Richie Kotzen - 50 for 50

Richie Kotzen - 50 for 50

50 new songs to celebrate your 50th anniversary. This is a bold, for some people even arrogant statement,when other bands cannot compose  a decent song in 50 years. So the mighty Mr Kotzen set the standards real high and the non rhetorical question , was all over the place...Did he make it and how?

After listening the album during a 4 hour drive, with changing landscapes from the mountainside to the seaside and then the urban territory, i was more puzzled than ever. He did the less of instrumentals he could, 3 or 4 and when he decided to do so like in "Feather weight" and ". “July 14th”  he just makes them look like real songs and not guitar practice in soloing. So Kotzen decides to keep the aces hidden in his sleeve for his other band WINERY DOGS and play it safe, as safe can be an album full of modern funk /soul/rock songs , with a heavy touch of fusion and some real jazzy passages. He went through his studio vaults and came out with 50 songs, that he took  personally all the way to the finish product line.

If you're in to his personal work, here you ll find this perfect mix of FUNKADELIC, Hendrix, Lenny Kravitz, Prince along some serious fusion stuff, and some more laid down moments when he decides to be more emotional and slow down. So the songwriting and that is a fact and also astonishes me, is never beyond the mediocre, not a really dull moment, even if he could be a bit more volatile at some songs. You wont find a hard rock part, a hair metal, AOR stuff, just Richie on his own, taking care of all instruments, playing sweet soul/funk infused rock songs. He also made the album tight, with the songs keep most of the time under 4 minutes , making this "arrogant" statement, a delight for the ears. I wish he had put some more bluesy stuff, but this is his 50th anniversary not mine and he decided on the party cake recipe.

The result is a 3 cd  piece of gold, that may not be the one you will remember from his body of work, but one standing among his best. For fans of latest works of Kotzen and also MOTHER HEAD FAMILY REUNION, he nailed it once again, even when he decided to be more stripped down and acoustic. The mark goes up to seven, because with 50 songs, no one, could keep them all at the level of 8 to 9 that it would get releasing a singe album. Wish you all the best Mr Kotzen and thank you for this excellent piece(es) of soul moving music.

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