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Procol Harum: Grand Hotel and Robin Trower: Twice Removed From Yesterday

Mark Leviton, Let It Rock, June 1973

TIME WAS when I'd say that my favourite group and guitarist were Procol Harum and Robin Trower. It seemed all so simple, the steady intelligence of the Brooker-Reid songwriting team coupled with the studious but fiery musicianship of Trower and drummer B. J. Wilson was the unbeatable combination of its time. The alliance between Trower's wholly unique guitar technique, borrowing inspiration but not clichés from the blues, and the rest of the superb characters in P.H., was the golden age of the group. They produced at least two undisputed masterpieces of rock, Home and A Salty Dog, and several more classics. Then Trower departed, reportedly mumbling about wanting to play more rock and roll (what were 'Whiskey Train', 'Memorial Drive' and 'Power Failure' then?), and one is forced to mourn the loss all these years later because of the voids left, evidenced most recently by Trower's premier LP Twice Removed From Yesterday and Harum's new Grand Hotel. United they stood, divided, are they falling?

Total word count of piece: 736

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