Whisper
Toy Soldier
Big House
Holy War
Baby Blue
I Believe
Water From The Moon
Rain, Rain
Spooky
America
Riverdogs - 1990 Epic
Nick Brophy - bass, vocals
Vivian Campbell - guitars, vocals
Rob Lamothe - vocals, guitars, keyboards
with
Mike Baird - drums
Allen DeSilva - drums on "America"
Kevin Gilbert - keyboards on "America
Produced by Michael Frondelli and the Riverdogs
RIVERDOGS - RIVERDOGS
Tony Sison aka
The Atomic Chaser
Review: The Riverdogs are Vivian Campbell (Dio/Whitesnake) on guitars,
Rob Lamothe on vocals, guitar and keyboards and Nick Brophy on bass. On
drums are Mike Baird, Allen DeSilva and helping out on keyboards Kevin
Gilbert. I would describe The Riverdogs as the second coming of Bad
Company. Like Bad Company, The Riverdogs offer their blend of rocking
blues sound to this outstanding debut release. Vivian Campbell who has
lended his diverse guitar talents to bands like DIO and WHITESNAKE show
that he is just more than your average six-string shredder. His playing
on this album shows the range that he has from blues laden licks to all
out fingered frenzied chops. The complimenting factor that blends well
with Campbell's playing is vocalist Rob Lamothe. His husky melodic voice
brings to ones mind Paul Rogers. The emotion in his voice when he sings
is hypnotizing. The album opener "Whisper" a mixuture of textbook hard
rock with a bluesy base sound demonstrates that tightness of The
Riverdogs. On "Big House" a song that tells you about life behind bars
is brought to life in ones imaginations by the brilliant vocal
performance of Lamothe. The combination of Campbell and Lamothe are a
match made in heaven. This is an album that will stick around for a long
time. The Riverdogs are a fine oiled rock band that is reflected on this
debut album, nowadays a band like this is hard to find. The only
questions that came to mind was if America was ready for The Riverdogs.
On the song "America" I get the feeling that band was calling out for
attention, if anything recognition. The songs talks about how one came
to the shores of America to make a good living for his family with the
opportunties that this country has to offer. In a way The Riverdogs were
looking for that opportunity. Unfortunately the tide was turning and the
tide brought them back out to sea. This happened to not only to The
Riverdogs, but to alot of other rock bands that had aspirations and
dreams of making it. The Riverdogs debut release is as good as it comes,
no fancy make-up or over the top antics, just straight ahead pure rock
and roll. If there was one album that epitomizes hard rock the way it
should be played by talented musicians, this one but one such album. The
Riverdog's debut release is one that any fan of rock music should have.
Those who already have the album know what I mean, to those who don't
have this album, check it out and you to will believe. The Riverdogs
made a believer out of me. This one comes highly recommended.
Riverdogs Debut
marvic@gateway.net
The debut album from the Riverdogs is truly one of the GREAT records of
the Rock n Roll era. This album is easily in the top 10 of records released
in the decade of the 1990's. With all this in mind, this album has been
mostly overlooked by the buying public for reasons that are beyond me. That
will remain a mystery to me and all that have heard this masterpiece. Those
of us in the know, are most aware of the greatness that this album oozes.
Foremost, it introduced us to the brilliant song writing and gifted voice of
Rob Lamothe. It also gave Vivian Campbell, the opportunity to truly shine
in a co-equal status unlike before or since. Campbell's emotional playing
on this record is nothing short of brilliant. To say he plays all over this
record would be an understatement. This release also marked his vocal debut
too. He not only contributed harmonies, but also shared lead vocals with
Rob Lamothe on "I Believe". Thus, "the marriage" of Rob Lamothe and Vivian
Campbell is worth the price of this record if for no other reason. However,
not to be left out is Nick Brophy whose subtle, but driving bass sets the
tone throughout the record. Brophy's musicianship is the base that the band
builds off of and is a major ingredient to it's success.
