I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the Smith/Kotzen releases. While Richie Kotzen’s voice occasionally sounds like a cat being strangled, he usually sounds fine, and his voice is a nice contrast to Adrian’s.
I think the aspect I like most is how all of the songs are both a vocal and guitar duet, which is unusual. Adrian and Richie’s singing and playing styles complement each other well, and you can tell Adrian’s really enjoying himself in this bluesy, noodly hard rock space.
While I might have preferred a new Primal Rock Rebellion or Psycho Motel Mk. II album, I do like how Adrian continues to branch out into different directions to keep things interesting. At this point I’d be happy with a future release from any of these projects, or something new. Maybe even an instrumental album, if a guy can dream…?
I didn’t get a chance to see any of the small handful of Smith/Kotzen shows in the U.S. in early 2022, but a friend of the family attended the first show and snapped these pics:
Not a lot of news on the Smith/Kotzen front lately, though Richie did confirm back in February 2023 that he and Adrian were writing new material and have every intention of releasing another album:
This article mostly talks about The Winery Dogs going on hiatus again, but there is a brief mention that Richie and Adrian have some new music and are actively making plans around that.
