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The new album Peace Sign is a welcome return for guitarist Richie Kotzen to the rock music buying public's ears. The man with one of the most distinctive voices around has released an album that will surely remind the ordinary person on the street how good a musician he can be.

Right from the off Richie shows his vocal talent on the opening track 'My Messiah', coming across as a mixture of a knowing verbal sage and a man with a message to pass on. His voice has actually seemed to have changed and improved (if that’s possible) over the last couple of years.

It will always be the guitar that Richie is known for, especially after playing with two of the biggest bands in America in the nineties, Mr Big and Poison. This is no bad thing as it makes the listener really take in some of solo’s that Richie is able to perform, especially on tracks such 'Playing Dues' where his finger skills take on new heights.

The whole album is a rock listeners dream to listen to and the fact that Richie plays every instrument possible except for the drums on four of the tracks is a testament to the mans skill as a musician.

All in all a great album.

You can catch Richie Kotzen on tour in October at the Robin 2, Bilston (near Wolverhampton) on Oct 12th and at the club Academy in Manchester on Oct 16th.

Ian D. Hall