Review Summary: A very unflattering collection of live and studio recordings that should be avoided.
I once owned a long sealed copy of this album on vinyl for many years and felt in no rush to open it. Maybe it was the strange Hawkwind-like artwork that seemed to signal that Robin had possibly lost his way on this album. I’d sampled several fairly mediocre late 80s albums from Robin and feared this would be just more of the same. I finally decided to unseal this one out today for a proper listen. Needless to say, I was even more disappointed than I thought I'd be.
BEYOND THE MIST compiles a mishmash of live and studio recordings of both brand new songs and with a few older numbers tossed in. Most artists usually put release records like these to satisfy their record company while they scramble to write more material for a proper studio album. The two new studio tracks that start the album ("The Last Time" and "Keeping A Secret") are too bland and generic to be anything more than filler. "The Last Time" is a snappy up-tempo number that reeks of 80's production values. The vocalist seems more suited for a New Wave or Pop/Rock outfit than a bluesy hard rocker like Robin. The drums are also too stiff and machine like, so Robin has little to work with in terms of groove.
At this point in the album, I looked ahead and noticed a few familiar titles on the playlist. Thinking things couldn't possibly get worse, I forged ahead through the five live numbers that complete the record. Like the studio tracks, the production is much too bright, shiny and almost brittle sounding for a Robin Trower record.
Robin's guitar sound on the live tracks is pretty bad when judged against his typically higher standards. His trademark tone is usually a shimmering melange of warm overdrive and chorus. On this record, his guitar is excessively overdriven and winds up being a muddy, noisy mess. There are moments during the live cuts that I would swear Robin is simply jamming with the house band while using borrowed gear. He also sounds as if he was coming off a long break from playing guitar?! Releasing this bad just seems like a disgrace to his legacy. I absolutely love this man's playing and wouldn't berate his work unless I had good reason to do so.
Most of the familiar songs are fairly second rate to begin with so it's hard to rate any of these as highlights. Robin takes a caterwauling solo at the end of "Time Is Short", but his horrid guitar sound sort of spoils any inspiration he may have had there. And while "Bridge Of Sighs" might be the only thing some people bother to listen to on this record, it too is fairly disappointing. This rendition just comes off sounding uninspired and almost amateurish. The worst Trower record I've encountered to date.
