One ‘Sighs’ Doesn’t Fit All Needs for Trower

Robin Trower is a musician whose output never seemed to live up to the potential of his gift.

His nimble-fingered guitar work went a long way toward making Procol Harum among the most intriguing British rock groups of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. His second solo album, 1974’s “Bridge of Sighs,” is a classic of the power-trio genre that still sounds fresh and exciting today. But after “Bridge,” Trower began to recycle formulaic, blues-steeped rock ad infinitum. By the ‘90s, this former arena-packer’s profile had dwindled to a sad wisp.

If that’s enough to give a guy the blues, Trower, who plays the Galaxy Concert Theatre on Friday and the Coach House on Saturday, has made the best of the situation--reinventing his career with “Someday Blues,” his just-released 18th solo album. Gone is the numbing crunch of warmed-over, Hendrix-steeped power rock, as Trower, 52, recasts himself as a classic blues artist.

This is more than a desperation move a la Rick Derringer, Les Dudek and other ‘70s shredders who suddenly turned blues man when their bandwagon disappeared over the horizon. “Someday Blues” finds Trower playing with more joy and inspiration than he has in more than two decades.

“I found that more and more, when I was playing for my own amusement, that this is where I was finding myself,” Trower said in a recent phone interview. “Really, I don’t think I had anywhere else to go, so I just faced up to it. It had been something I’d been avoiding really, because to me, [blues] is the great music of the age. . . . I think it was a lack of confidence, a bit of cowardice, whatever you want to call it. But it finally got to the point where it was like, ‘OK, let’s get serious, let’s do it.’ ”

In more ways than one, “Someday Blues” is a groundbreaker. For starters, this is the first time Trower has endeavored to fill the slot of lead vocalist as well as guitarist-songwriter. Oh, yes, there was “Song for a Dreamer,” the Trower-composed Hendrix tribute from Procol Harum’s “Broken Barricades” album, wherein the artist mumbled some psychedelic hooey that made one grateful his ambitions as a vocalist were stunted. So it’s a surprise to hear that Trower is a sincere and convincing blues singer, in the vein of, say, an Eric Clapton.

“Yes, it’s a bit of a strange one, a bit late in the day to start doing this,” Trower said with a chuckle. “I think that once I decided to do what I would call a proper blues album, or as near as I could get to one, I realized it was either going to be a very personal statement or it wouldn’t really work. And to make that statement, you need to get the dynamic between the guitar and the vocal.”

Perhaps even more remarkable, Trower has revamped his approach to guitar playing. The distortion is turned off and the soul is turned on as Trower, a lifelong flat-picker, plays with thumb and forefinger in the Texas blues style. The sound recalls, by turns, B.B., Albert and Freddie King in its biting attack and authenticity.

“That’s a bit of a departure as well, but you do get a much more expressive sound out of the instrument this way,” he said.

Trower made his reputation as a guitarist. Procol Harum is among the most fondly recalled rock groups of its era, remembered for being as progressive as it was aggressive. With its debut single, 1967’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale,” the group had a smash. They soon settled into making moody, ethereal, classical-influenced albums such as “Shine on Brightly” and “A Salty Dog.”

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With 1970’s “Home,” Trower’s role became more dominant, as songs such as “Whiskey Train,” “About to Die” and “Still There’ll Be More” featured biting guitar riffs and a more dynamic style. By 1971’s “Broken Barricades,” Trower seemed to be battling with pianist-singer Gary Brooker for the heart and soul of Procol Harum, so different were their songs and methods. Trower left the group shortly after the album’s release.

“I think all that was a little overblown,” he said. “I was actually accommodated quite well in Procol Harum. When you’re talking about younger musicians, which we were, there are bound to be some guys who are developing onward, and I was right there, developing as a writer and guitar player. The best of what I had to offer with Procol Harum came together with ‘Broken Barricades.’ It’s my favorite Procol Harum album. It was great work that Gary was doing, but I was writing more and more stuff and there wasn’t room for it.”

After leaving Procol, Trower formed a short-lived, unrecorded group called Jude with vocalist Frankie Miller and former members of Jethro Tull and Stone the Crows. In 1973, Trower put together his career-prototype trio with bassist-vocalist James Dewar and Reg Isadore. “Twice Removed From Yesterday” was released that year, but it was with “Bridge of Sighs” that Trower made his mark. The title song, “Day of the Eagle” and “In This Place” became staples of FM radio and Trower became a top-shelf concert attraction. Despite numerous follow-ups--two made with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce--Trower will always be remembered for “Bridge of Sighs.”

It’s the one, Trower agreed.

“I think that album is head and shoulders above everything else I did. To be honest, I don’t think the albums with Jack really worked. There are odd tracks on other albums I like, but it was such a happening, ‘Bridge of Sighs.’ ”

Trower may yet face an uphill battle. He’s asking blues fans to accept this longtime rock ‘n’ roller as the genuine article and asking existing fans to embrace this new muse. For now at least, Trower will hedge his bets, mixing older material with the songs from “Someday Blues” in concert. But his followers had better get used to the idea of Robin Trower, blues guitarist, because his musical heart is on a whole new path.

“I know there might not be much of a market for this,” he said, “but if it’s what you get off on doing, you really don’t have much of a choice about it, I don’t think.”

* Robin Trower, with opening act Eye Savant, will perform Friday at the Galaxy Concert Theatre, 3503 S. Harbor Blvd., Santa Ana. (714) 957-0600. Also Saturday, with opening act Ave. C, at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Show times: 8 p.m. Tickets, $22.50. (714) 496-8930.