steve Hill

Solo Recordings Volume 3

Roll over, Don Partridge. If this is Vol 3, then Montreal one‑man blues band Steve Hill is not a novelty one‑off. It may be a low‑fi experience and you may have heard many of these riffs before, but you can’t fault Hill’s committed determination or his talents as a performer.

The gruff boogie of Damned and the mud‑stirring Dangerous set up the album’s hard‑rocking credentials, and Hill has clearly learnt from the masters, from Hendrix onwards. Subtle it ain’t, but he can certainly play, as the acoustic love song Emily and his dextrous take on Going Down The Road Feeling Bad clearly show.

The niggling thought remains: how good would he be as a singer/guitarist in a band?

Hugh Fielder