Short Reviews [Riveryman - 2018 - "Views, Fears & Stories"]

At the time of recording the second Riveryman album the line-up was Toni Jokinen (aka Tony Riveryman) (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, piano) and Mika 'Pikkis' Korkeamaki (drums) but sadly Korkeamaki passed away prior to the album actually being released. It is actually the drumming and the guitarwork which makes this album stand out, as Toni has been making his living from being a professional guitarist for many years, and he can certainly shred when he needs to, mixing Vai with Satriani as well as more Hackett-style sounds when the time is right. The album isn’t as instrumental as one might expect from what is basically a multi-instrumentalist working with a drummer, and in this case that is actually a shame. During those passages without vocals, there is an air of polish and shine which keeps the listener interested as the music moves and swirls, switching in different directions, often bringing hard rock elements into the more progressive sound. But, for all the great performances and wonderful artwork from none other than Ed Unitsky, there is no getting away from the fact that the album is spoiled by the vocals. Jokinen has a style of singing which doesn’t gel with the music and flattens instead of lifting it up. If he were performing a different musical style then it wouldn’t be an issue, but his voice isn’t light enough or melodic enough to provide the counterbalance which is required. The result is an album that does have some incredible highs, boy this man can play guitar, but there are also some lows. Overall, I did enjoy it, and others may not feel the same as me, so it is certainly worth checking out (and unlike many albums this is available on CD as well as digitally), but probably best to hear before buying.