Speaking of music, when you think you have it all, there's always an unknown little gem hidden under the carpet.
Rob Tro seems to come out of nowhere, there's no info about his origins or career. I've been looking deeply in the net, specialized magazines from my own collection, and asked some friends (real AOR collectors). Zero results.
Well, the important thing is the music, and Rob Tro's "Intro" is full a goodness.
Tro (curious last name) is on the wagon of the soloists from the first half of the eighties: a good vocalist backed up by expertise musicians. No one of them are credited on the artwork, but all are more than competent sessionists.
The aural and cheesy (but beautiful) "Let Me Be The Knight" reminds me John O'Banion circa his 'Dangerous' album. This is the kind of american AOR I love. Rob's vocals are sweet and velvety, with nice color.
"Who Do Ya Love" is another lovely commercial and melodic AOR with good vibe and jumpin' keyboards. This song is written by aussie Mark Holden and was recorded by him for his '83 self-titled album.
The enchanting Westcoast ballad "Kari's Eyes" floats into Michael McDonald's backyard looking for a place to land. Awesome, sweet tune.
On "I Just Wanted To Know" the production turns more poppy in the Bernie LaBarge style, while in "No One After You" Rob Tro somehow reminds me the earlier Brock Walsh in the way of singing, this is an 'action movie' AOR track, simple but effective.
"Heartbeat" is a commercial, FM radio oriented AOR song, linked with some Frank Stallone material.
One of my favorites is "Let Me Touch You", a relaxed and stylized pure Westcoast tune in the vein of Robbie Dupree. Tro shows here his ability to 'whisper' his lines without losing essence. He sounds like a very well trained singer indeed.
"There's Always A Little Smoke" is one of those AOR songs that I call 'uptempo westcoast', because it has a catchy pace but essentially is pure L.A. scene.
Talking about L.A., "It Only Hurts When I Breathe" has absolutely that vibe. This is one of the best arranged and produced songs of the album, with great harmonies and clean guitars, and the 'crooner' vocals of Rob shine. Love this one.
Last track "All Of My Life" is another favorite. Again sounding like O'Banion, this ballad has terrific arrangements, and Rob does a great performance.
It's a crime that "Intro" remains unknown even between AOR / Westcoast circles.
Private release via the obscure and domestic Californian label Jamex records, this album claims a reissue pronto.
This isn't my vinyl rip (could be better) because I don't own this rarity.
I have restored the audio, cleaning the clicks (several) and the turntable noises to get the best quality possible.
Mega Rare. Highly Recommended.
01 - Let Me Be The Knight
02 - Who Do Ya Love
03 - Kari's Eyes
04 - I Just Wanted To Know
05 - No One After You
06 - Heartbeat
07 - Let Me Touch You
08 - There's Always A Little Smoke
09 - It Only Hurts When I Breathe
10 - All Of My Life
Rob Tro: Vocals
Personnel: Unknown
ROB TRO - Intro
Friday, July 08, 2011
ROB TRO - Intro (1984)
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21 Comments:
Cool album, never heard of this guy either !
This was a great album! And completely unknown. Nice to stumble over surprises like this. Thanks for posting.
Me ha gustado mucho. Sorprendente. Muchas gracias por compartirlo.
Wow!!! Very good..whos playing the guitar? Thanks a lot!! ;)Jim
Quite simply the best westcoast album I've heard in ages. Most releases in the genre abound with generic vocals and formulaic songs that you're likely to forget two seconds after hearing them draw to a close, but this one's got too many memorable tunes to mention. (I even far prefer it to David Roberts, all of Frédéric Slama's stuff and, let's say, vintage John Warren or Bobby Caldwell. Frankly only LA Cowboys and Fingerprints come to mind as being superior, or maybe I'm just extremely hazy after an entirely fictional night of heavy boozing.) PS: No, I never heard of the guy either, much like White Heat. But I suspect he dropped the 'y' from his name because it refused to rhyme with 'intro', and he figured 'introy' sounded a bit weird. ;-) Regardless of what some anonymous guests say, you seem to be going from strength to strength. Thanks for sharing another little gem with the jaded, undeserving (myself included) crowd that populates this here home away from home.
By the way, lookswise this Tro dude reminds me of another daytime soap wannabe called Matt Garbo. Who apparently once upon a time released a genius but impossible-to-find AOR demo, though never having heard it (subtle hint) I'm somewhat sceptic if the substandard quality of the only output of his that I own is anything to go by.
..Rob tro Is in fact Robert D. Trow, or better said Rob Trow as he's still an on demand vocalist under this name:http://www.allmusic.com/artist/rob-trow-p132899/credits
One of his most notable works is however to be found in collaboration with Roy Braverman, where he does leads on several songs: http://www.bravermania.com/songs.html ...
http://www.reverbnation.com/artist/song_details/1053390
..Tim Pierce acompaning on guitar besides other musicians.
A link to his website can be found at:http://www.bravermania.com/id68.html but it's under construction!!
There's a video on Youtube too... a Christmas love song by Roy Braverman featuring Rob Trow
http://youtu.be/O2xs4Vm6dEw
@ Florent Recica:
Thanks a million for the info!
me gusto mucho su musica sus canciones de rob tro ..esta de regreso la era del pop rock con rob tro
So thanks to AoR Heaven Blog... This gem in spectacular!! I can't found anything about the history of Rob Tro :/
This is one of my favourite (and unfortunately expensive) A.O.R. albums!
The cast changes in every song,so i'll quote only the most famous ones:
Dennis Belfield,Jon Joyce,Joe Pizzulo,George Doering,Jason Scheff,Guy Thomas
I have also a 7" called Thrill of the chase released in '85.
The title track is written by R.Freeland,A.R.Scott,G.Pickus,the B-side is I just wanted you to know.
Single is produced by Stephen Boyd,the same guy that worked on the LP
You can listen Let me be the knight in the low budget teen-comedy "The Big Bet" (1985) with Sylvia Kristel.
The movie is poor,but the OST is amazing!
@ ColdLook:
Thanks for the data. Would you be so kind to share the single here?
It would be a pleasure for me,but i don't have a device to convert the track in file! I bought that single on ebay some months ago,but i still have to listen the song with my ears!!! The question is simple,at the moment i don't have a LP player and take albums before they become too expensive (too late for the Tro LP,paid 150€…).Your site,youtube and many others are the perfect way to listen before buying. When i'll find someone that do the dirty job,i'll immediately pass you the file,be sure about it!
I can't thank you enough for all the A.O.R. gems discovered in your blog!
@ ColdLook:
A lot of people will thank you alot (including me).
Hi CamelBlue,you have a PM on your YOUTUBE account
@ColdLook
Hey! Can you upload that 7" single Thrill of the Chase from Rob Tro please?
Thanks a lot !!
Hey, I was fortunate enough to record this record in the early 80's @The LAStudios. Rob is an incredibly nice and humble guy. Rob was an actor and I met him through Fred Mulvey of Miller's Outpost commercials which Rob acted in. Jamex records and Stephen Boyd picked up the release on this record. My memories of the sessions are of joy and appreciation for the artist and the players. Unfortunately, I havent spoken with Rob since the late 80's.
Real name Rob Trow from Monroeville, PA near Pittsburgh. He was a friend of mine from high school. We used to do some recording in his basement. Haven't talked to him since the mid 70's.
He was a great guy! and very talented.
His dad was "Bob Dog" from Mister Rogers's show.
Rob Trow was one of the singers of the chorus in the iconic theme song for the hit 2001 sci-fi video game "Halo: Combat Evolved."
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