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Bigfork is a town in the US state of Montana, administratively part of the still partially untouched Flathead County. It is the home of singer/songwriter Randy Lee Riviere — he formerly performed as Mad Buffalo — who released his new album “Farmhand Blues” on October 17th, with producer Tom Hambridge. Everything began for Riviere in the early 2000s as Mad Buffalo, with whom he released four albums. “A Good Bad Road” (2004) is an ode to the rugged road along the western border of Glacier National Park and its hero, “Cactus Ed,” aka Edward Abbey (1927-1989). Writer and essayist Abbey was known for his advocacy for environmental issues. His best-known work, the novel “The Monkey Wrench Gang,” inspired the founding of the radical environmental movement Earth First. “Fool Stand” (2006) saw an intense reading of the tragedy of the Civil War converge with the invasion of Iraq, and his third album, “Wilderness” (2008), was a step towards Americana. The fourth and final album was “Red and Blue” (2012), with its self-explanatory title track.
After Mad Buffalo, Randy Lee Riviere was clearly ready for something different. Under his own name, he recorded the deeply personal and emotional album “Wyoming” in 2021 with producer Kevin McKendree. It became a journey through the now less Wild West, fusing elements of country, Americana, and rock into contemporary country & western. His stories were therefore more poetic and philosophical, and were more his tribute to the environment, Native Americans, and family. But for his follow-ups, “Blues Sky” (2023) and “Concrete Blues” (2024), he ventured into new territory, still difficult to define stylistically, but with the blues more dominant. The title of his latest album, “Farmhand Blues,” refers to the toll human development has taken on western watersheds. He divides his time between Montana and outside Nashville, writing songs that reflect both his love of wild landscapes and his reflections on the human condition. For this album, he once again collaborated with Grammy-winning producer Tom Hambridge, who co-wrote eight of the album’s fifteen tracks and also provided drums, percussion, and backing vocals. The band consists of Doug Lancio, Bob Britt, and Michael Saint-Leon on guitar (Saint-Leon also adds harmonica), Mike Rojas on keyboards, and Robert Kearns on bass. Together, they create a powerful roots-rock sound with plenty of grit and groove.
The opener, “Downtown,” is an up-tempo blues-rocker with a playful edge, and this continues with “Big on a Bender,” a raw, energetic rocker full of raw, street imagery. Even the more basic, elemental title track blues of “Farmhand Blues” has value thanks to the well-crafted vocals. Funky where needed, dense and raw in the margins. A good, old-fashioned, raw two-minute blues that highlights the backbreaking labor of California farmworkers. Softer moments emerge on “Bird Watching,” where Riviere adds a touch of humor and wordplay. Although “Bird Watchin'” makes Randy sound older and the blues more commercially oriented, he still manages to maintain tradition with more melody than a blues deserves. Riviere even adds a touch of humor and wordplay to this song. On “Alabama,” Riviere imitates Neil Young & Crazy Horse with a straightforward rocker built on driving guitars, while “Moonlight” and “December 1980” sound almost like the vocals of legendary guitarist Roy Buchanan. Randy’s new album, “Farmhand Blues,” once again demonstrates the many different things running through his mind. As you browse through the fifteen tracks on this album, you’ll hear plenty of heavy, whiskey-soaked blues and roots rock, mainly thanks to his years of collaboration with Tom Hambridge, and we’re quite pleased with that.