Richie Kotzen
Peace Sign

Versatile.

This is the first word that comes to mind to define Richie Kotzen. Yes, because the handsome long-haired man I'm going to talk about is not just a guitarist with superb technique, but also has a very respectable voice, warm and with soul/blues nuances. If we also consider a certain skill on the piano, bass, and drums, we can deduce that he is not just a mere virtuoso of the six-string, but a true 360° musician, suitable for almost any musical context.

This peculiarity manifests itself clearly in his countless projects, ranging from fusion albums recorded with Greg Howe, to the R&B of Wilson Hawk, his participation in the band Vertu led by Stanley Clarke, his periods of playing with Poison and Mr. Big, and much more!

What, however (and understandably), has most of Richie’s attention is his solo career spanning over twenty years, with as many as twenty-five works to his credit, including studio recordings, collections, and various live performances, up to 2011 with the latest effort "24 Hours".

The work I am reviewing is the previous one, called "Peace Sign", released in 2009. This album comes at a particular moment in his career, that is, after the release of "Into The Shadow" in 2006 (where Richie sets aside his typical acrobatic approach on the guitar in favor of pop/rock melody and catchiness) and of "Return of The Mother Head's Family Reunion", a decidedly more "funky rock'n rolla" work, in 2007.

In "Peace Sign", Kotzen thus chose to give due space to both "philosophies": the result is a rather heterogeneous work, certainly not original but well played and very personal. Upon first listening, we can notice an interesting detail, which is an unmistakable crunch tone very "Hendrixian" (after all, Jimi is an inspiration Richie has never hidden) used to unravel a varied repertoire composed of funky grooves, slow melancholic ballads, heavy hard rock, and anything else Kotzen's enormous hands (truly enormous!) are able to reproduce.

It is curious to note how the blues/rock phrasing, seasoned with sweeps and legatos, is further enriched by more "jazz" sounds and fusion techniques (in certain passages the vibrato/slide typical of the aforementioned Greg Howe can be recognized). A worthy accompaniment to such a well-crafted guitar work is an expressive and very intense singing, capable of melting hearts as well as stirring them with passion depending on the situation.

Richie proves himself as a singer with a powerful and very versatile voice, similar in some aspects to more famous names on the scene like Glenn Hughes or the Chris Cornell of days gone by. It is pointless to recommend listening to one track over another (although I do admit having a soft spot for the title track and "Long Way From Home"), as it would mean losing multiple details of such a diversified work.