Bman's Blues Report

 I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Dear Illusion , from Steve Hill and it's a great mix of blues, rock and pop. Opening with All About The Love , Steve Hill uses a bold blues hook with great vocals and  his own guitar riff, and the backing of Wayne Proctor on drums to st the stage, joined by Jacques Kuba Seguin on trumpet, Mario Allard on bari sax and Eduard Touchette on trombone, Felicien Bouchet on trumpet, Nacim Brahimi on tenor sax, and Gregory Julliard on trombone for some up tempo revival like reinforcement. Power opener. Rocker, Everything You Got has a great, snappy beat and Hill's vocals are super. With a bluesy riff on guitar, and some hot soloing to boot and punchy, understated horns by Sequin, Allard and Touchette, this track is a great radio track. Don't Let The Truth Get In The Way (Of A Good Story) is another great melody with a tight rhythm. What I love is the change up when Hill kicks his riffs into overdrive with slide and a h...

I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, The One-Man Blues Rock Band , a new live album from Steve Hill and it's powerful. Opening with Rhythm All Over , a power rocker, Steve Hill wastes no time making you a believer. With an excellent rock voice, the terrific ability to accompany himself as well as any band and fluid slide riffs, this is an excellent opener. His lead guitar on Go On , make you actually sit back and listen. This guy's playing has such presence that it rivals Jimmy Page and Alvin Lee. We're talking strong phrasing and focused notes. With a solid bass line and strong melody, Hill has great energy.  Excellent! Never Is Such A Long Time oozes blues like it was born in the Mississippi hill country but with a firm grip on modern rock and guitar techniques and tight drum rhythm giving it not only an emotional power but also strong musical punch. Very nice!  Little Walter's Hate To See You Go is a great blues rocker with Hill just k...

I just received the newest release, Solo Recordings Volume 2 , from Steve Hill and it's quite interesting. Opening with Still Got It Bad , Hill established a gritty blues sound that is lacking in most contemporary bands. Accompanying himself on guitar and drums, this raw sound is right on! Slim Chance has a rockier/pop sound and a more clever hook but it's the raw slide sound that does it for me on this track. Tough Luck is an acoustic, finger picked picked, folk style track with smooth vocals and harp. The Collector returns back to blues roots with raw electric slide and a jagged feel that compliments the melody quite well. Never Is Such A Long Time is one of my favorite tracks on the release with R&B kind of style yet maintaining the rawness of this "primitive" overall sound. The melody is really strong and Hill compliments his solid vocals with stinging guitar work on this track. Excellent! Little Walter's Hate To See You Go is really well done with...