Jim Peterik – River Of Music: The Duet-Powered Album For Classic Rock Lovers

December 10, 2025

For the unashamed old gits, like me, you will be very familiar with Jim Peterik, one-half of Survivor’s creative dynamic duo. Survivor are no more, having toured for the last time in 2020, but Jim Peterik is very much still musically active, with his latest album River Of Music – The Power Of Duets – Vol. 1, due for release very soon.

Jim Peterik & World Stage

River Of Music – The Power Of Duets – Vol. 1

Release Date: 12 December 2025

Words: Mark Rotherham

River Music – The Power of Duets – Vol 1 is exactly that, an album of duets. Volume 1 suggests there are more similar projects in the pipeline. We await that to happen, but right now, let’s talk about Volume 1.

This is ten tracks of ballads, as simple as that. For anyone expecting the more varied signature rock of Survivor, this album is much more focused, and that is fine, because hey, we can all pick our favourite ballad. Well, thanks to Mr Peterik, there are now ten more that you can choose from.

Up first is River Of Music, the title track. It has a slow, bluesy start, with almost a ’40s swing-like backing vocal with a slimmed-down guitar riff thrown in. The lyrics celebrate the power of music and how it lifts us all, and that is something we can celebrate. This is much more pressed denim and hair gel as opposed to tats and piercings, but with Jim Peterik at the helm, it was always going to be, and we are still a broad church, right?

Listening to the second track, Waiting For You, think Michael Bolton and Richard Marx, but polished with the typical Ron Nevison production. Dave Mikulsis and Bree Gordon are not what we would call familiar vocalists on this side of the pond, but they absolutely complement each other really well.

The Cadence Of Things is a duet with Chicago’s Jason Scheff. With that pedigree, you know you are going upbeat and into single territory. Professional, competent, Jim Peterik pushes every button that he has been in charge of for forty-plus years. For novices just dipping their toes into rock music, or those who have been listening to it for their whole lives, there is consistency and safety in this song. Now, that script will not speak to everyone, but if it speaks to you, then you will be right at home here.

The tempo goes up a slight notch with Soul Of My Being, taking things up a gear into definite radio rock territory, and you could imagine this song sitting in a big-budget Hollywood soundtrack. It is a competent rock ballad that you have heard many times before, but there is no hiding the quality of what you are hearing. If you like Honeymoon Suite, then you will like this.

I was really impressed with Between Two Fires, a duet with REO Speedwagon’s Kevin Cronin. It’s a mix of soft rock and maybe a bit of country as well. Great pipes from Cronin, and if you are an old fan of the Speedwagons, then this song will just what you are looking for.

The premise of the song is simple in having to make a choice, but which way to go? Sure and no lie, we are definitely not in headbanging land here, but I do not think anyone is expecting to be. This is mature mid-road rock done to perfection. A great song to chill out to, and my favourite song on this album.

The formula continues with Double Rainbow, where Jim Peterik doubles with Cathy Richardson. This is a standard love song about finding one’s true soul mate. I do not know if you should be surprised or not, but Jim Peterik’s a pretty good singer himself, and I wonder how that sat in his Survivor days and if he ever felt like handling the pipes himself. He did a fine job on keyboards, and we know he can hold his own on guitar.

There are four songs on this album where Jim teams up with his son, Colin. Slow Lightning is one of those, a song that tells the story about how true love takes time to build, and how patience wins out over haste.

If the next song sounds familiar, then that is because it is. In Good Faith is a cover of the Survivor song, and while it was never their most powerful track, its quality still shines through. This song is a very strong reminder of Jim Peterik’s musical pedigree, and a great reminder of just what a huge chunk of the ’80s were all about.

A drum riff announces the intro to I’m A Survivor, which is more up-tempo than many of the songs on the album, although still a little more polished than, say, the Dave Bickler-era Survivor songs. The constant of the album is the lyrical theme, romantic love. This is no different, although the pace is a change from most of the album. There is a good vocal chemistry between Jim Peterik and Kaity Heart.

The album draws to a close with Everything You Need, with Colin and Jim Peterik handling the album’s finale. This song follows the formula that has been well-trodden for ten songs of competently delivered radio-friendly ballads. Some are slower than others, but the guiding light for Survivor’s more sedate songs is very clearly laid bare with this album.

With River Of Music – The Power Of Duets – Vol. 1, Jim Peterik & World Stage are very much showing the more sensitive side of Jim’s writing and recording talents, and if ballads and soft-centred mature radio rock are what you are all about, then this album will be right up your street.

Jim Peterik & World Stage release River Of Music – The Power Of Duets – Vol. 1. on 12 December 2025 via Frontiers Music s.r.l. Pre-orders are available from ffm.bio/riverofmusicpreorder.