By: Jedd Beaudoin
ichael Lee Hill writes, on the back cover of this disc, "This CD is an attempt to
communicate emotions, ideas and feelings concerning our personal reality that will
never be expressed with words," something that touches on my own reasons for
embracing instrumental music. I believe (and I know I'm not that far outside the
norm on this) that instrumentals tell their own stories, though what those stories
say are sometimes harder to pin down than those told with words -- one of the
greatest gifts we, as humans, have been given is not so much speech but music. Here,
Hill (a relative newcomer) delivers a variety of stories that leap from sunrise (the
infectious and addictive opening track, "Turn Of The Century") to the elegant
("Therese's Garden") and the simply shredalicious ("Frozen Thought").
There's also time to contemplate what Jimi would do
("Jimi's Communication," as loving and original a tribute to Herr Hendrix as any
I've heard come down the pike) and to
cover Steve Vai ("Jibboom"). While Hill resides in the same frenzied-fingered
neighborhood as Vai and Joe Satriani and
while he has their same penchant for melody (doubters should go back and take a
closer listen), he's his own man, sculpting unique, breathtaking phrases that linger
like a long-awaited, good night kiss. Hill's music is invigorating, imaginative and
as refreshing as a gust of afternoon warmth after a rain-soaked morning. The stories
he tells (or allows us to tell for our-selves)
are sometimes elliptical, often mysterious but always inspiring.
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