MUSIC REVIEW: “Aftermath of the Lowdown” (Richie Sambora) By Rob Huckins
Richie Sambora is perhaps the luckiest yet oddly underrated musician in the modern rock era, if only because he is known to many as the lead guitarist in one of the biggest bands in the world, Bon Jovi. Within that realm, he has been all over the world a number of times and has his creative fingerprints firmly marked on some of the most iconic rock anthems in American rock history. What is not as well known is Sambora’s true master status as a musician and top notch vocal chops as a singer with roots in the blues and folk tradition. On his third solo record, Aftermath of the Lowdown, Sambora offers up his finest solo outing yet, combining modern rock, blues and pop into an eclectic set of songs which tightly encapsulates both Sambora’s talents and influences. The opening track “Burn That Candle Down” features a crunching, bombastic intro of guitars and drums leading to a echoing vocal fuzzed out until it serves as a background guide to an otherwise blistering arrangement. This pattern continues on straight ahead rock romps“Learning How to Fly With a Broken Wing”, “Sugar Daddy” and “Nowadays”. As enjoyable as these songs are, listeners can safely assume Sambora is playing in fairly familiar territory, letting loose his musical and vocal ambitions in the most unruly way possible. But on songs like “Every Road Leads Home To You” and the wonderfully ascending“Seven Years Gone”, Sambora reveals a pop rock anthem sensibility until now only seen in his work with Bon Jovi, but with an earnestness and glaring sincerity not seen on a Bon Jovi record in years. These are songs Jon Bon Jovi and Sambora might have written together a decade and a half ago, only Sambora’s richly timbered and soulful voice gives the tracks much more authenticity than casual fans might expect. Sambora has endured an unfortunate series of personal maladies during the last eight years, including a divorce, the death of his father and a stint in rehab for alcoholism. Sambora, now 53, lets those life events come out to play on this record—bruises and all—one which clearly reflects a life fully lived, both for good and ill. The haunting and beautiful ballad “You Can Only Get So High” might be Sambora’s most honest and revealing song ever, with lyrics detailing drug and alcohol problems. While the piano and strings set the tone for a somber reflection of his strife over the last decade, it is Sambora’s voice which lifts the song from very good to transcendent. —one which clearly reflects a life fully lived, both for good and ill. The haunting and beautiful ballad “You Can Only Get So High” might be Sambora’s most honest and revealing song ever, with lyrics detailing drug and alcohol problems. While the piano and strings set the tone for a somber reflection of his strife over the last decade, it is Sambora’s voice which lifts the song from very good to transcendent. his strife over the last decade, it is Sambora’s voice which lifts the song from very good to transcendent. Aftermath of the Lowdown is a surprise in a way, if only because Sambora emerges here like a hidden gem, one heretofore largely hidden by the commercially sensible and gigantic rock machine that is Bon Jovi. This year marks the 30-year anniversary of the greatest rock act to come out of New Jersey not named Springsteen, a milestone very few in music ever reach, let alone a band largely dismissed as another “hair band” from the ash heap of Eighties hard rock and heavy metal. It should be a year of unabashed celebration for the band and fans alike, but Sambora is curiously and noticeably absent for reasons neither he nor the band will reveal. Sambora and the band maintain he has not been fired, that his place in the band is secure and permanent. Yet he is not there. The void left by Sambora is noticeable in the band’s current tour, both musically and vocally, not only on the band’s classic songs but in the less spectacular but indispensable moments such as key backing vocals, key guitar stylings and an amiably charismatic, accessible stage presence which offers fans a “normal guy” perspective to Jon Bon Jovi’s bigger than life rock star persona. While Jon clearly shines as the band’s star, Sambora is the arena rock everyman, the smiling, cool and immensely talented sidekick who lets audience members know he is on the same ride as them. On Aftermath of the Lowdown, listeners get that same feel and more, with songs that speak the truth of a man who has been on a roller coaster ride of his own for the last decade but with enough clarity to share it with the rest of us. Sambora gives fans a packed punch with this record, one that offers fans a fresh look at an artist who has quietly been with us for decades.
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