Label: BMG
Release date: 3/26/2021
Produced by: Riche Kotzen & Adrian Smith
Album length: 47.19 min
Genre: Hard Rock
Rating: 9.0/10
An album like this one, “Smith / Kotzen,” is always a special kind of treat for fans of good rock music. They know a musical adventure like this can give you a lot. You come out richer for a fresh musical experience, just like the players who set out on it. You’d never have guessed these two would join forces for a shared album, since they come from such different musical worlds. On one side there’s Adrian Smith, the Brit the whole planet knows as a guitarist for metal giants Iron Maiden. On the other there’s American Richie Kotzen, who on top of a stellar musical career once saved the pride of both Poison and Mr. Big. He’s the creator of an outstanding solo career, and he brings his unsuspected musical multi-talent to the hard-hitting fusion crew The Winery Dogs too.
The album was recorded on the island of Providenciales, part of the Turks and Caicos archipelago, which sits between the Dominican Republic, Cuba and the Bahamas. Richie and Adrian produced it, while Kevin “Caveman” Shirley handled the mix and the mastering. Both musicians contributed lead vocals, guitars and bass. Kotzen personally pounded the drums on five tracks, while Adrian’s Iron Maiden buddy Nicko McBrain played drums on Solar Fire. The album’s other guest is Kotzen’s drummer Tal Bergman, who played drums on the tracks You Don’t Know Me, I Wanna Stay and ‘Til Tomorrow.
So what’s the verdict? The album is a kind of crossroads between two musical worlds, building a platform for a brand-new musical story. And that story is interesting enough to draw in even the more demanding hard rock fans. Yes, first and foremost this is a hard rock album with a really full, fat sound when it comes to covering that wall of riffs, though here and there it’s seasoned with a bit of blues and some funky rhythmic kinetics. On this album Smith is basically free to make the kind of music that’s “off limits” for him in Iron Maiden. Just look at the track Scars. Interestingly, it opens with a chord progression that evokes, melody-wise, the intro of the Black Sabbath classic Anno Mundi (album “Tyr” (1990), RockLine review), but otherwise it’s a full-blooded, mid-tempo blues rocker of a dark nature from head to toe, in which Adrian once again proves he holds his own credibly on vocals here.
In the choruses it’s mostly Kotzen who takes the lead. He’s technically a good deal stronger vocally than Smith, though not necessarily. The choruses are sung as duets, and the contrast between the two voices fires up one after another very convincingly. The opening of the album rests on two ravenous charges, Taking My Chances and, right after it, Running. The first carries an opening phrase that Bruce Dickinson could easily have adopted in some other studio ritual, back when he was making “Chemical Wedding” (1998, RockLine review). But that’s just the intro, because these two guys put things in their place pretty fast. Taking My Chances is a funked-up, groovy hard rocker where both musicians deftly pass the vocal lines back and forth. The mid-eight passage is interesting too: thanks to the jumpy rhythmic structures (the bass lines), Kotzen manages to conjure up a bit of The Winery Dogs magic, which is almost unimaginable without Sheehan and Portnoy. Kotzen sings the first verse, Smith the second, and they join forces on the chorus (a duet). The chemistry is there and the vocals support each other nicely. You’ve probably guessed already that, despite a relatively predictable songwriting format, the album succeeds precisely thanks to the musical quirks of both creators, speaking to you throughout with a pleasant touch of eclecticism. And that guarantees consistently engaging listening. Running cements those feelings as the album goes on. If Taking My Chances was Smith’s idea, Running is Kotzen’s song, and, interestingly, it packs an even more ravenous chorus than the opener, along with a higher dose of funky kinetics. Solar Fire, a (Kotzen) charge steered into classic rock’n’roll waters, where Nicko McBrain also explodes on the drums, is the liveliest moment on the album. With its high-octane voltage, it keeps the whole thing dynamic and varied.
The nine tracks develop remarkable variety. It’s hard to pick out highlights, since the two buddies build an extremely compatible dialogue and complement each other in both ideas and execution. It depends what kind of person you are. If you’re after a ravenous atmosphere, then the (Smith) tracks Scars, You Don’t Know Me (a ballad “stunner” that Bruce Dickinson wouldn’t say no to on one of his solo albums) and especially the closer ‘Til Tomorrow will give you what you’re looking for. All three are dark in nature, yet they develop remarkable musicality, with a clear posture of melancholy and unsung pain.
Let’s not get too philosophical. Words quickly run out, or rather, they become pointless in the face of this kind of artistry. This is an album with an exceptional “flow” and an exceptional “drive,” if you will. An organic, living and juicy “kick.” With guitar fingers constantly on the trigger. “Smith/Kotzen” is a very dynamic record that turns on a dime. At the same time, it’s musically very ravenous. The fusion of two musical worlds is pulled off effectively. It develops great compatibility and harmony between the creators of this musical story. That goes for the guitar solos too, which both musicians shower over the album’s tracks. Smith once again fascinates with his exceptionally refined ability to string notes and tones together so that he keeps and builds real musical appeal within the solos, a quality he has always brought to Iron Maiden as well. Adrian also shows up on “Smith/Kotzen” in bluesy waters, which suits him down to the ground. The yearning I Wanna Stay, a song about the inevitable parting of two people who weren’t destined to live out all their love for each other, is just one of those moments where “Smith’s blues” gets intensified. The two musicians approach the songs with completely different soloing and a noticeably different soloing technique. Kotzen plays with a pick. For that reason alone, his solos have a vividly different character, and there’s a lot more bluesy symbolism in them, or rather a captured “tension of the blues theater.” Savoring the solos and the ornamental (harmonic) seasoning of the lead phrases is an adventure of its own kind, and definitely one of the biggest draws, qualities and charms of listening to this record.
“Smith/Kotzen” is an album of fierce energy and an eclectic bent. The latter is guaranteed by the compatible pairing of two musicians who come from noticeably different musical backgrounds. The album’s core focus is hard rock, but in expressive terms elements of blues, and even traditional R&B, attach themselves to the basic phrases. Now and then a hint of funk sneaks onto the album, while the record’s own (polished and clearly chiseled) character, its aura, is rounded out by the internalized vibe of the seventies classic rock school that runs through the veins of both players.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Track list:
1. Taking My Chances
2. Running
3. Scars
4. Some People
5. Glory Road
6. Solar Fire
7. You Don’t Know Me
8. I Wanna Stay
9. ‘Til Tomorrow
Lineup:
Adrian Smith – vocals, guitar, bass, backing vocals
Richie Kotzen – vocals, guitar, bass, backing vocals
Guest musicians:
Nicko McBrain – drums on track no. 6
Tal Bergman – drums on tracks no. 7, 8 and 9
