It has long been a bone
of contention with this dog. Why Steve
Hillman is not an international star with
his C.D’s nustling in C.D collections
alongside the likes of Mike Oldfield,
Pink Floyd and Tangerine Dream.
Having already released two collections
of his work on the magnificent Cyclops
label, “Matrix” (‘94) and “Riding The
Storm” (‘96), in 1999 Steve released “Convergence”
to wide critical acclaim. As in all his
recordings, Steve plays all the instruments
apart from the beautiful flute passages
played by his wife, Linda, who also did
all the artwork for his 3 albums so far,
which are worth the price of the C.D’s
in themselves.
Steve Hillman’s 3rd album was a bit of
a change in direction in that he produced
a much more progressive rock album than
his other, more synth dream scoped based
earlier C.D’s. It moves away from The
Tangerine Dream style with less sequences
and electronics, relying far more on Steve’s
hard driving guitar work and the rhythm
of the songs. It has far more structured
pieces with all the elements of classical
music, hard rock, ethnic, folk, and modern
dance all mixed together.
Imagine Jimi Hendrix teaching Rick Wakeman
how to play guitar, or John Coltrane teaching
Hank Marvin how to play the keyboards
without the inane grin and silly dance
steps. “Convergence” is like its predecessors,
an all-instrumental album with much more
of Steve’s usual biting electric guitar
work and Linda’s subtle flute playing.
This album is actually much more upbeat
than anything he has done before, although
it still has its dark brooding passages,
making the tension in the music work very
well by contrast. It is definitely his
most ambitious and musically complex project
so far, integrating orchestral sections
onto a rock based lineup of drums, guitars,
and keyboards, also using traditional
instrumental sounds such as flute, piano,
Hammond organ, saxophone and, of course,
that stalwart of all progressive rock,
the Mellotron. If this all sounds a bit
like Deep Purple’ “Concerto for Group
and Orchestra”, don’t worry, it isn’t.
All of the melodies from all the different
sections are extremely mesmerizing, drilling
into your memory banks, deeper and deeper
the more you listen to them, with many
recurring themes popping up when you least
expect them, catching you off guard, making
sure you are paying attention. If Steve
Hillman’s music has to be labeled, I think
we should call it “Awareness Music”. The
section called “Pulsator” is probably
Steve Hillman in his majestic pomp. A
mighty melody, which puts itself very
much in the foreground because of its
insistent repetitive melody, building
into a rather striking track with its
pumping rock and carnival like melody,
pounding drums, and strong organ presence.
If you’re a bit bored with your C.D collection,
give Steve Hillman a whirl. If you think
you could become aware, you won’t be disappointed.
Pawed by Mott The Dog
Remastered by Ella Crew
E-mail: review@mott-the-dog.com
