2016 – No Label Records
By Phillip Smith; July 6, 2016
It’s no surprise Canadian musician
Steve Hill has pulled down the 2015 JUNO Award for Blues Album of the Year, as well as Maple Blues Awards in 2014 and 2015 for Electric Act of the Year.
This man has it all going on with one of the best one-man band acts I’ve
heard. Hill attacks the blues with true grit as he pulls it all together
accomplishing a magnificent feat in every one of his performances. Solo
Recordings Volume 3 follows up his JUNO
nominated Solo Recordings Volume 1 and JUNO winning Solo Recordings
Volume 2. With Volume 3, Hill dishes up
a dozen magnificent songs which resonate deeper with each and every listen.
“Damned” breaks loose with a
wall of electric guitar fury alongside a driving beat. One song in and already it’s hard to imagine
this is one lone man with an arsenal of instruments. Hill
approaches “Still A Fool & A Rollin Stone” with intense focus, dishing out a
performance which sounds like it came from someone who has been playing fifty
years. He shines on guitar as well as
vocals, making this a no-holds-barred favorite. In “Troubled Times”, Hill shows off his versatility and reminds us that not everything
is pleasant. The song is beautifully
played. When Hill tackles one of my favorite blues tunes, “Rollin’ & Tumblin
/ Stop Breaking Down”, I go to my happy place as soon as I hear the slide. The man can sure play the blues. That is a fact.
