Richie Kotzen is an often overlooked name in the history of Rock music. As a former member of several major bands, most notably a stint in Poison during the early 1990s and afterwards in Mr. Big, he has also had a successful solo career as a musician as well. In addition, Richie Kotzen also has had his own run of Fender Custom Shop Telecasters. The man is seen as a very valuable and important musician in the history of music in recent times. Let’s observe this compilation and hopefully, we will hear some good music from it.

War Paint begins with slow tempo crunchy guitars and excellent drumming. Richie Kotzen gets singing away nicely here, and this piece sounds amazing for a Rock tune. It’s completely awesome and breaks into a legendary sounding Rock tune that is totally underrated for what it is. Excellent, rousing and brilliant, this is 100% worth your ears. This is Classic Rock that sounds absolutely awesome. Richie Kotzen proves himself a great musician, and his guitar tone and playing are both unique and wonderful to listen to here. The chorus with its soaring and high registered vocal sounds really amazing, and this is undeniably a wonderful number to listen to. The second half of this tune has an excellent and searing guitar solo, followed by a very clever musical break that sounds really fantastic. The sounds present are really amazing to listen to. Towards the end, this tune sounds really loud, amazing and chaotic musically, particularly with those unique guitar tones. Fantastic music. A great, great listen from start to finish.

Walk With Me begins with a clear and excellent vocal, palm muted guitars and launches into a simple, yet groovy tune. Richie Kotzen launches into action with a high and clear vocal in the chorus and sings about being with a lady. This is fantastic music and sounds a lot unlike anything else out there. The slide guitar playing here is really excellent, and this is another great song from our musical master. A great tune and memorable for its singing, crunchy guitars and nicely grooving rhythm section. A really pleasant tune to hear, this sounds really beautiful and amazing throughout. It concludes with the chorus being sung and with the palm-muted riffs finishing up. Excellent.

Love Is Blind begins with some sweet slide guitar, before launching straight into a heavy Southern USA groove that sounds fantastic. Richie Kotzen sings, and following it is a fantastic and awesome Classic Rock groove that moves both the body and mind. A really excellent listen, in other words, Richie Kotzen sounds as though he knows exactly how to make great music more so than others. A really fine and fantastic tune to hear, this is a must hear for fans of Classic Rock or Country in particular. Richie Kotzen soars above the competition and sounds really fantastic musically, and this is definitely worth repeat listens throughout. Some clever and awesome slide guitar playing is present in the second half whilst Richie repeatedly sings, “What am I gonna do?” This is sensationally excellent music, and the guitar playing and tone present are sensationally and exceptionally good. A mindblowing shred guitar solo eventually emerges towards the end that sounds undoubtedly great. Soon enough, some chicken picking styled riffing enters, and this tune eventually wraps up nicely and finishes well with some awesome harmony based singing. Great, great song.

Go Faster launches right into it with wah-wah guitars and pounding drums, with Richie Kotzen singing excellently and euphorically on this tune. This is an excellent tune about tackling life in a one speed mode, i.e. going faster all the time. The singing, playing and vibe all are absolutely fantastic to hear, and this tune is another real winner. All in all, a fine and fantastic listen that sounds very euphoric. The guitar solo is just as manic, and Richie Kotzen proves his worth as a musician and player extraordinaire. A great, great listening experience that sounds very top-notch. Some manic guitar leads and an abrupt finish concludes this gem of a song.

Fooled Again is an eight minute long piece. It begins with a multitude of guitars, keyboards and drums and quickly launches into another superb song on this compilation. This tune is fairly moody but has some awesome wah-wah guitars throughout that sound really well played and excellent. The chorus is really excellent as well, and this tune is energetic, passionate and impressive. Richie Kotzen sounds really wonderful and legendary here, and he delivers a great tune to listen to and enjoy. It’s about the regrets in life, lyrically. Another great guitar solo emerges here, and Ritchie Kotzen puts his guitar chops to great use. Interesting, exciting and exhilarating to listen to musically, this sounds really expert and professional music that is in a class of its own. There is a keyboard and guitar solo leading from the second half which sounds really great, leading into a killer groove based breakdown that sounds very different. An interesting, deep and beautifully melodic listening experience, this is 100% worth hearing. It breaks into an awesome and wonderful shred guitar solo section that sounds really fantastic. A pretty and sweet tune to hear, this sounds really dynamic and amazing. The guitar work in particular is A Grade, and the rest of the band match it in terms of musicianship. Excellent, brilliant and worth hearing, this sounds unique and wonderful musically. This sounds great from start to finish, and the playing of this song is really insane. It ends with tambourines shaking and a nice electronic styled outro. Brilliant.

