BOB HILLMAN
Welcome To My Century (Brave New Records)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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The number of pop songwriters who can accurately identify Leo Tolstoy, let alone have read enough of him to accurately access his work for use in a song, is probably a very limited set. Those who can properly cite Tolstoy and include demographic and historical information about Greenland in a heartbreak song on the same album are probably, well, I suspect the set there is singular. It's Bob Hillman, who manages the task on his sophomore recording effort, Welcome To My Century. He does it very well, too.

Hillman is smart, and he's got a terrific sense of humor. He's not "funny ha-ha," really, but he has a knack for turning the context of a song inside out and upside down in ways that invariably amuse. That's not to say that he doesn't have something serious to say, as well. It's just that he, unlike too many earnest young songsmiths, understands that the first task of an entertainer is to entertain.

He's also got a nice touch with a pop melody, whether in full blown jangle band mode or in a quieter neo-folk style. With the support of producer Tommy West (of Jim Croce and solo fame), he's put together an album sure to entertain fans of literate pop.

Track List:

Welcome To My Century * Valentine's Day * Games * Greenland * The Latenight * Movie Star * I Need You * Anywhere * Las Vegas * Too Bad For You * Tolstoy * Bolted Down * Secret Masterpiece

© 2002 - Shaun Dale