Review by Taf Rock for MPM
A UNIQUE COLLABORATION. 78 year old ex Procol Harum English rock legend Robin Trower providing the guitar and American blues powerhouse Sari Schorr providing the vocal.
The green shoots of this album began to sprout when Trower and Schorr’s joint manager (Manhaton records supremo Alan Robinson) asked Trower to write something that Schorr could sing. This led Trower to totally rearrange I WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR SHELTER from 2022’s No More Worlds to Conquer album specifically for Schorr.
So impressed was Trower that the project grew to become the ten track album presented before us (the aforementioned track neatly bringing this splendid release to a close).
The album opens with BURN. In order to ‘cool down’ the smouldering embers of a partners frustration that ‘happens time after time’ developing into a full blown bonfire of rage that threatens to ‘burn the whole place down’ Sari is ‘reaching out to you’ with a calming slow blues song.
The perfect vehicle to introduce those unfamiliar with the New York songstress to the sheer power and seductiveness of Sari’s unique smoky voice, if this song doesn’t prevent temperatures reaching boiling point nothing ever will. The beautiful tone of Trower’s guitar the perfect complement to Sari’s vocal providing an air of calmness to open the album.
Sari isn’t about to rest on her laurels though. The story continues with I’LL BE MOVING ON as the songstress ‘has to face it … There was a time when the only light … shone from your face’. Switching from pure blues to more of a keyboard laden soul like sound Sari demonstrates the full range of her vocal talents throughout this track, threatening to ‘take my leave’ from this ‘darker place’. ‘My future’s not a maybe… It’s a stone cold fact’.
Indeed the future for Sari is very bright indeed, this album sure to bring many more fans into the Schorr fold. With Sari at the vocal helm Robin has the freedom to indulge in beautiful rich sumptuous guitar throughout this track.
Just in case listeners were beginning to think this was a Sari Schorr album in all but name THE DISTANCE introduces a guitar driven rock element into the equation. At 78 Trower has a lot of life to look back on and this track has Robin looking way back to when he was younger – ‘full of innocence and youth’. A superb funked up rocker as we progress ‘from a child to full grown… it’s never been more clear, the distance between there and here’. Robin’s matured guitar skills rooted firmly in the past, as wonderful as they have ever been.
PEACE OF MIND – A natural progression from the previous track as the fully grown Trower recalls his glory years as a touring musician whilst continuing with the rockier side of this album. ‘Wishful thinking’ taking Robin ‘to the lost horizon and beyond’ in search of ‘peace of mind’ as he moves from ‘stage to stage’ carrying his guitar by his side. Robin’s guitar washes over us like the ‘coming tide’. Immerse yourself as you get ‘swept away’ with the current.
CHANGE IT – Sari takes over on this brief track as she urges you to ‘lay it all down… clear your mind’. It’s time to ‘face up to the choices that you made’ with two and a half funky soul driven minutes complete with wah wah and female backing vocals responding to Sari’s call. There’s still time for a funked up guitar break from Robin however.
The title track JOYFUL SKY is up next. Full of wonderous effect laden Trower magic from the very start. Sari warns us we must not let our ‘day in the sun pass by’. ‘The world keeps turning beneath the joyful sky’. It has the feel of a blockbuster movie theme tune about it. Imagine the credits rolling by on the silver screen as you vacate your seat at the local multiplex.
NEED FOR YOU – Trower’s ‘shoes are worn down’ as he is back on tour again ‘crossing continent and sea’ on this funky track. ‘No more hesitating, my way is clear’. The driving rhythm section providing a concrete foundation for the tasty blend of Sari’s vocal, female harmony backing vocals, and Trower’s guitar.
THE CIRCLE IS COMPLETE – a seven minute plus epic which heads off at quite a pace as the album ramps up the rocky element again, Sari has come to play as she attacks the vocal with gusto. ‘What we learn is who we are’ … Robin doesn’t ‘hide in fear’, never afraid to partake in a lengthy track and ‘play among the stars’ – cast your mind back nearly fifty years to ‘Too Rolling Stoned’ from the legendary Bridge of Sighs album for instance.
And so ‘the path is clear’ as we approach the midpoint of the track. Just like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis we witness a complete transformation as a lengthy instrumental piece ensues as an outro similar in function to the instrumental extension to the long version of ‘Layla’. Robin reveals that this ‘outro’ was in fact a previously written instrumental that fitted beautifully onto the end of this track. He is at his indulgent best here, exploring all avenues before the track eventually fades to its ultimate conclusion and ‘the circle is complete’.
FLATTER TO DECEIVE – Sari has had chance to take a breather during Robin’s lengthy demonstration of his guitar prowess but returns here with vengeance – a touch of anger in her voice. Her opening words – ‘can’t be one of many, must have pride of place, will all the adulation blow up in your face’. She’s ranting about the status of ‘celebrity and fame’. How people are put on pedestals and almost worshipped today. How fame flatters to deceive, how ‘you keep us waiting, at your beck and call’. A perfect song for Sari’s intense vocals. Definitely more Sari Schorr than Robin Trower this one though not to be outdone Robin still manages to fit in a quality solo.
And so we reach the album closer and the aforementioned ‘I WILL ALWAYS BE YOUR SHELTER’. A track Trower fans will already be familiar with due to its appearance also as the final track on last year’s studio album.
From the off it’s evident why Trower thought this ballad was ideal for Sari’s epic vocal style, a track that indeed would not be out of place either on Sari’s own albums or in her live set. Transformed into a slow blues – ‘when your life has grown too old and leaves you curled up like a baby child, I’ll be the river that carries you home’. Sari’s vocal suits the song like a hand fits a glove. Full of raw emotion Sari excels at this kind of song. A true demonstration of the versatility of both Sari and Robin. The perfect way to end this project.
At times on this album (the opening track and the closing track for instance) you could be listening to a Sari Schorr album with Robin guesting. At other times this album is instantly recognisable as Trower. An album to benefit both parties.
Sari equally as adept at interpreting the lyrics and conveying the song’s message through the vehicle of her voice as Trower is at providing glorious sumptuous six string tones via the guitar. Trower’s lifelong fans will delight in discovering the seductive powerful voice of the Brooklyn songstress that blues fans have been listening to for over seven years now since her 2016 debut A Force Of Nature.
Fresh recorded material from Sari is long overdue, she has only ever released three studio albums this release her first studio recording since 2018’s excellent Never Say Never. Meanwhile Sari Schorr fans will also benefit from rediscovering Robin Trower or even getting their first taste of the Trower magic that others have been aware of since his debut Trower Band album ‘Twice Removed From Yesterday’ – an album that’s fifty years young this year. One thing is for sure this is an album well worth checking out. A UNIQUE COLLABORATION.
You can pre-order the album here – https://lnk.to/robintrower