OMG (What’s Your Name?) begins with great drums, grooving basslines and some nicely playing and unusual sounding guitar. It quickly launches into a decent song that is extremely listenable and catchy throughout, which is superb and interesting. This is a quirky and retro song that still sounds really awesome and amazing to this day. Interesting and dynamic music to listen to, the guitars and basslines, in particular, are worth grooving out to here. The perfect music to play to your friends if they need to hear some awesome Rock music, there is a digitally edited and modified guitar solo present here that sounds different, clever and amazing. The chorus is a singalong piece too, and this music is undeniably fantastic. Great music, hopefully, this will last forever in terms of its appeal. It ends with a fantastic outro and a cool groove to boot. Fantastic.

Help Me begins with some awesome mid-position Fender Telecaster playing, deep and groovy basslines, powerful drumming and launches into another awesome and great song that sounds fresh, interesting and decent to this very day. A really unusual song lyrically, but matched perfectly with great music, Richie Kotzen articulates and performs great music perfectly. There is an unusual yet cool guitar solo near the middle that sounds really wonderful. Richie Kotzen plays in a unique and wonderful way throughout these songs, just sounding like a great musician and guitarist who needs to be heard more often. A fantastic song to experience and to listen to, this is exceptionally decent and great. Some of the guitar playing throughout is fairly Led Zeppelin-esque, but it is not Jimmy Page. Regardless, a really fantastic tune to hear and to listen to. Great music designed to be heard on repeat, the outro has more great Fender Telecaster licks and expert playing. A fantastic tune from start to finish.

Bad Situation begins with some great bass guitar playing, organ and some snippets of guitar. This quickly launches into another great and perfectly listenable song to boot. Richie Kotzen sings well here and proves his worth as both a singer and guitarist. The chorus is really great as well, and this tune sounds really fantastic musically. This is followed by some sweet wah-wah guitar solos and some nice playing from the band in general. The chorus is uplifting and decent, and this whole tune, like the rest of the tunes on this album, shines bright. A very interesting wah-wah guitar solo in the second half is present, quickly followed by more cool verses. Richie Kotzen is a great musician and showcases his talent nicely on songs such as these. The outro is sublime. An excellent listening experience.

Lie To Me begins with some nice overdriven guitar riffs, and sounds amazing. It quickly launches into a nice ballad that sounds a lot like Lenny Kravitz. It’s a strange song lyrically that insists that a partner should lie to one to make one happy, a bit weird really. Musically it is really extraordinary, however with all the usual tasty sounds that we can expect from this compilation. In particular, the guitar work sounds really decent and amazing throughout, and Richie Kotzen reveals himself to be a fine musician in many different ways. Another amazing effort, the chorus in particular is really solid. There is a great guitar solo in the second half that sounds super cool and different, which is played in Rock God mode. Nonetheless, a really awesome tune to hear and to listen to. A fine and thoroughly cool tune to listen to, this is a magical and worthy listen. Worth hitting the repeat button here, the music is simply that great. Excellent stuff.

Fear begins with some electronically treated drum loops, flanger-affected guitar and some sweet harmonies to match it. From the start, this sounds really cool and amazing, and Richie Kotzen showcases his great worth as a musician. The chorus launches into a great climatic point that is ridiculously good. A wonderful and interesting listen, this is an upbeat song about being totally paranoid. The verses have some interesting and wonderful music throughout, leading back into an intense chorus. Although this tune is a little repetitive, it still sounds beautiful, legendary and wonderful for what it is. Some great guitar soloing is in the second half of this song, with some wah-wah guitar that is super tasty to hear. All in all, this sounds really excellent and wonderful. Worth your ears, 100%. A worthwhile addition to this compilation, and a dramatic listening experience throughout. Great song.

