Richie Sambora
Undiscovered Soul

THE REVIEW

Recording an album to tell a life story. This is what Richie Sambora does with "Undiscovered Soul," laying bare what he has become, shedding the clothes of a rock star and Bon Jovi guitarist, and donning those of a husband and father. He evokes images of remote places and unforgettable moments with music that at times can be likened to classic Springsteenian rock, yet reaches peaks of unimaginable peace and sweetness. Thus, the second album of the Perth Amboy guitarist manages to match the first (another masterpiece) titled "Stranger In This Town," and in certain aspects, especially lyrically, surpasses it.

Let's begin. The album opens with "Made In America," a track that tells us about the origins of its writer, immediately followed by "Hard Times Come Easy," another typical American piece with Sambora's usual blues nuances. "Fallen From Graceland" is one of the dreamiest songs on the album and suddenly transports us into a car on a highway in the middle of the desert, racing into the sunset. Next is "If God Was A Woman," a piece capable of lifting you when you're sad. "All That Really Matters" is instead a heart-wrenching ballad where our dear Richie showcases all his interpretative and vocal skills. Then we have "You're Not Alone," an aggressive track opened by a riff birthed from the strings of one of Sambora's many Stratocasters. "In It For Love" is the result of one of those moments when the Bon Jovi guitarist puts down the Stratocaster and picks up an acoustic guitar, unforgettable. "Chained" is a piece that needs to be listened to several times to be understood, but already by the second listen, it sticks in your head and never leaves. Another acoustic episode of the album, and a song worth purchasing the album for on its own, is "Harlem Rain," a melody that projects us through a world of lived lives and regrets, but also hope. We are led to the end with the most aggressive piece of the work, "Who I Am," seven minutes and nine seconds of furious and complicated vocal virtuosity and guitar solos, immediately followed by perhaps the most interesting piece by the musician native of New Jersey, "Downside Of Love," which in some way seems to try to emulate the structure of "Stranger In This Town," the title track of Sambora's previous work, but with completely different purposes and outcomes. The fitting closure of this work is the track that gives the album its name, "Undiscovered Soul," a fantastic song, with a vaguely New-Age flavor, that bids us farewell and promises the next solo album (still unreleased unfortunately) of the American guitarist.

Overall, the immense dedication and sentiment that Sambora puts into this work are to be praised, where once again he shows, beyond being a six-string wizard, that he is also a great singer. Clearly superior to any Bon Jovi album, and above all capable of leaving a mark on the listener's mind.