Ipso Facto (©1992 Duke Street Records)

1: Straight Up 2: Bang On 3: Let Love Conquer All 4: Heaven In Your Heart 5: Dig A Little Deeper 6: Lickity Bit 7: Rainbow Man 8: Out Of The Blue 9: Meet You There 10: Can't Lie To Myself 11: Do Me Good 12: Calling St. Cecilia 13: Transition 14: Woke Up This Morning (Blues In My Fingers)

Rik took an interesting approach to his second solo effort, he decided to forego consistency and stir up the pot a little. Ipso Facto can be looked at as either a wildly uneven album, with Rik waffling between styles trying to hit the target, or it can be viewed as an artistic accomplishment from a musician who can play a lot of different genres and make them his own.

There are still moments of unbridled guitar glory such as the opening track, and Rainbow Man (one of my personal favourites from this album), but they're tempered with the adult contemporary Rik. Of course thrown is the obligatory instrumental or two. There are also some tasty blues / jazz track here too.

Rik was obviously having a lot of fun here, and was able to try a lot of styles which I thought was pretty cool.

Reviewed April 24, 2004

The Spiral Notebook (©1995 Duke Street Records)

the songs: Anything You Say / Raise High (the voice of love) / The Longing / Take It Over / Casey's On A Roll / Let Me Be The One / Little Bitta Live / Silent Revolutions / Numbers Game / The Pendulum / The Hardest Part / The Spiral Notebook

I've always liked Rik's work. It seems like ages since he was a member of Triumph, and I guess it has been ages. This album musically is probably the most cohesive effort to date. Although I liked the blending of styles on his previous efforts, check out Ipso Facto from 1992 and see what I mean. If you're not a fan I'm not sure that this would spend a lot of time in your CD player. In all this is a solid MOR offering.

Ten Invitations from the Mistress of Mr. E. (©1998 Open House Records)

the songs: El Cuento del Gadjo / Angelina's Smile / Buggy Ride / A Whisper Away / Ascending in St. Anne's / Secret Wishes / Acadian Dance / Souvenirs / The Seventh Circle

Of all the Open House records this is my favourite. The ten songs on this CD aren't just Rik's attempt to dazzle the listener with his classical chops. This is wonderful listening music, and I found myself playing the album over and over. Of course if you don't like this type of music, this disc is likely to drive you nuts. However if well thought out and delightfully executed instrumental music is something you enjoy this CD is a must have. If I was to select a few stand out tracks I'd choose "El Cuento del Gadjo", "Buggy Ride", and "Acadian Dance".

Reviewed October 30, 2000

Swing Shift (©1998 Open House Records)

the songs: Taste of Steel / Way Cool / Swing Shift / Three Clouds Across the Moon / Santa Fe Horizon / Swizzle Stick / Gladhands / One Look / Key Chain / Veronica's Blue Waltz / Mr. Bebop / A Theory of Relativity

This is the second of the Trilogy, (I bought Raw Quartet a while ago, and just recently picked up the first two) and it's pretty darn good. Rik once again shows that he's a very versatile player, and delivers a solid collection of songs. Mostly instrumentals this is an album that doesn't call a lot of attention to itself. It's hard to believe that this is the same guy who was the rock and roll guy from Triumph.

I must say that I've been very impressed with the quality of the releases both in terms of packaging and sound. I've purchased some real dogs lately in the quality assurance department, and the Open House Records are great.

Reviewed November 1, 2000

Live at Berklee (©2000 Open House Records)

the songs: Blown Fuse / Accentuation / Gasoline / Melancholy Moon / Taste of Steel / The Seventh Circle / Expansion / Crazy Woman / Key Chain / The Last Goodbye / Head Case / Mr. Bebop / Gladhands / Those Shoes / El Cuento del Gadjo / Acadian Dance / Berklee Rocks / Fandango

I really like this record which features a number of songs from his guitar trilogy. Captured live over two nights at the prestigious Berklee College of Music. The sound is crisp, lively, and full of emotion - even those tracks where Rik is backed by his digital band. A great concert, and one that not a lot of artists would attempt. Heck there's even booger and burp humour.

The songs that really cook, are those where it's just him and a guitar. To those people who still think of him as that guy that played in Triumph, and did the occasional Spanish flavoured instrumental, this will open your eyes to an amazing player. Definitely worth seeking out.

Reviewed June 23, 2000