category: instrumental country / jazz / easy listening

Album review:
"For seven years, beginning in 1983, ATV's talent scout team Barry Bramhill and Gordon Stobbe held auditions in Saint John on a swing through two dozen Maritime centres. Only twice in those years did I see either startled out of his professional face set. The first time occurred when a young guitarist named Mark Hill demonstrated his fantastic picking with fingers so swift and sure they caused exclamations of astonishment from both simultaneously.

Well, Mark, who joined his brother Steve to form the Hill Brothers (Blues Band) a few years later, has had his ups and downs health-wise since - a temporarily disabling fall and carpal tunnel syndrome. But he has managed to rise above them. How well is melodically demonstrated by his first CD which he could have titled "Heavenly String Rhapsody" instead of "Fingerstyle: A Tribute to Chet Atkins".

It's a collection of 15 of Chet's greatest instrumental hits. In spite of that legendary master's wide influence - he inspired thousands of young guitar pickers - I'd venture to say no recorded tribute is more interpretive of the Atkins genius than this masterpiece by Mark.

Listening to "The Dancing Firefly" and "I'll See you in my Dreams" you'll understand why teachers at two respected music conservatories admitted just weeks after his enrollment there was nothing they could teach him as his instinctive talents were already so uniquely developed.

This album is a joy you'll listen to over and over - from romantic melodies of the 30's such as "Cheek to Cheek", "I'm Confessin'" and "Hello Bluebird" to such rousers as "Oh By Jingo", "Struttin'", and "I'll Say She Does" to jazz-influenced renditions of "Yankee Doodle Dixie" played simultaneously (a two-minded exercise only a wizard of strings would attempt) and sentimental favorites such as "Alice Blue Gown", "My Little Waltz" and "Back Home In Indiana".

Rounding of what seems a nearly flawless dreamscape of music to me is "Perdido", "Early Times", "Jerry's Breakdown". Mark plays both a '61 Gretch Anniversary and a Chet Atkins electric classical guitar, along with bass; brother Steve on percussion (he's also a renowned blues mouth harpist); Scott Medford rhythm guitar. Recorded at Basquet Case Studios, it was engineered by Curtis Basque and produced by Dave Hill." -- Telegraph Journal, (New Brunswick, Canada) August 17, 2002

CD Track Listing

  1. BYE BYE BLUES (Bennett / Grey / Ham / Fred) (3:14)
  2. EARLY TIMES ** (Jerry Reed) (2:38)
  3. CHEEK TO CHEEK * (Irving Berlin) / I'M CONFESSIN' (Dougherty / Neiburg / Reynolds) (2:55)
  4. HELLO BLUEBIRD * (Cliff Friend) (2:07)
  5. ALICE BLUE GOWN * (Tierney / McCarthy) (3:19)
  6. YANKEE DOODLE DIXIE * (trad. arr. Chet Atkins) (2:00)
  7. OH BY JINGO * (Brown / Von Tilzer) (1:48)
  8. PERDIDO (Lengsfelder / Drake / Tizol; arr. M.Hill) (1:47)
  9. I'LL SEE YOU IN MY DREAMS * (Jones / Cahn) (2:07)
10. MY LITTLE WALTZ *** (Chet Atkins / John Knowles) (2:32)
11. THE DANCING FIREFLY (Mark Hill) (3:05)
12. STRUTTIN' ** (Jerry Reed) (2:34)
13. BACK HOME IN INDIANA * (Henley / MacDonald) (2:35)
14. I'LL SAY SHE DOES ** (Jerry R. Hubbard) (2:52 )
15. JERRY'S BREAKDOWN ** (Jerry R. Hubbard) (2:06)

* adapted by Mark Hill from an arr. by Chet Atkins
** adapted by Mark Hill from an arr. by Jerry Reed & Chet Atkins
*** adapted by Mark Hill from an arr. by Chet Atkins & John Knowles

Total timing: 37:47

Label/No: Canadian import

Release date: 2002