ADRIAN SMITH AND RICHIE KOTZEN DEBUT ALBUM TO BE RELEASED MARCH 26TH AS TRANSATLANTIC ROCK ICONS JOIN FORCES
26th January 2021BMG are proud to announce the worldwide release of the debut album Smith/Kotzen by Adrian Smith and Richie Kotzen on March 26th. The announcement comes on the back of the release of the video for the albumâs first single, âTaking My Chancesâ
ÂRecorded on the Turks & Caicos Islands in February 2020, produced by Richie and Adrian and mixed by Kevin âCavemanâ Shirley, this nine track opus is a consummate collaboration between these two highly respected musicians who co-wrote all the songs and also share lead vocals and trade off on guitar and bass duties throughout the record.
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Exploding with powerful melodies & harmonies, the album embodies the spirited attitude of 70âs classic rock with a melting-pot of influences ranging from blues, hard rock, traditional R&B and more, blending the pairâs backgrounds and life experiences to result in a thoroughly contemporary sound. The full track-listing is:
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- Taking My Chances
- Running
- Scars
- Some People
- Glory Road
- Solar Fire
- You Donât Know Me
- I Wanna Stay
- âTil Tomorrow
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The record features special guest performances by Adrianâs fellow Iron Maiden bandmate Nicko McBrain on drums for the track Solar Fire, and Richieâs longstanding friend and touring partner Tal Bergman on drums for You Donât Know Me, I Wanna Stay and âTil Tomorrow, with Richie picking up the sticks on the other five songs.
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Adrian Smith comments, âRichie and I started working together a couple of years ago. Weâd been jamming as weâd been friends for a few years before that. We both share a love for classic rock and bluesy rock so we decided to get together and start writing some songs and it went from there. Pretty much everything on the album is handled between Richie and myself including the production. We had developed a really strong idea of how we wanted it to sound and Iâm very pleased with how it turned out. Thereâs a lot of cool songs on there that we are really happy with.â
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Richie Kotzen adds, âWe had a very fluid process in writing. Sometimes Adrian would send me a riff and I would immediately hear some kind of melody or a vocal idea. And sometimes it was the other way round so it was a kind of circular motion. Weâd get together whenever we could and throw some ideas around and it just evolved, which was great because there was no pressure and nothing other than just a natural course and I think the record really speaks for that.â
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The album will be available in these formats:
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- Digipack CDÂ Â
- 12â black vinyl with embossed sleeve
- Digital (streaming and download)
- Limited edition 12â red & black smoke effect coloured vinyl