For all his Procol Harum success, his startling mid-70s run of four consecutive US solo gold albums and his still-Stakhanovite productivity (he’s well into double figures for 21st-century albums), Robin Trower often slips under everyone’s radar.
No More Worlds To Conquer is a reminder of what he’s about. Cheeky title notwithstanding, these 11 stately, languid tracks move like musical galleons.
Trower’s guitar playing is deliciously inventive, whether he’s channelling Mark Knopfler on Wither On The Vine or moving closer to Eric Clapton circa 461 Ocean Boulevard on the title track.
Delightfully, Trower’s modesty is his making. He had a go at singing here, but humbly decided he wasn’t up to the job. Enter longtime band member and fellow Englishman Richard Watts, who brings a gravel-voiced, soulful tinge, not least to the junkie lambasting Deadly Kiss. He and Trower peak on the closing I Will Always Be Your Shelter, gorgeous balm for troubled times.
