For Robin Trower, stage and studio are two sides of the same coin. If you've followed the seven-decade career of the award-winning British bluesman, you'll know every song on One Moment In Time: Live In The USA. But unless you've pushed your way to the front of his sell-out shows, you've never heard them like this before. "I'm a different player on the stage," considers the 80-year-old. "It's almost impossible to get to that point in the studio. It's the sound of the guitar, it's the volume, it's the crowd. For what I do, it takes one hundred per cent commitment for it to work. But if you do it well, it's life-affirming."
I want to shock people," says Solomon Hicks with a megawatt smile. And whether you were there at his barely legal teenage club shows, caught on for 2020's breakout debut Harlem - or are hearing him for the first time on new album How Did I Ever Get This Blue - the rebel energy of this acclaimed New York singer-songwriter always moves the needle. His new songs race from earworm originals, past pop covers torn up with electronica and punky riffs, to reignited blues standards that prove how potent this genre still is in the right hands. "With this new record," reflects Hicks, "I wanted to showcase where my ear, my head and my guitar playing is at right now
Two Shades of Blue captures Robben Ford at the height of his artistic maturity-rich, soulful, and emotionally charged. Blending his unmistakable guitar tone with fresh songwriting and beautifully crafted arrangements, the album delivers everything fans love about Ford while pushing his sound into new territory. A must-hear release for blues, jazz, and guitar aficionados alike, Two Shades of Blue stands poised to become one of the defining records of his storied career.