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8 with just a little alone time to ponder and come to terms with it all. The song sways and reels like the Pogues, or like the Waterboys with the ghost of Joe Strummer sitting in. Recrimination surfaces even within the drunken waltz of devotion“ To a Friend or the Bottle.”“ Darling, I’ ll love ya‘ til the day I stop hating myself,” Chesney sings.“ Well, that’ s forever,” he concludes. Kway La Soul’ s harmonica and Geoffrey Elmer’ s saloon-style piano fasten threads from Bob Dylan and the Band to ragged electric guitars à la Crazy Horse. The prominent use of Zaal Khalil’ s trombone helps the band’ s acoustic roots coalesce into an amalgamation of Irish folk, delirious sea shanties, and street-corner punk( well, assuming someone’ s willing to haul Elmer’ s piano onto the sidewalk). Khalil’ s boozythroated bellow answers Chesney’ s reedy melody during the upbeat-sounding but perilous“ Lion’ s Den.” The song questions staying on the straight and narrow in hopes of eventual recognition or reward.“ Fun for Now” is full-tilt, buzzsaw punk with an anthemic singalong hook that the band might not want compared to Green Day, but there it is. The energy and grinding guitars are augmented and elevated by shimmering organ. Sam Howell’ s buzzing and bristling slide guitar drips à la Greg Lisher hazily against a Levon Helm-styled shuffle through barstool reflection-turned-rant“ Black and Blue.” Howell’ s feral power chords and serpentine guitar heroics fuel the breakneck intensity of“ Run Rabbit Run.” Elmer’ s sinister piano riff underscores the doom and desperation in Chesney’ s breathless vocal. The bouncing energy and summery sound of“ The Well” is the sugar that sends Chesney’ s tale of everyday defeat down the hatch.“ I can’ t stand it,” he sings upon describing mundane misery like a goth Charlie Brown, leaving ample room for the audience to relate and participate during live shows. Peak self-loathing arrives with the deceptively uptempo and jangling title track. Chesney’ s character confronts himself in the mirror and is sufficiently let down by the sight that he’ s moved to action.“ Yesterday, I stepped outside myself and tried to be a human being,” he sings. Before long, however, ennui and alienation resume.“ I would say that I’ m sorry if I only was,” he adds wryly. The song’ s coda includes a purifying repetition of the phrase“ I’ m sorry,” purpose-built to be sung with concert crowds. In“ South Village Court,” Chesney longs for a better world that he doubts will arrive. Nonetheless, he takes solace in someone who draws out the good in him even when faced with dismal prospects. Maybe it’ s the unnamed companion from“ To a Friend or the Bottle.”“ With you here by my side, that’ s all right,” he sings.
Hi and Bye, People! is a cathartic exorcism of the constant headache caused by self-doubt and the ills of the world. Chesney’ s confessional writing is intense, personally risky, and possibly inspirational, prompting similar reflection in listeners who take the songs to heart. The band’ s unbridled energy and communal joy make the rumination and recrimination seem worth risking in hope of a breakthrough.( constant-headache. bandcamp. com) – Jeff Elbel
ROBIN TROWER Live! Expanded 50th anniversary 2xLP( Chrysalis)
Robin Trower is an enduring guitar hero from the golden age of classic rock and roll. The veteran British musician is still thrilling fans with work including 2025’ s Come and Find Me and packing theaters as an energetic octogenarian. Still, most fans will prize 1974’ s Bridge of Sighs and 1975’ s Live! as catalog favorites. Chrysalis now offers a 50th anniversary edition of Live! that features a robust new mix, adds the half hour of songs missing from the original release( increasing from 7 to 12 tracks), and returns the songs to the originally performed order heard by the fans on February 3, 1975 in Stockholm, Sweden. Trower has often praised the album as capturing one of the best shows by his lineup, including late bassist / singer James Dewar and drummer Bill Lordan. Since Bridge of Sighs had been released the prior year and was still enjoying a strong response, the original Live! downplayed the best-traveled songs from that album(“ Day of the Eagle” and the title cut) in favor of deeper cuts, three songs from solo debut Twice Removed from Yesterday, and“ Alethea” from successor For Earth Below. The latter album was released the same month that the concert took place. The 50th anniversary set includes a revved-up and spine-tingling“ Day of the Eagle” and a turbulent“ Bridge of Sighs” as the set-opening songs. It’ s not hard to imagine the influential“ Bridge of Sighs” as performed here as a heavy, bluesbased precursor to Soundgarden’ s“ Black Hole Sun” in combination with the Beatles’ psychedelic pop.“ Gonna
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Suspicious,”“ Fine Day,” and“ Confessin’ Midnight” from For Earth Below are additional riff-centric blues rockers restored to the set list. Lordan’ s opening cadence gets the crowd clapping along to“ Confessin’ Midnight” before Trower and Dewar fall into the heavy groove. The band locks in powerfully to the fundamental riff as a well-tuned groove machine. Lordan and Dewar maintain the sturdy foundation whenever Trower heads skyward on solo flights. The band is clearly in the spirit when playing these fresh cuts, and they make an impactful addition to the listening experience today. Dewar has a captivating presence with soulful and gravel-etched blues-rock vocals on songs including the
16 illinoisentertainer. com september 2026