By Tom O’Connor
When a musician is putting out their twenty-first solo album, it is safe to assume that you’re in capable hands and will likely be transported by what you’re about to hear. It is also a safe bet that you’re going to hear exactly where that musician is at, music and head-wise at this very moment in time. The trunk has been empty for a while and all the old ideas and notebooks have been either used or discarded by now. This means an artist is either going to start repeating themselves or they’re going to get brave, unapologetically seek new ideas and follow their current passions. That is what I’m hearing on Richie Kotzen’s new, Salting Earth.
Even a cursory skim through Kotzen’s discography will convince any listener (or reviewer) that dropping the word “virtuoso” into the discussion would not be hyperbole, so let’s get that part out of the way. The man can play the guitar. He knows it. We know it. Eddie Van Halen probably knows it too. But once a guy has proven all that beyond the shadow of a doubt, what does he do with all that musical mastery? If he’s smart, and Kotzen definitely is, he dials back the unnecessary flash, unleashing it only when it’ll have the most impact on the listener. He could have given us an exercise in guitar pyrotechnics but instead, parts of Salting Earth feel, (dare I say it?,) almost like an R&B/soul album, “Blue-eyed Soul” of course, but still soul. Coming off his work with his hard-rocking band, “The Winery Dogs,” the slow jams, falsetto swoons and a few straight-up love songs in this collection will catch newer fans by surprise.
Title track, “End of Earth,” is a bit of a Trojan Horse to get past your ear gates. This echo-y and driving song would sound appropriate in any Metal bar or late night drive on some long and lonesome highway. It is a six-minute suite of straight-ahead hard rock ideas with lyrics to match. Only a fool would argue with its sonic punch. The following two tracks – “Thunder” and “Divine Power” continue in this vein – reminding the listener that Kotzen is an assured hard-rocker who should be played at top volume.
…But before you know it, tracks four through six – “I’ve Got You”, “My Rock” and “This is Life,” shift to a slower gear and a higher vocal register, creating a swoon-y trio of tunes of love and dedication that would fit into anyone’s Valentine’s Day mix tape – or Valentine’s Day “playlist” for you youngsters. I would give a pretty penny to hear vintage Bill Withers or Teddy Pendergrass take a crack at any or all of these.
Just when you’ve been lulled into a woozy sexual-healing kind of headspace by those three tunes, Kotzen shifts back into high-gear with “Make it Easy” – a tight three minute hard-rock and no apologies blast, only to return to the soul vibe to close out the album with “Cannon Ball” and the jive-y shuffle of “Grammy.”
This is a collection that goes in several different directions, but none of them feel false and they’re all worth exploring.
Salting Earth is available:
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/album/0pVOdsazkMxlwse9tHlBlv
Apple Music/iTunes https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/salting-earth/id1210901193
Love Richie Kotzen. Love his new CD. Love the RnB tinged sound of his music. His multi-octave vocals are spot on…even live. I just saw him on May 5 in Michigan and he did not disappoint. He played the keys with the same ferocity as he does the guitar.
And the way he slays that guitar…no pick – fingers flying. His rhythm section is also stellar. I find there is no one that has the total package as well as Kotzen. He can do it all.