I wondered how to start this review. Should I unleash a torrent of relevant adjectives? Adjectives in case of this album would include; dull, tedious, uninspiring, whiny, depressing and most damning of all, tasteful. OK, in that case I would still have four hundred and ninety odd words left. Perhaps I should lay my prejudices on the table; I’ve never been a real fan of Richie Kotzen. He was in Poison after they were fun and he was in Mr Big during the “Big in Japan” phase of their career. He’s a genre-hopping guitar hero who has usually left me cold and I’m afraid that Into the Black mostly leaves me thinking “ho hum.” 

Into the Black is by no means an upbeat record, in fact after listening to it over a week -long period it has made me somewhat depressed. Herein Richie makes Kurt Cobain look like one of the Chuckle Brothers! The set gets off to a particularly bad star with You Can’t Save Me where poor Richie comes across as not a little self-obsessed and liberally uses the word “fuck” – ooh get him. This is followed by Misunderstood as in, “ I’ll always be…” Aw, little love, it must be hard being a rock star. Track three Fear is suicide-inducing rubbish but then Richie pulls a real winner out of the bag in the shape of The Shadow which is reminiscent of some of the good tracks on Shark Island’s recent CD. 

Then we revert back to type with Doin’ What the Devil Says to Do which is Claptonesque but not in a good way whilst Till You Put Me Down is tuneless at best. Sacred Ground again shows what could have been. It’s probably the most rocking song on the album and is much the better for it. 

Your Lies is bland, bland, and more bland before I noticed that by the tenth track Living In Bliss that I was beginning to Find Richie’s sub-Coverdale voice annoying as well as the depressing nature of the songs. Things are rounded off with the ballad My Angel which is the third song on the album that I like. It’s an affecting little ballad that actually gets better every time I listen to it although it does feature the grammatically offensive line, “ I would never worry about nothing,” 

To my mind, three good songs don’t make a good album, hence the low mark.

Let us know your views on 'Into The Black'

Track List

You Can't Save Me
Misunderstood
Fear
The Shadow
Doin' What The Devil Says To Do
Till You Put Me Down
Sacred Ground
Your Lies
Living In Bliss
My Angel