You Can’t Save Me begins with some slightly overdriven guitar that is somewhat Grungy and melodically played. Richie Kotzhen launches right into a great vocal performance, and this song sounds really amazing. The chorus is fantastic and the music is really fantastic. It is a very explicit song, with some pronounced use of the “f” word here to full effect. This is another legendary song from this fantastic musician, and his singing present here is amazing, above anything else. Nonetheless, the music here is awesome and amazing. The pre-chorus lyrics are really amazing here, and the music takes you to another higher level. All in all, this music is to be treasured, it is simply that great. In the second half is a great guitar led breakdown that sounds cool and fantastic. A really top listening experience, this is a magical tune. Worth your ears. The scream at the end is fantastic, followed by sustained guitar chords. Excellent.

Doing What The Devil Says To Do launches into a wah-wah guitar band jam based groove, quickly entering into a great song with some amazing singing by Richie Kotzen. There is some absolutely amazing and magnificent guitar playing here, and the whole piece sounds amazing and phenomenal to listen to. A really great and classic tune, Richie Kotzen reveals himself to be a competent and amazing musician throughout. A pretty bunch of guitar parts are present here, and this tune sounds really pretty and lively. A decent listening experience, this is glorious and phenomenal sounding. With religious references throughout, this is another great song for listeners to hear. In the second half is a sweet yet dirty sounding guitar solo that sounds really cool. Nicely played by Richie Kotzen, this certainly does sound really fantastic and amazing throughout. A great, great song about fighting temptations in life. A really superb listen, it ends with the band and vocals getting subtle here. Sweet.

Remember (Reprise) is the last track on the first side of this album. It launches into an acoustic based ballad with some wah-wah bass guitar and sounds fresh and exceptionally good. This is a deeply romantic and lovely tune that sounds really cool. Cool and classy Pop/Rock music, this is a really decent and emotional listening experience from Richie Kotzen. It is an old-time piece of Classic Rock that sounds really fresh and amazing to this very day. The music here is sensationally great, and it is something to play when in the mood for loving. Really great music all the same. There is a slide acoustic guitar solo present here as well, which is really nice and sweet sounding. Ritchie Kotzen is no one trick pony. A great and lovely tune to hear, and something very inspired musically. Great to hear through and through, this is a devotional love song from the heart. This music takes one’s mind places. Fantastic music with some expert acoustic shredding at the end. Mint.

What Is (2014 Version) begins with a crisp and clear acoustic guitar, quickly launching into a great sounding piece of music with a steady rhythm section present. It is a beautiful and pretty acoustic ballad that quite frankly, sounds fantastic. A great tune and something quite deeply emotional, especially in the chorus section. A lively and wonderful listen, this is for fans of Rock music who need to hear some acoustic tunes here. Quite simply, it works. A really underrated and great tune, this sounds amazing and fantastic for what it is. The song continues to evolve nicely along here, and the whole thing is a really emotional heart-on-its-sleeve tune. Exceptionally brilliant, this does sound superb and wonderful musically. A great, great listening experience. A fine piece of songcraft, proof that you don’t need a million instruments or overdubs to make things work in a song. This ends softly.

High (2014 Version) is another acoustic tune that sounds pretty and melodic from the start. Richie Kotzen sings beautifully here, and he delivers a sweet and sensationally good tune for people out there to enjoy. This is a fantastic listening experience that sounds really great and is obviously about drug use from the go. Cool, clever and simple, this is another amazing and fresh tune that still sounds amazing to this very day. It is a fantastic and upbeat listen, although it has other emotions running deeply through it. Fine and fantastic music, this sounds wonderful and lively. It is about using drugs to escape from one’s problems, which is basically what drug use is really about. Some double bass is played here, along with some other pleasant musical touches. Awesome and tuneful, Richie Kotzen impresses every single time. A wonderful song from start to finish.

Change (2014 Version) begins with some more crisply strummed acoustic guitar and has Richie Kotzen singing nicely here. He sounds wonderful throughout. An impressive and short piece at three minutes in length, this is a great taste test of Richie Kotzen if you haven’t heard his music before. Really awesome to listen to, this is a really sensational tune to hear. Some acoustic slide guitar soloing is present in this song as well. Soon enough, multitracked harmonies and sturdy drumbeats enter and this tune comes nicely alive. Really fantastic music, this is a winner of a tune. The outro is short and sweet. Great job.

