Kim bought Riley Armstrong's new CD "Whatever the Weather". After several listens, I have to give it the thumbs up. Riley's second solo CD is full of quirky, catchy, world beat influenced pop. This is feel good music from a guy who can't stop smiling.

A good example of Riley's writing style is What If:

What if she reads it wrong?
What if she thinks I'm boring?
Each line more convincingly snoring.

And what if she reads it right?
What if she thinks I'm crazy?
Cause I'm Canadian, maybe?

And what if she doesn't read it all?
Will it all fall in on me?

[chourus]
What ifs got no room
What ifs got no right
What ifs worries doom

Worry can't be friend of mine,
please rest inside,
and know it's in God's time.

I don't know about you but I can relate.

The CD has a couple of draw backs. The fun song "My Girl Friend's Famous" could use a third verse. He repeats the line "My Girl Friend's Famous" just few to many times ant the end of the song. But even veterans like the 77's pull that stunt once in a while. The other misstep is Recipe, I've removed it from the playlist. It's a novelty song that would have been better left off the CD. Just as annoying as Life Boat by Steve Taylor with none of the redeeming qualities.

But these are nitpicks. Out of fourteen tracks only Recipe is dud. The rest of songs are a joyful blend of humor, grace, faith and worship.

To get feel for Riley's humor I recommend the claymation video Sleep & The Making of Sleep. Truly funny and only 8 minutes long. Sleep is from his self titled debut album.

-Peace