There is not a weak song or wasted moment on this record. The flow of the
album is outstanding as each song seems to melt into the next. The
production is superb and can be seen throughout in the quality of the sound
and the extensive liner notes, with complete lyrics, in the CD booklet. It
would be hard to single out one song as better than anyother however, if
push came to shove my favorite songs are "Big House", "Water From the Moon",
the haunting song of the horrors of the aftermath of war "Spooky" and my
personnel favorite the bluesy ballad "Baby Blue". Rob Lamothe's brilliant
song writing is the difference that puts this record far above just about
any other release in the past 10 years. Add in all the other ingredients
and you have a record that is easily a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10 and how many
albums can you really say that about?
Riverdogs - (Self Titled)
Paul Sarno
The Riverdogs were a smalltown L.A. band who caught the eye (or ear) of Vivian Campbell back in 1989/90 when he was giving their original guitarist lessons.
Vivian agreed to produce some demos for the band and was so impressed with them that he eventually agreed to join the band (no small decision for such a "name" guitarist to join a bunch of unknowns).
The band consisted at the time of : Rob Lamothe on Vocals, guitar & keyboards, Vivian Campbell on lead guitar, and Nick Brophy on bass guitar. Session drummer Mike Baird handled the drumming, with the exception of the song "America" (Allen DeSilva, their original drummer, did the drumming on this song)
Up until this point, Vivian was well known for his fast & furious guitar work with Dio, and the Riverdogs was quite an about face for him. They had a very melodic and more pop oriented style than most Viv fans had come to know him for. It was a great oportunity for Vivian to show just what he was capable of.
At their core, The Riverdogs were not a metal band, although thanks to the presence of Viv, this is how they are remembered. Most songs were actually structured around Rob's acoustic guitar, and that's where the charm of Riverdogs was most evident.
The CD kicks off with "Whisper" - a great uptempo song about the struggles of everyday people and "life" just getting to them, and wanting to hear a soothing "Whisper" from up above. When the song starts off with a slow groove and you hear that guitar whine, you jusk know it's Viv.
Next is the fabulous "Toy Soldier" another toe tapper with a great melody that just sticks in your brain, a standout solo by Vivian!!!
"Big House" is more mellow, but Vivian seems to know how to add just the right touch of heavy guitars without making it sound out of place.
"Baby Blue" is a sweet song about Rob's son Josh and how fatherhood changes someones views on things. (not a ballad so-to-speak, but a more mellow tempo).
On "I Believe" Vivian tries his hand at singing. He sings the pre-chorus's. His raspy vocals are similar to Rob's and a nice accent to the song. A very rocking song!!!
"Spooky" is a very thought-provoking song about "Tommy", an old war vet, and the hardships he faces throughout his life until his time finally comes to rest. When Rob sings "There's a fire burning the sky tonight, come to take me home, pull me from a cold black river, when the angels come" you can practically see this man fading away before your eyes.
The cd closes with "America", a song about the American Dream and how maybe it's not quite what it used to be. It begs urgently and emotionally for our "Promised Land" to "Rise Up Again" as it once again chronicles the life of a man in dispair who just wants to hand his dream down to his children.
Every song on this CD seems to be an outpouring of both hope and dispair - the highs and the lows of life. Never has the human condition been so elloquently expressed.
How this band wasn't more popular is far beyond my understanding.
Don't let this CD pass you by. It may be hard to come by these days, but it's definately worth the hunt !!
Riverdogs - (Self Titled)
One of my favorite cd's of all time, the Riverdogs debut is amazing... Some of my all time favorite Riverdogs songs are on this, Whisper, Baby Blue, Toy Soldier... Big House is another favorite of mine, incredible song! Oh wait, it would be easier just to read the track listing at the top of the page! There isn't a song on here I don't like (not once have I had the urge to skip a song at any point when I listen to it.) The only studio recording with Vivian, the cd ROCKS!!
The debut has nothing but great songs, incredible lyrics and amazing musicians. What more could you ask for? (except maybe debut part 2?).
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