AMG Review of River

Greg Prato
All Music Guide

Despite keeping a fairly low profile since exiting the Guns N' Roses hype machine in 1991, guitarist Izzy Stradlin has issued solo releases on a sporadic basis -- including 2001's River. A long devotee of such rock & roll outlaws as Keith Richards, Stradlin still possesses a similar vocal style to the aforementioned Rolling Stones co-founder, while River musically contains a heavy roots rock vibe -- especially the organ-laced title track and "Get Away." That said, the album-opener, "Jump in Now," wouldn't sound out of place on modern-day mainstream rock radio. Not a lot of surprises here, but judging from Stradlin's solo albums thus far, that's exactly the way he and his fans like it.