Journal

Ladies Man

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:30:57 +0000

Rock Stars have long developed reputations as being ladies men. Here you can catch Jimmy in a private moment with some of his very favorite ladies. With three daughters and a loving wife Jimmy had a built-in female fanbase! CK

Andy Fraser shares his thoughts on Jimmy.

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 06:20:49 +0000

Andy Fraser began playing bass with John Mayall at just 15 years of age. Soon after, he left to become a founding member of the rock band Free and for the next 4 years Andy worked closely with vocal phenom Paul Rodgers. While Andy remains active in music to this day he may always be best known for co-writing and producing the Free rock anthem "All Right Now". With credentials like this, praise should not be taken lightly and praise is exactly what Andy offers of our dear friend Mr. Dewar. Many thanks to our good friend Richard Devlin for soliciting these words from Andy and our very sincere thanks and best wishes to Mr. Fraser as well. CK

"My association with Jimmy was made close through our mutual friend Frankie Miller. Free and the Robin Trower Group did several gigs together, but Frankie was the one who brought him down to my house and opened my eyes to his incredible talent.

Just such a decent guy, hard working, lots of kids to take care of, and obviously such a brotherhood between he and Frankie, who was always such a supporter of any Scotsman, especially if he was talented. I wonder if because I was born Andrew McIan Fraser, Frankie felt I just had to be alright with such a Scottish name.

Jimmy is such an incredible loss. His soulful singing speaks for itself, but mainly he was such easy going, accessible guy, not caught up in the usual nonsense so prevalent in the music industry." AF

Another YouTube Gem!

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 18:55:00 +0000

Now, I do not know who "CarlFia" may be but I feel I should clarify this is not me. He is however an ardent fan of the Robin Trower Band as anyone can see from the many YouTube postings he has shared of rare early Trower recordings. Possibly the most interesting James Dewar recording I have heard is a version of Daydream allegedly from 1973. The band is in good form but Jimmy has an even deeper and richer tone than normal (if that is possible) and I am glad to say that the recoding is plenty clear with Jimmy's voice well defined. I hope you enjoy and many thanks to "CarlFia"! CK

A very special video!

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 07:24:05 +0000

I have tried my hand at creating an iMovie video containing many of the photos from this site and a rare live recording of Jimmy with the RTB from 1976. I was actually at this concert and it was a magical night captured at the peak of Robin, Bill and Jimmy's talents. This is actually a cover that they did of a song written by the Gavin Sutherland in 1972. Although several artists including Rod Stewart released this song throughout the mid-seventies, none had the raw power and passion of the Trower version.

In an interview done with Jimmy shortly before he passed, he was quoted as having said he did not care for this song (the interview can be found on Steve Shail's site). I happen to like the song but what I find incredible is that Jimmy could knock this right out of the park despite evidently disliking the song. The man never ceases to amaze.

I have restored and enhanced the audio as best I can. The recording is low tech but absolutely worth a listen. I hope you enjoy!

Turn it up LOUD!

Carl

Dave Mattacks remembers playing on 'Stumbledown Romancer"

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:39:27 +0000

Respected drummer for Fairport Convention and many studio sessions, Dave Mattocks shares a brief comment on Jimmy as he reflects on contribution to the Stumbledown Romancer sessions. Find Dave's contributor page here.

Alan Coull contributes!

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:04:08 +0000

Alan Coull knew Jimmy and Mattie for a bit. Their paths crossed several times and fortunately Jimmy was usually singing. Alan has been kind enough to respond to our good friend Richard Devlin's request for a story or two and you can find Alan's memories on his contributor page. Many thanks Alan!

That Voice!

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:48:28 +0000

One of my favorite things about Jimmy was the fact that no two performances were the same and each was simply a masterclass in vocal wizardry. As with Hendrix's guitar playing or Buddy Rich's drumming, you could count on an endless variety of vocal interpretations from Jimmy as he reinvented the same ten songs (give or take) night after night. I simply cannot collect too many live recordings of the RTB as there's always more Jimmy to savor.

One purveyor of such performances is Wolfgang's Vault. This website has managed to assemble quite a collection of live performances from most of our favorite classic rock artists and at present two of their concerts feature the the ever impressive Mr. Dewar in incredibly fine form. One show from Chicago, Illinois on December 5, 1976 and the other from New Haven, Connecticut on October, 18, 1977. While all are worth a thorough listen, my personal favorite is "I Can't Wait Much Longer" from the Chicago show. I really do not believe he ever sounded better and it is almost as though you can hear that he was in good spirits. He stretches and plays with the melodies and textures like a Jedi master.

Think I may have over-stated the facts a little? Have a listen for yourself!

Turn it up LOUD!

Update.

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 05:53:44 +0000

The past six months have stretched me very thin. Frankly, that kind of pressure brings me even closer to all my old Trower/Dewar recordings but it leaves me little time to beat the bushes for fresh "Jimmy" content to post here. I have been more involved in music lately and, while I respect anyone with a passion for song, I am reminded more than ever that we are in the dark ages when compared to rock music from the late sixties through the mid seventies. Even the best talent out there today seems woefully vacant for those of us who remember the depth of our late friend Mr. Dewar. I first saw the RTB in 1974 at the Orpheum Theater in Boston and I had no idea if I would like the experience or simply remain a fan of their albums. From the downbeat of the first song, that question was answered. I was transported to a place that I had never before experienced and every Dewar performance thereafter had the same breathtaking effect on me. Dramatic as it may sound, I have sought to recreate that feeling ever since. For those of you who know this feeling, you have all my sympathy. I have no hope to offer as the irreplaceable elements of this experience are gone. The best I can do is meet you here in the virtual world of JimmyDewar.com and hope to provide a few remnants of this all-natural high. That's right, for me, a Robin Trower Band performance had to be experienced in total sobriety, no booze and no drugs. I wanted to be as sharp as possible so as to soak up everything the show had to offer. Every inflection, every nuance, every magical detail of those live performances that defined this band, their music and their performances as legendary.

So, if you (or anyone you know) may have photos, recordings, stories or memorabilia that you would care to share with our exclusive little club of Dewar fans, we would love to hear from you. It will help me to keep this site interesting and I am certain that all who visit here will be grateful to you as well. Email me at Carl@CarlKennedy.net and we can all enjoy your contribution.

Thanks for visiting.

Carl

Jimmy Relaxing

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 06:28:16 +0000

The great Scot takes a break from rock stardom to soak up a little sun.

(photo courtesy of Lisa Dewar)

Newest member of the Band

Carl Kennedy "the alchemist" — Wed, 13 May 2009 03:15:47 +0000

James Dewar Robin Trower Reg Isidore

It has long been said that there must be a great band in the hereafter. If this is true, I am sad to tell you that on March 22, 2009 that band received it's newest member, Reg Isidore. As most know, Reggie was the first drummer in the Robin Trower Band and his powerful and deliberate style surely played a role in the bands early acceptance. Jimmy Dewar was credited with bringing Reggie into the band and my hope is that these two great talents are making music together once again. Our condolences go out to the Isidore family.

The photo shown above was obtained through photo searches of the Internet and appears to be the property of Jorgen Angel. Apparently Mr. Angel took some pretty cool pictures of the band in the early days (Kudos!). I have not obtained permission to use Mr. Angel's photo and am glad to remove this if so requested by him.