01. Cannibals
02. In an Instant
03. The Enemy
04. Shake It Off
05. Come On Free
06. I'm All In
07. Stand Tall
08. Up (You Turn Me)
09. You
10. Time for the Payment

Richie Kotzen - Writer, Arranger, Performer, and Producer
dUg Pinnick of King’s X - Vocals(track 6)
Billy Sheehan - Low Harmony Vocals (track 7)
August Eve Kotzen – Piano (track 9)

Richie Kotzen is a music-making machine. Twenty solo records, formerly part of the bands Poison and Mr. Big, ongoing work with the power trio the Winery Dogs, frequent touring – Kotzen does it all. He was most recently in the spotlight last fall for the release of his first solo collection The Essential Richie Kotzen, and now he’s back with Cannibals. Comprised of material invented specifically for the album and unused song ideas from earlier in Kotzen’s career, Cannibals reveals as much about Kotzen’s work ethic as it does about his musicianship. How many artists can keep up such a pace and seem no worse for the wear?

“I feel like I’ve reached another level on this record,” Kotzen explained during a Blues Rock Review interview last August. Aside from meticulously mashing new and old song ideas together, Kotzen also sought outside inspiration: “You” in particular was co-written by Kotzen’s daughter August, who contributed the ballad’s beautiful piano segments and appears in the music video. Kotzen also collaborated with Doug ‘dUg’ Pinnick of King X and Pinnick Gales Pridgen on the slow-boil rocker “I’m All In,” another Cannibals highlight.

The title track serves as one of the album’s most memorable songs. Created in a moment of inspiration inside a restaurant (hopefully not in reaction to the cuisine), “Cannibals” features a recurring bass riff that’s fast and rhythmically magnetizing. Kotzen’s guitar skills shine on “In an Instant” around lyrics that assess the circle-of-life nature of life’s hardships. Though Cannibals has its moments of musical ingenuity, the focus of this record is really on its lyrics and vocals. Right on through the tenth and final track “Time for the Payment,” Kotzen’s voice is the album’s dominant force.

Following Cannibals’ release on his private Headroom-Inc. label on January 8, Kotzen will be playing a few shows in Japan in early February. Looking forward, Kotzen is expected to reunite with the Winery Dogs to begin work on a follow-up record in the coming months, though nothing has been confirmed. Until then, Kotzen fans have his recent collection and the new material on Cannibals to satisfy their hunger. --- Meghan Roos, bluesrockreview.com

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CD 1

01. War Paint [00:04:26]
02. Walk With Me [00:02:58]
03. Love Is Blind [00:05:34]
04. Go Faster [00:02:54]
05. Fooled Again [00:08:01]
06. Omg (What's Your Name) [00:04:18]
07. Help Me (Ns Version) [00:04:32]
08. Bad Situation [00:03:49]
09. Lie To Me [00:04:08]
10. Fear [00:04:45]
11. You Can't Save Me [00:04:17]
12. Doing What The Devil Says To Do [00:05:16]
13. Remember (Reprise) [00:05:23]

CD 2

01. What Is [00:04:03]
02. High [00:04:32]
03. Change [00:03:20]
04. Special (Acoustic Version) [00:03:52]
05. Paint It On (Acoustic Version) [00:04:20]
06. Holding On (Acoustic Version) [00:03:50]
07. Until You Suffer Some (Fire And Ice) (Acoustic Version) [00:03:37]
08. The Road (Acoustic Version) [00:03:54]
09. Regret (Original Demo Version) [00:03:50]
10. Damaged (Original Demo Version) [00:02:23]

The Essential Richie Kotzen is a career retrospective collection encompassing Kotzen's impressive career and includes his most essential work. The two-CD package is made up of classic Kotzen material, acoustic performances, bootleg material, and the brand new songs “War Paint” and “Walk With Me.” A DVD is also a part of the packaging - bursting with music videos, acoustic performances, and bootleg material here too. Later this month, fans will be able to hear a sneak-peek of this new mammoth release as a three-song sampler (which includes the two new songs) will be serviced to rock radio stations.

Regarding the two new tunes, “War Paint,” with its blusey intro, "...was a challenge to make a studio recording sound like a live band with only one musician playing all the instruments. I think I accomplished that on this track.”

And as far as “Walk With Me”: “There was a specific sound I was hearing in the song. I realized it was a Theremin, so I bought one. I spent a couple of weeks learning it. I used that where the lead guitar would normally go. It was a really rewarding departure for me.”

In addition to all his solo projects, Kozten is the guitar for, and fronts the band, The Winery Dogs with bassist Billy Sheehan and drummer Mike Portnoy; their self-titled debut album debuted at #27 on the Billboard “Top 200 Albums” chart. --- axs.com

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01. Gone Tommorrow Blues
02. Tied to You
03. They're Red Hot
04. Tobacco Road
05. Broken Man Blues
06. The Thrill Is Gone
07. From Four Till Late
08. A Step Away
09. Burn It Down
10. No Kinda Hero
11. Richie's Boogie

Musicians:
Richie Kotzen (vocals, organ, Wurlitzer organ, bass guitar, drums); 
Rob Harrington (bass on "Tobacco Road" & "Thrill Is Gone");
Matt Luneau (drums).

Every rock guitarist at some point in their career will make a blues album, and in this respect, Richie Kotzen is no different to anybody else. What sets him apart though, is his choice of material which shows that he does not follow the well trodden path of others, using no over-used blues standards as might have been expected. When approaching albums such as this, one is always thinking "sell-out" or "pad-out" - i.e. putting an album out just to fulfill recording contract requirements, but this is genuine, heartfelt material and the choice of "Tobacco Road" rams this point well and truly home - it is awesome in it's delivery and execution and certainly not a song that you would expect to find on a blues oriented album. As ever, Ritchie's guitar is clipped, to the point and well balanced, not the meandering, lengthy and pointless solo's that so many lay down these days and of course then there is his achingly beautiful voice that can soar over the song or cut through it like a knife through butter - just wonderful stuff! --- J. M. Green "john94682" (Sutton Coldfield)

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