The last time I encountered Mr. Kotzen was on last November’s Into the Black which I lambasted as, “bland… depressed …annoying,” along with a few other choice adjectives. It would be fair to suggest that I also lobbed my toys out of the pram when our esteemed leader informed me that this CD was winging its way to me. In fact I was gutted like a fish on a stick, however, I am delighted to inform all you out there in HardRockHouse land that Mr. Kotzen has, in no uncertain terms, located his missing mojo in some style. 

Richie has raised his game on every level on this outing; his guitar work is simply superb, his singing is emotive and soulful and the whiny rock star persona from Into the Black is entirely absent. In its place is a collection of engaging blues-influenced tunes; the best of is Faith, which oozes class and sincerity in its execution. Bad Things, which follows it, is nearly as good as the erstwhile Poison axeman cuts loose in memorable style. In fact, the first half of the record is a total joy with Go Faster being one of the best opening songs of the year as it sets a towering standard for the rest of the disc yet stands alone brilliantly by itself. In the United States the album is named after the opening song. 

Dust sounds like the Allman Brothers (big compliment there) whilst Chase It is an effective ballad. I’m somewhat less sold on the remainder of the disc. Do It to Yourself has a super chorus that makes you fall I love with it. It’s not that the later tracks are bad - far from it, it is just that from track one to eight I was seriously contemplating full marks, which would be a first for me. 

You’re Crazy is nice but under whelming and is followed by Feed My Head which is my least favourite song as it is just a little tuneless and shouty for the sake of being shouty. Can You Feel It is the last real track on the CD and initially sounds like a cross between Street Survivors Lynyrd Skynyrd and ZZ Top but that’s as good as it gets. 

The European version has a bonus track: namely a demo of Drift which is fairly nifty and gives us a final score of a very healthy eight out of ten which reflects the fact that for much of its running time Return of the Mother Head’s Family Reunion is jolly good indeed.

Let us know your views on Return Of The Mothers Head Family Reunion

 Track Listing

Go Faster
You Know That
Fooled Again
Faith
Bad Things
Dust
Chase It
Do It Yourself
You're Crazy
Feed My Head
Can You Feel It
Drift

Line Up

Richie Kotzen - Vocals/Guitars
Franklin Vanderbilt - Drums
Arlan Schierbaum - Keyboards
Virgil McKoy - Bass