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Album Review : Richie Kotzen – Nomad

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Review by Richard Henry for MPM

You look at Richie’s discography and prolific is just the thing that comes to mind, the number of solo albums, never mind other bands and projects is staggering!

I had the pleasure of interviewing him in Belfast earlier in the year, and not only is he an amazing guitarist and singer, he’s an absolute gentleman as well, so as he alluded to back then, he had an announcement to make and here it is, the new album!

Cheap Shots

Almost Stones feeling riff and drum beat kicks in for this one, as expected there is that lovely warm soulful vocal, some really nice doubling and harmony vocals coming in there, when it builds to the chorus and the guitar tone gets warmer with the falsetto vocal part, love the second verse getting a bit sparser and holding the chords out, lovely solo comes in, nice gritty start and then the fast licks come in and nope he is not playing that fast line with a pick, then back into that chorus with the unison bends, short and to the point opener!

These Doors

Now this takes me to like a Kotzen/Howe vibe the way that guitar and bass riff unison with each other, some really nice playing and the groove is infectious, it’s when it builds into the pre chorus it really opens up, and then when you get to the chorus, I am almost thinking like a Prince vibe in a way, lovely clavinet and organ playing as well after the chorus, the bass work is excellent on that verse! I love the way it slides down into the middle section with the lush chords in the background and the almost Benson style lead melody over the top of it, then when the solo starts yeah, I can really sort of hear that George Benson vibe on that solo, then a really nice unison part before a really fuzzed out guitar solo kicks in, before it lands right back in that pre-chorus again and back to that chorus, great track!

Insomnia

Almost like a ZZ Top style Texas swampy vibe to the start of this one, really low down and dirty sounding, love that shuffle, really dark guitar sound and a low vocal on the verse, then a spoken vocal comes in along with the main vocal making it sound very ominous, then a lovely guitar line takes us up to the chorus which really sort of opens up the whole song and changes the vibe completely, and then the flip side is a great transition back to the verse again, lovely solo, lot less gain than a lot of people but so clean on the fast parts as well, great technique to make lines like that work, I mean the guy is an absolute and utter machine live, there is a solo after the next verse and there is that vibrato that Howe/Kotzen does right there, love that extended solo, gives Richie a chance to open up, I really love this track, the two vibes between the verse and chorus, really well constructed song, love it!

Nomad

Eastern inspired clean riff to kick this off, then the vocal comes in and follows it with again some lovely bass playing, I love the drum groove to this, the song title is certainly the vibe of this one, I also really like the way it just changes to the chorus with the straight chords, again like the last song the detail is in the contrast between the parts, then when it hits the solo, we get the adult chords, and that solo is just in the bebop territory for sure, some really lovely phrasing and some terrifying runs in there for us guitar players to steal, sorry borrow, back into the chorus again, there’s almost like a vamp part comes in after about four mins with nearly a scat vocal with more lead fills in underneath it, great outro, another solid track!

Escape

Again, just a different guitar sound, this reminded me of Big Wreck straight away with that riff at the start, the vocals are just stellar, lovely harmony on the verse, then it sort of gets more rock in the chorus but the guitars don’t, the vocals just climb into it, then a little solo after the first chorus, that is a great chorus, Richie way up there in range but so much power behind the vocal, you can hear it in the recording, really short and to the point this one as well!

On The Table

Lovely driving beat on this and a nice notey riff as well, this one just grooves, great vocal on the verse, but I love it when the tempo picks up in the next part, and then when you get to the pre-chorus it changes again, the chorus though, that will get stuck in your head, it’s so singable, that middle section, it just gets right down and gritty with that riff, now I was not expecting that solo coming in with the volume swells, it really works and adds the atmosphere to the part, before we get more notey, some really nice unison work with the bass, before we have a few atonal parts, I would have loved that end part to keep going on, so far I am loving everything I have listened to!

This Is a Test

Nylon string acoustic, little intro and then into a strumming verse, just Richie and the guitar, and its parts like this you can hear how warm his voice is, also how great the harmony parts he adds in are, you know, I love when he does songs like this, in fact Change from the album of the same name is nearly my favorite song of his and it’s the same sort of vibe, that falsetto harmony and then the back vocals add so much to that part before we hit the last chorus again, I absolutely love this track!

Nihilist

Now call me crazy, that start reminds me of Zappa, don’t know why but first thing came into my head, the way the vocals and the orchestration of it lands, it’s an offbeat sort of shuffle groove with a really bright guitar sound, but it is really Zappa abstract, especially in that part where the vocal and guitar follow each other, lovely tone right there when that solo kicks in, again though there is a crazy legato lick at the end, but i cannot escape that eastern/Zappa vibe all over this one, it’s so cool, then it all dies down and there is an almost fusion section comes in, again some lovely licks and phrasing in there, before it kicks back to that chorus part with the wall of vocals in there, and then another lovely solo section, really sort of Scott Henderson vibe but still sounds like Richie, lovely ride out solo to top off the album, before it comes tumbling to an end!

10 out of 10

This is just another eclectic Richie album, great songs, great playing, great vocals, great arrangements, it’s just what he does, and for me, what he does so well, is, you know he can play, but the song is always the master and the solos are the icing on the cake and that’s what I love about Richie!

I hope I get to see him in Belfast again and have another chat, an absolute legend!

THE NEW STUDIO ALBUM OUT NOW
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