ROBIN TROWER "PASSION"

Artist: Trace
Album: Trace
Company: Sire
Catalog: SASD-7004
Year: 1974
Genre: progressive
Grade: *** (3 stars)
Condition: VG+ cover / VG+ LP
Comments: foil cover; original inner sleeve
Quantity available: 1
Price: $15,00

Ignoring the mindless teenage boy wet dream cover and the equally lame back cover picture, 1987's Neil Norman produced "Passion" wasn't half bad.  With Trower and bassist Dave Bronze responsible for writing most of the nine tracks, Trower and company seemed to be looking for a balance between hard rock moves and a more commercial AOR sound.  With his likeable voice, former Gamma lead singer Davy Pattison injected songs like the title track, 'Caroline' and 'No Time' with a certain commercial sheen that had been missing from Trower's recent catalog.  At the same time, the move towards an AOR song threatened to reduce Trower to another faceless AOR act.  Material like 'Secret Doors' and 'No Time' could have easily been mistaken for David Coverdale and Whitesnake.  Far better and in keeping with Trower's signature blend of rock and soul was the cruncher 'Bad Time'.  Too bad there weren't more like it.  Still, never less than enjoyable, the only real disappointment was that with the exception of the instrumental 'Night' Trower was largely relegated to sideman; memorable solos standing far and few between.  Certainly not the worst thing he ever recorded, but not one of the album's I would gravitate to if I were looking to explore his catalog.

 

"Passion" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Caroline   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze - Webb) - 4:00

Okay, it had a distinctive '80s AOR feel, but in spite of the bleating female backing singers, 'Caroline' had such a strong melody you could overlook most of those other shortcomings.   rating: *** stars

2.) Secret Doors   (Robin Trower - Webb) - 4:18

Faceless AOR metal ... hard to distinguish it from any of the dozens of hair bands that were dominating mid-'80s radio.   zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz    The video and sound quality are poor, but YouTube has a 1986 performance of the tune: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j4MfQf1jr8o  rating: ** stars

3.) If Forever   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze) - 3:36

Nice power ballad that showcased Trower's guiatr while recalling some of his earlier work.  rating: *** stars 

4.) Won't Even Think About It   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze) - 4:40

'Won't Even Think About It' sounded like it had been penned to garner AOR play.  Nice refrain, but otherwise fairly anonymous.   rating: *** stars

 

 

(side 2)

1.) Passion   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze) - 3:56

To my ears the title track was a perfect example of my mixed feelings about this set.   Powered by Dave Pattison's voice, it was one of the most pop-oriented tunes Trower ever recorded.   On the other hand, the fact it could have been mistaken for a Whitesnake song wasn't a strength.   rating: *** stars

2.) No Time   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze - Webb) - 4:20

Decent bluesy-rocker, with one of Trower's nicer solos, but musically there wasn't anything original across these 4 minutes.   Another YouTube clip from a 1986 Toronto performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGF8o5ZO8Ac  rating: *** stars

3.) Night (instrumental)   (Robin Trower) - 3:57

Pretty instrumental, though for some reason the tune has always reminded me a bit of The Stylistics 'You Make Me Feel Brand New'.  rating: *** stars

4.) Bad Time   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze) - 3:26

Back to a more uptempo-styled Trower rocker that would have been better had Pattison refrained from trying to sound funky.  At least Trower got to cut loose for a moment.    rating: *** stars

5.) One More Word   (Robin Trower - Dave Bronze) - 3:45

Could've been a single; not to say it was any good.   rating: ** stars

 

 

Released with little support the album proved somewhat of a commercial surprise peaking at # 100 on the US charts