Review - The Winery Dogs (Loud and Proud Records)

 

   We got to interview Richie Kotzen last week and he seemed a nice enough guy. I couldn't help but feel in some way sorry for him through no fault of his own. He's always been a super-talented guitar player and a much better singer then most give him credit for. The problem with him is timing. He joined Poison in the 90's when that scene was all over bar the shouting. He replaced Paul Gilbert in Mr. Big in the latter part of that decade. The work he did with both was solid, Native Tongue is my favourite Poison album and Actual Size is a great Mr.Big record ten years too late.

   Both bands reform with their original popular line-ups releasing new material and what of Mr. Kotzen? Back to releasing solid solo albums to little or no fanfare, well except Eddie Trunk but I will get back to that in a minute.

   Mike Portnoy and John Sykes go on That Metal Show and announce a new power trio with Billy Sheehan. I was genuinely excited as I loved Sykes playing and he hadn't released anything new in what seemed like forever. Then it became obvious why, it took him forever to put 2 feet in a recording studio. The other 2 couldn't wait so enter Richie Kotzen via prompt from Eddie Trunk. He's not technically following Sykes because they released nothing but he is really.

   I like Eddie, I really do and he's done a lot for hard rock and metal over the years but you'd swear he's in the band. He also has a vested interest in their success because to him he orchestrated all this. I have no doubt he loves the record, for the most part I believe he is honest in his opinions but to him this band is the second coming of Christ.

   Scott hit the nail on the head last week when he said to me it's Mr. Big without Eric Martin singing and Portnoy hitting more drums on a bigger kit. Go listen to the Get Over It and Actual Size albums and tell me I'm wrong. I'm not saying it's crap though. Kotzen, Sheehan and Portnoy are too talented for that it's just been done before.

   There are some great songs here like Elevate, Desire or my personal favourite You Saved Me and yes they play everything impeccably. If anything it showcases how good a singer Kotzen really is on a bigger stage. It's a really good album and at times great. I can't help feeling that Billy Sheehan has the Mr. Big thing in the back of his mind, playing with Sykes would have been new and fresh. As for Portnoy well check back tomorrow to see if he is still on the drum stool.

Richie.

http://www.thewinerydogs.com/