Hill, SteveCall It What You Will1999Les Disques BrosBROS-9001-2

Hill, Steve - Call It What You Will - 1999 - Les Disques Bros - BROS-9001-2

Written by John Taylor

Call It What You Will isn't just the title of Steve Hill's sophomore effort; it also sums up his musical philosophy.

As Hill himself says, "I'm just trying to make the best music I can… I don't even know how to call this music I'm playin'. So therefore, you can call it what you will."

Okay, so it's not straight blues, at least by the standard dictionary definition. But, it's a fine collection indeed, one that effortlessly crosses whatever boundaries others may insist upon applying to Hill's music. Still, there's little doubt you'd find it filed under "blues" in your local music emporium.

Hill starts out with Sizzlin', an instrumental dedicated to the late Albert Collins, very much in the "cool" vein Collins mined so well. Top Forty, a Mose Allison song, is the source of the disc's title, rendered all the more effective by Allison's typically sardonic wit ("When I make my big beat rock 'n' roll record / Everything's gonna be just fine"). You Can Trust Me Now, on which Hill gets lyrical help from Ray Bonneville (as elsewhere - although he doesn't appear, Bonneville's influence is felt throughout), continues in the same light-hearted manner, with a nice, jazzy swing to it.

Patient Man reunites Hill with some former band members, including Guy Belanger on "Leslie harmonica." Although Hill lacks the gravitas (at least vocally) to pull off anything resembling "deep blues," the sound is unique enough to make the song a delight; Hill's guitar work, too, defies convention, with a solo that shows both imagination and taste.

Overqualified, with it's swampy beat propped up by Bob Stagg's B3, works well, Hill largely restricting himself to carefully placed accents that show a great deal of maturity. Hill claims Darkest Hour as an original; Mr. Bonneville's lyrics might be, but the riff is pretty close to Howlin' Wolf's classic 44. Still, while Wolf's take was pure Chicago, Hill's version has a bit of swamp in it that keeps the sound fresh.

Next it's a moody, minor-key Slave, given a jazzy feel thanks to drummer Luc Boivin's brushwork and understated harp from Bharath Rajakumar. Bonneville's Wanna Holler is based on a theme many a shy guy can identify with - falling hopelessly in love with a girl on a bus, knowing full well he'll never find the courage to say hello. Hill claims he was going for a Stax sound; he falls a little shy of the mark, if only from a lack of brass, but there's a nice southern-soul feel nonetheless.

Whooo! is a funky instrumental, Hill again displaying an inventive imagination yet never letting his prowess get ahead of the music's needs; it leads to a jazzy romp on What A Life, this one showing Hill's done his homework, spending time with the likes of Charlie Christian. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You is perhaps the disc's least successful track. Sure, it's a great song, but it's also a very tricky one to sing, and Hill simply isn't strong enough to quite pull it off (not to imply that it's off-putting, just that there's many a more definitive version out there).

Hill brings things to a close with a live recording of the T-Birds' Wait On Time; it's a great version, Hill absolutely nailing that swaggering Texas tone, with Bob Stagg again proving indispensable on B3.

Hill may not be a terribly strong vocalist, but he's young, and time will no doubt add a bit of depth. (Keep in mind, too, that this disc was released in '99, and intervening years may well have seen an improvement.) His fretwork is controlled, but there's lots of fire and fury when called for. The writing is top notch, and performances are uniformly excellent.

This one's a winner!

Copyright 2003. Review by John Taylor.

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