ROBIN TROWER, MAXI PRIEST, LIVINGSTONE BROWN – United State Of Mind (2020)

“United State Of Mind” is a superb album that brings together three very different UK music legends: the unique guitarist ROBIN TROWER, MAXI PRIEST and LIVINGSTONE BROWN. Three artists with distinctive, trademark sounds and styles that dovetail and fuse together, creating an excellent whole that’s full of classic rock atmosphere, allure and a whole lotta soul.
Trower found fame with Procul Harem, then went on to lead his very own power trio: The Robin Trower Band. Classic Rock Review described Robin as a “guitar player of unparalleled influence”.
Maxi Priest is an iconic British vocalist, best known for singing reggae with added R&B flavour, creating that potent blend called ‘reggae fusion’. Livingstone Brown, meanwhile, is a talented producer/mix engineer and musician. As a session and touring musician during the 80s and 90s Livingstone worked with Trower and Priest; not to mention in his long career other high-calibre artists such as Tina Turner, Bryan Ferry, Kylie Minogue —to name but an impressive several.

A deeply emotional art form, music is a powerful medium that is very much open to interpretation by the listener. Whether it is music to soothe the savage breast or inflame the ire, listening is rarely a passive experience and so, when an album as thought provoking and open-hearted as ”United State Of Mind” comes along, it inevitably draws the attention.

The result of a superficially unlikely collaboration between Maxi Priest, Robin Trower and producer Livingston Brown, the record sees Priest and Trower, both musicians of great experience and stature, stretching out of their comfort zone to produce an album of great depth and beauty.
A fruitful collaboration, ”United State Of Mind” is a record to calm the mind, to question the senses and, most importantly in these fractured times, to unite listeners around the musical vision of a trio who delight in their mutual respect.

The album opens with the mellow title track and immediately we’re hooked as the trio serve up a gorgeously soulful blues that makes great use of Maxi’s vocal talents and Robin’s instinctively emotive guitar work. With strings sweeping across the mix, Maxi is at pains to point out that every single sound heard on the album is the work of a live musician playing directly from the heart, and not the work of a synthesiser.
Such attention to detail is what makes the album so special, and the arrangements (crafted with loving care by Livingston) make the track absolutely sparkle.

Lyrically inspirational, ‘Are We Just People, asks if we shouldn’t aim for more than a daily grind in search of a pay-check, whilst musically, a subtle funk influence creeps into Robin’s wah-inflected guitar and Livingston’s sanguine basslines. Love of a different sort is referenced on the blazing ‘On Fire Like Zsa Zsa’, which references the legendary Zsa Zsa Gabor with a smoking riff reminiscent of Peter Gabriel’s salacious Sledgehammer.

The comedown after the party is the heart broken blues of ‘Shut Me Down’ – aka ‘Walking Wounded’ – which recalls the gorgeous Clapton / Sting / Kamen collaboration of It’s Probably Me, with Maxi displaying a vulnerability deftly echoed by Robin’s aching guitar.
The first half of the album concludes with the gorgeous ‘Sunrise Revolution’, which sounds like a James Bond theme with its heavy soul vocal and sensual horn arrangement. Lyrically, the track allows some of Maxi’s frustration with the current political climate to creep in, but it’s juxtaposed with the gorgeously languid musical backdrop as if to underscore the belief of both Maxi and Robin that revolution should be peaceably achieved.

On the endlessly catchy ‘Hand To The Sky’, Maxi dominates proceedings with a lively vocal that feels like it’s being beamed live into your living room. Once again, the track is elevated immeasurably by the fact that no shortcuts were taken, and the live instrumentation ensures that the track cooks where a more synthetic approach might have fizzled. Incorporating elements of jazz, reggae, blues and soul, it’s an album highlight, largely thanks to the Maxi’s spontaneous vocalisations, and it would make a cracking single.

A slower track, ‘Bring It All Back To You’, a late night blues where Robin whispering guitar shine.However, you can’t keep these guys down for long, and the smoky riff of ‘Good Day’ puts a spring in your step as Maxi breezes in with a lyric that seeks to wipe away the blues in one easy motion. With the strings swooning through the mix and Robin’s gritty licks, ‘Good Day’ is another album high point, leading the listener inevitably to a finale that comes all too soon. Closing the album, ‘Where Our Love Came From’ sees Maxi turn the lights down low with an intimate soul track and, having reeled you in, he calmly hands over to Robin for one of the record’s most exquisite solos.

Not a moment is wasted on ”United State Of Mind”. Despite the obvious creativity that must have been flowing around the studio, the trio have kept a tight grasp on runtimes, ensuring that each track (and the album as a whole) leaves you wanting that little bit more.
Elegant and soulful, yet gritty and danceable when called for, ”United State Of Mind” is a collaboration built on mutual love and respect – the heartfelt lyrics, the stunning call and response between Maxi’s vocals and Robin’s guitar, not to mention the additional flourishes brought to the table by Livingston Brown all serve to make this an absolute joy.
Put simply, ”United State Of Mind” is an inspirational offering that will brighten even the darkest day.
Highly Recommended

01 – United State of Mind
02 – Are We Just People
03 – On Fire Like Zsa Zsa
04 – Walking Wounded
05 – Sunrise Revolution
06 – Hands to the Sky
07 – Bring It All Back to You
08 – Good Day
09 – Where Our Love Came From

Robin Trower – guitars
Maxi Priest – vocals, percussion
Livingstone Brown – bass, drums, everything else

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www.amazon.co.uk/United-State-Priest-Livingstone-Trower/dp/B08HJMH8B4