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          	 RICHIE KOTZEN  ‘Change’ Frontiers FRCD160 (2003)
	 
	 The latest solo album by the former Poison and Mr Big guitarist. Kotzen
	 also covers the Mr Big tune Shine and ex- Mr Big drummer Pat Torpey
	 appears on High. Apart from these two and some extra backing vocals
	 from Charlie Sarti, Kotzen plays and produces the entire album.
	 
	 Plenty of musical styles on here and Kotzen has a decent set of pipes on
	 him. Touch of nu metal on opener Forever One, a song with a real down
	 and dirty bass line  Puddle of Mudd meets Linkin Park minus the
	 turntables! Get A Life takes on Butch walker at his own game - a
	 glorious slice of hard-edged melodic rock. Touch of latter-day Mr Big on
	 Don't Ask, complete with a big chorus. The Mr Big trcak, Shine
	 gets an acoustic workout here and sounds great.  Kotzen's vocals are not disimilar to Mr Big vocalist Eric Martin in places. Very catchy hook on this
	 track and a surefire radio hit. Kotzen shows of his range of guitar styles
	 well from the rock on the aforementioned tracks to the jazz-rock workout on
	 Unity. Tasty piece of funk rock on Fast Money Fast Cars, again
	 adding more variety to the mix.
	
	  A very varied album and enjoyable to boot. Should find a ready audience
       amongst the Mr Big and Kotzen fanbase. Well worth a listen
	
	Website
	 
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	 		  	Review by Jason Ritchie
	 		  
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		       ***** Out of this world | **** Pretty
		      damn fine |  
		      *** OK, approach with caution unless you are a fan |  
		      ** Instant bargain bin fodder | * Ugly. Just ugly  | 
		   
	 
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