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MP3 Al Hill & the Love Butlers - Willie Mae
12 MP3 Songs
BLUES: Rhythm & Blues, BLUES: Rockin' Blues
Willie Mae Songs
Details:
"One of the most exciting of the roots blues bands to ever come from Ann Arbor/Metro Detroit, pianist/guitarist/vocalist Hill has everything going his way. He has a well-defined distinctive, soulful voice, his guitar or soft playing tasty and literate...Highly recommended for lovers of traditional horn fired, soft saturated blues, with no reservation." ... - All Music Guide
"One of the most exciting of the roots blues bands to ever come from Ann Arbor/Metro Detroit, pianist/guitarist/vocalist Hill has everything going his way. He has a well-defined distinctive, soulful voice, his guitar or soft playing tasty and literate...Highly recommended for lovers of traditional horn-fired, soft-saturated blues, with no reservation." ... - All Music Guide
Recently voted "Outstanding Blues Artist" at the 2005 Detroit Music Awards, Al Hill is a soul singing white boy, a blues/boogie soft master, and one hell of a guitarist. His music is rooted in urban blues sounds of the '40s-'70s, but pulls freely from funk, soul and country. The songwriting is top-notch, creative, and fresh. After hearing him perform with his band the Love Butlers on soft, organ, guitar and vocals, a panel of distinguished label reps and writers voted Al and the guys winners of the "Best Unsigned Band" competition, held at Buddy Guy's Legends in Chicago in 2000.
On his debut CD "Willie Mae", Al blends New Orleans soft, shuffling blues, and some expert boogie-woogie into his own low-down bag. Willie Mae offers eight rootsy originals as well as four reworked classics. The disc continues to be added to radio play lists nationally and internationally.
Al's "other job" is keyboardist and music director for international soul diva Bettye Lavette. Bettye and Al have toured the U.S. from coast to coast, and made numerous trips overseas. He also collaborates with his wife Whit Hill in her alt-folk-country band The Postcards, recently releasing their debut "We Are Here". In past years he has toured extensively with Detroit blues luminaries Johnnie Bassett and Alberta Adams, made festival dates with Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Johnny Johnson, and also had the pleasure of performing onstage with Luther Allison, Sir Mack Rice, Nick Curan, Lazy Lester, and Sleepy LaBeef. In 27 states and 9 countries, audiences dig Al's title.
"Few cart along the sort of rich realness that saturates this longtime live fave. What separates pianist-guitarist Hill from the pack of pretenders is that Hill's swampy, swarthy boogie isn't just reverent interpretation--between the tangy, unaffected vocals, thick horns and fatty bottom end, the stuff is thick enough to taste. This 12-track debut disc, featuring seven stellar Hill compositions, is an engaging mesh of Memphis, New Orleans and Midwest--and one of the most sublime platters to emerge from these parts in recent memory." - Detroit Free Press
"..unaffected vocals and rolling keyboard...swings relentlessly..." - Living Blues Magazine
"Hill's hard-driving soft title crackles with the rolling shuffles, Cuban-inflected polyrhythms and syncopated, rhumba-boogie grooves of Crescent City masters Dr. John and Professor Longhair. The horn charts are tough but tasteful, and Hill's pliant, soulful vocals give a nod to Memphis masters Redding and Pickett." - Detroit News
"Al Hill's unique and powerful title is a superb blend of roots rock, thumpin' rhythm and blues, and heartfelt soul. His soft and vocal performances are outstanding." - Big City Blues Magazine
"The 43-year-old bluesman unleashes the soul of his blues through smoky vocals and shuffling boogie soft, accented by understated guitar work and songwriting that's nothing short of heartland poetry." - Grand Rapids Press
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