Randy Lee Riviere - Farmhand Blues (2025)

This is a rare time when a little vocal treatment is exceptional. It allows the vocals to embrace a big room Live sound. “Downtown” is fat-sounding, yeah – lots of atmosphere & spacious. The guitar has presence & grip. Randy Lee Riviere’s vocals are saturated with retro dynamics that give it an otherworldly kick. The harmonica’s haunting & well applied at the coda. Fortunately, Riviere’s good vocals don’t rely on effects throughout his LP.

What follows is a superb crawling blues in “Big On a Bender” — just enough attitude to guide a missile. Sometimes the devil doesn’t make a sound (that alone is a good blues title). You can dance to this; you can make whoopee, seductively smooth & nasty cool. Riviere has the right voice for these blues & he’s convincing. The guitar is equally shimmering. This skittles along with energy, & sass with Randy breathing new life into this old musical skin. He spreads Oil of Olay across the dry flesh of a vintage genre.

Even the more basic elementary title track blues of Farmhand Blues has value in its well-carved out vocals. Funky where it needs to be, dense & gritty in the margins. A good 2-minute old-fashioned blues. While “Bird Watchin’” makes Randy (vocals/guitar) sound older & the blues more commercially tethered, he still succeeds with his excellent ability to retain the tradition with more melody than a blues deserves. Nice intonation, phrasing & tone.

The Montana-based Randy (holds down the showboating, keeps a tight lasso on the blues cliches, & guides every nuance through a consistently convincing wool-cotton sound. “Alabama” is a blues, but it wears rock n’ roll threads, ironed & starched. Well dressed. The raunch factor’s drenched in vocal gasoline, the lit match is the guitars, & what drives the tune is the hint of danger – only suggested. Excellent. Elvis – if you’re still alive, cover this.

“Moonlight” & “December 1980” almost sound like legendary guitarist Roy Buchanan’s vocal (only better). “Moonlight” would’ve had more heft with Roy’s blistering guitar, but overall, both tunes by Randy are definitely a well-brewed keeper. “If I Were King” is another aurally satisfying excursion. To be expected. Wonderful.