Special (Acoustic Version) begins with some Coldplay-esque acoustic guitar and sounds really excellent. Richie Kotzen sings beautifully here, and the simplicity and power of the music here is really excellent. A fine and fantastically emotional song to listen to. The guitar solo sounds really excellent here, and the music is mind-blowingly great. A really lovely and sweet tune that sounds fresh, heartfelt and brilliant, this is a great love song set to music. Some slide acoustic guitar in the second half is present, and this tune sounds really majestic. A mindblowing performance in terms of excellence, this is worth your ears. The soloing and harmonies present are breathtakingly awesome. Nice tune to hear, and definitely worth your time. Pretty.

Paint It On (Acoustic Version) begins with more pretty acoustic guitar playing, and sounds excellent as a result. Richie Kotzen sings from the heart here, and he sounds fantastic for this sort of music being played. He breaks into a great falsetto in the chorus, and this tune is a really lovely and magical listening experience. Acoustic based music is lovely and simple listening but is a real joy to enjoy, especially how it is done here. A gorgeous and uplifting piece of music and songcraft, this sounds really divine. An awesome tune about being high, this is sensationally great music to listen to. A solo section with hummed harmonies and acoustic strumming is here before this song resumes back into action with the lyrics. A really great listening experience from start to finish, this is a fantastic song. Great to hear.

Holding On (Acoustic Version) begins with a clear and sweet vocal, launching straight into another amazing acoustic guitar led ballad. This sounds like a lovely and majestic tune that is really fantastic, powerful and emotionally excellent. Simply beautiful, this is yet another short and sweet tune that sounds really great and fantastic. If you don’t like songs like these, then you clearly cannot appreciate acoustic guitar based music. A really fantastic listen, even for a lesser tune, this sounds super great and fantastic musically. Worth your ears, and sounding really inspired. Great song, once again. The outro is well-played and pretty.

Until You Suffer Some (Fire and Ice) [Acoustic Version] begins with some great plucking on the acoustic guitar, followed quickly by some excellent singing within. This is yet another excellent acoustic guitar ballad that sounds really awesome and fantastic. Also, the romantic themes continue on this tune. A really cool and interesting listening experience throughout, this is great to hear. This is the sort of music to hear when getting intimate with a lover, it sounds absolutely perfect for that purpose. A really awesome and top listen, this is miles better than Bob Dylan in some ways. The singing and playing on acoustic guitar are really fantastic. Fine music that is definitely worth your ears. The outro has the main guitar licks being played nicely to a great conclusion. Excellent.

The Road (Acoustic Version) begins with some beautiful grand piano and sounds very deep and emotional. A great set of lyrical singing is present by Richie Kotzen here, and this tune takes one places that you never normally think of. A truly enjoyable and listenable tune, this is about going down the same road in life, not necessarily adapting to situations. Still, this is a great sounding song, without a doubt. Richie Kotzen puts a great effort into an emotional and lively performance here. Wonderful and pretty music, this is one of the best cuts from this half of this album. Awesome.

Regret (Demo Version) is another piano-led piece that is good from the start. Soon enough, Richie Kotzen gets singing nicely away on this song and he puts his heart on his sleeve here, once again. This is another good piece of music that stands tall to this day. Great and emotional listening about relationship issues, this is a really outstanding listen, even for a lesser track on this album. Sounding somewhat like The Beach Boys, Richie Kotzen brings light into a world of shade musically. There is a sweet piano solo in the second half of this song before this tune begins to conclude well. A fantastic listen, once again.

Damaged (Demo Version) is the last track on this double album. It begins with some snappy drumbeats, wah-wah guitars and some rather melancholy singing from Richie Kotzen. This is again, good, but perhaps not as good as other songs on this compilation. Still, it concludes this compilation very nicely and it sounds very listenable all the same. An emotionally powerful and interesting tune to listen to, this is a really sensational listen throughout. It ends fairly quickly after just two minutes in length. Brilliant.

This is without a doubt an essential compilation for many out there to listen to. Understandably, the first half of the compilation has a bit more appeal commercially, but the second half of the compilation is just as good, albeit in a completely different way. Classic Rock fans in particular will appreciate the fantastic music on this compilation. Should you listen to this compilation? Yes, especially if you really dig Rock music with a touch of Southern Rock. Even if you are not a fan of these genres, this is still easily appreciated. A decent compilation and something one should have in their music library.

Great and decent quality emotionally charged Rock music.

9/10