Vintage Love by Rehya Stevens

Vintage Love the new album from Rehya Stevens, which will be released in February, opens with the beautiful title song, an R & B mix, written by Ms. Stevens and Larry Antonino, on which she accompanies herself with keyboards and synthesizer bass.  The beats are much more pronounced on “Paradise,” a good dance tune and in the background cymbals are constant. As is the common thread throughout this splendid album, it is Encino, California’s Rehya Stevens’ vocals which distinguish her from R & B artists who let the music carry them. Make no mistake about it, it is Rehya Stevens’ beautiful, ethereal soprano vocals that drive these songs and take them from being merely good to very good. Had this album been released in 2012 Riveting Riffs Magazine would have picked it as our # 1 favorite album of the year.

The song “Over & Over,” written by Rehya Stevens and Tio Banks is a fabulous song, with Ms. Stevens demonstrating she has a big voice and contrasts that with her own, softer background vocals, with the song being introduced by Alex Teamer’s pretty, but simple keyboards melody. The percussion is minimal and allows plenty of room to showcase Rehya Steven’s breathtakingly beautiful vocals, which she arranged and mixed. As the song progresses the tempo quickens and while the strength of the song builds, as does the volume, it is never overpowering, always retaining a subtle element to the music. Are there dance clubs that play indie music? If there are those types of clubs, “Over & Over,” should be a popular DJ request. This is a song that gets your body moving to the music, before fading with a soft, pretty piano outro. Read More

Arrica Rose - WOW !

Singer-Songwriter Arrica Rose who grew up in the San Fernando Valley of California released her new EP Lucky on April 13^th at the Hotel Café in Los Angeles. Arrica Rose’s breathtakingly beautiful vocals and the ethereal music on the song “Microscope,” are juxtaposed to a more somber theme of overanalyzing love.

In our soon to be published interview with Arrica Rose she talks about the song “Microscope,” “It began with me saying to someone else, just put away the microscope and let’s not dissect this thing. That just stayed in my brain and to the point that I ended up writing it down on one of the many pieces of paper that I write things on. Really what I was saying is look at the big picture. Don’t try to overanalyze every tiny little detail to the point where everything is just this big mess.”

The words, “So put away the microscope, let’s live in a big picture that paints us lucky,” tell you all you need to know about the message behind a song that is one of the prettiest Riveting Riffs Magazine has heard this year.  

The EP Lucky found Aricca Rose in the studio once more with producer Dan Garcia who was also guided two of her previous albums (Pretend I’m Fur and La La Lost). A very small sampling of the many artists with whom Dan Garcia has worked in the studio includes, Rod Stewart, Helen Reddy, Toto  Read More

Adrienne Pierce - My Heavens

It was about five years ago in the West Coast Canadian city of Vancouver that we first met Adrienne Pierce who was opening that night for Jane Siberry, who has since renamed herself Issa.  Although, the audience that night had come mostly to see Issa they had completely embraced Adrienne Pierce by the time she had completed her solo set, accompanying herself on guitar.  Over the years Ms. Pierce has firmly established herself as a good songwriter whose melodies and lyrics flow more like well written poetry that is further enhanced by her ethereal soprano vocals.  If you are looking for a genre label, something for which this magazine has little regard, Adrienne Pierce could best be described as soft Pop.

Adrienne Pierce is back with a brand new album My Heavens and she wrote the music and lyrics for six of the ten songs and collaborated with her hubby musician / songwriter Air Shine on the title song “My Heavens,” “Oh Well,” our favorite tune “If Ever,” and “Something Silly.” The duo also self-produced, recorded and mixed the record.

If commercial radio was not mostly driven by money instead of good taste “If Ever,” would be a chart stopper. This is the best song that Adrienne Pierce (in collaboration with Ari Shine) has ever written or recorded. Nicholas Allen Johns’ accompaniment on keys is marvelous and his drumming adds another layer.  The Read More

Chrissy Faith CD Review

Chrissy Faith’s current CD, which arrived in the mail recently was accompanied by a handwritten note that referred to her album It’s About Time! as being eclectic and it certainly is, for it touches on almost as many musical grooves, moves and vibes as her music career. We have not possibly got time to do justice to Chrissy Faith’s extensive and astounding career, but allow us to give you just a sampling of the people with whom she has toured and recorded. Chrissy Faith’s concerts and tours include, Patti Austin, Sheena Easton, Al Jarreau, Robert Plant, Paul Simon, Neil Diamond, and Lou Reed. Can we stop now? She also served as a lead singer in one of the new configurations of the Mamas & Papas. Ms. Faith has appeared on the recordings of the Brecker Brothers, Leonard Cohen, Celine Dion, Connie Francis, Cyndi Lauper, Billy Ocean, Neil Sedaka, Todd Rundgren, David Sanborn and many others.

While all of the ten songs on It’s About Time! are well worth listening to, the two that really perked up our ears are two of the six songs that Ms. Faith wrote, the title song and “The Journey.” The arrangements for “The Journey,” are lush, Ramsey Embick’s guiro and Leo Traversa’s bass guide us on our first few steps of this journey and Eddie Martinez’s guitar work invites hips to sway and heads to bob. Jeff Young’s Hammond B3 adds texture and Patrick Lamb’s solo is incredible. Ms. Faith’s   Read More

Brittney Bouchard - New Record

Growing up in the shadows of Disney world, Apopka, Florida native Brittney Bouchard, who now makes her home in Los Angeles, is more at the beginning of her career than she is at the middle and yet songs such as her original tune “Addicted To Heartbreak,” from her debut self-titled EP suggest a promising future for the singer-songwriter.

“One of the coolest responses I have (received) about the record is from a fan who tweeted me and who said, ‘I love the record. After every song that I listen to, I say that is my favorite song and then the next song plays and I say that is my favorite song and the same thing happened throughout the entire record,” says Brittney Bouchard and it reflects the way Riveting Riffs Magazine hears this record as well.

“The song, “Addicted To Heartbreak,” was one of the last songs that I wrote and it was a co-write. Jonathan Maham is a co-writer with whom I have worked several times and we really hit it off. We have written several songs together. We also wrote “Gone Forever,” which is on the record. We started writing the lyrics to “Addicted To Heartbreak,” over a text message. He was making fun of me and of my love life, so half of the song that we wrote (comes from) when we were typing back to each other. Now I wish I had saved the text message. I was in the studio with him a few days later and we wrote the song,” she says.  Read More