Randy Lee Riviere‘s new album, Concrete Blues, is a throughly satisfying blues/roots/rock experience. It is best played over and over again with, perhaps, slightly increased volume each time. It’s the kind of music that can take (and deserves) such respect.

There’s a unity of purpose driving this recording and the results are phenomenal. With songs focused so clearly on universal truths about life, all these guys had to do was go into the studio, listen to each other, and respond. That is enough with material this strong, and that is, apparently, what happened. The musical conversation taking place is one the listener participates in, emotionally and intellectually.

Musicians: Randy Lee Riviere (lead vocals and guitar), Tom Hambridge (drums, percussion, background vocals), Kenny Greenberg (guitar), Bob Britt (guitar), Stephen Mackey (bass), Robert Kearns (bass), Mike Rojas (keyboards).