythm section simmers and pulses and Richard’s declaration that: “Love is on repeat – I’m feeling incomplete without you” is the cue for an explosion of hot Strat from the Trower man.

Shine is an excellent album and, in the time-honoured tradition, Robin has saved the very best until last.  It’s Not Time, the album’s closing track is a slow-burning epic.  It’s thoroughly melodic, right from the start and even the gritty Richard manages to find a few hints of tenderness in his voice.  But the real treat comes with the song’s lengthy instrumental coda – a Robin Trower showpiece that demonstrates – if any demonstration is necessary – that Robin’s powers remain undiminished.

Live photography of Robin Trower live onstage in Manchester, 2026 by Dominic Walsh . Read our review here.

Robin Trower: Website

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