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Undiscovered Soul
03/03/1998 3:00 AM, Yahoo! Music
Don Waller
You've sold 75 million records playing guitar for Bon Jovi, you're married to a famous TV star, and your last (1991) solo album stiffed. Hey, you're Richie Sambora, and you've searched the very depths of your artistic soul to make a brand-new solo record that winds up sounding...like a 10-year-old Bruce Springsteen album. No one's doubting your sincerity, which is as painfully obvious as your clenched-throated delivery of the 5,283 cliches that masquerade as insight throughout. While the execution isn't bad--producer Don Was rounds up the usual roots-rock session pros--the paint-by-numbers songwriting simply can't support the 16 tons of unoriginal sonic bombast that saddle such slim sentiments as "Who I used to be ain't what I am." Best moment? That psychedelic Beatles rip-off ("You're Not Alone"), 'cause it's a better blueprint than, say, "Streets Of Philadelphia --heard here as "Harlem Rain"--to begin with.
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