Joan May sends us thefollowing tribute to Robin from Robert Fripp, 1996, as appears onthe liner notes to the BGO 2-on-one reissues of Robin's earlysolo albums.
Robin Trower is one of the very few English guitarists thathave mastered bends and wobbles. Not only has he got inside them,with an instinctive knowing of their affective power, but theywent to live inside his hands. It is the rare English guitaristwho has been able to stand alongside American guitarists and playwith an equal authority to someone grounded in a fundamentallyAmerican tradition.
Trower has been widely criticised for his influences. This hasnever bothered me. I toured America in 1974 with Ten Years Aftertop of the bill, King Crimson second, and Robin Trower bottom.The chart positions were the opposite: TYA in theBillboard160s, Crimson in the 60s and Trower climbing remorselesslythrough the top twenty. Nearly every night I went out to listento him. This was a man who hung himself on the details: thequality of sound, nuances of each inflection and tearing bend,and abandonment to the feel of the moment. He saved my life.
Later, in England, he gave me guitar lessons.
Robert Fripp, Wiltshire, England, 19 November 1996.