CD Review: Steve Hill Trio’s (What Ever Happened to) Playing for the Love of Music!?

by Todd Maternowski

The Steve Hill Trio is a Texas blues-rock outfit that formed over a decade ago, and this album clearly showcases the tight, enjoyable music that can only come from playing together for a long period of time. Despite what first impressions one may get from the CD sleeve – that this is mushy, fraternity-boy sports bar-blues from middle-class accountants jamming in their spare time – nothing could be farther from the truth. While they may claim to be playing just for the fun of it, the Steve Hill Trio has put together a seriously terrific blues album, complete with impressive musicianship and great songwriting ability.

To start, this is an album of 15 all-original songs, without the usual covers and blues standards. That said, the band's diverse musical influences flow seamlessly through each song. If you could make a tribute band combining old-school postwar blues artists Howlin' Wolf, Muddy Waters and Buddy Guy, the Steve Hill Trio would be it. Not sticking with any one tempo or style, the Trio range all over the spectrum of early blues forms, from slow-as-molasses melancholic thumping (“Things You Get Used To” and “Second Hand Information”) to rootsy ballads (“Cut Me Some Slack” and “No More Thrills”) to the energetic and lively “Stir Your Sugar.” Rarely do two consecutive songs sound alike, and it's all brought home by the crawling, heartsick final track “Trouble Coming Down.”

While the music breezes from the upbeat to the downtrodden, it's the clever, catchy lyrics that really make their mark on this album. Traditional blues songs have some of the shrewdest, most hilarious lyrics in all of music history, and in songs such as “New Year for the Blues”, “Things You Get Used To” and “Video Game Baby” the Trio (in particular Steve Hill, who wrote the songs) prove that they can write as well as they can play. My favorite track on the entire CD is “The Dog in Me”, a witty and gritty ditty with an infectious groove; a swinging, unapologetic defense of the worst male instinct.

It's a shame that bands such as the Steve Hill Trio have been ignored by the local music media. Perhaps a $90 haircut from Toni & Guy, along with an ironic Urban Outfitters wardrobe, may finally give them that sound the critics love. But for any true music fan, the Trio's Playing for the Love of Music is a laidback, satisfying album that gets better each time you listen to it.