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Michael Lee Hill's Frozen Thought is a collection of progressive, instrumental rock compositions that feature his highly-charged axework. Hill demonstrates a great command over the hard-edged guitar techniques that he integrates into his cohesive arrangements. Hill's voicings can be described as being similar to the active, riveting tones of Steve Vai. Aggressive for certain, the compositions are a balance of singing melodies, pyrotechnic hard rock technique, and fluid movement with well-defined direction and vision.
I liked the melody-centric nature of the compositions that keep the compositions grounded. The two handed tap-on technique is used with good effect. Hill's style disdistinctive as it is.
MLH gets it going best on the driving track "Jibboom" that pulls all of the elements of his technique and style together with a powerful barrage that is nearly overwhelming in its drive and projection of vision. Another cool track on this CD is "Jimi's Communication". This track is built around the theme from "Third Stone from the Sun" by Jimi Hendrix and pays well-felt tribute to one of the original pioneers and forefathers of guitar-based instrumental rock.
Followers of the Satriani / Vai school of hard-edged instrumental rock may want to check out this fast-paced, straight-laced, rock-based release from Michael Lee Hill.
review by Christopher Ruel - EER (Eclectic Earwig Reviews) – http://www.eer-music.com/
Michael Lee Hill writes, on the back cover of this disc, "This CD is an attempt to communicate emotions, ideas and feelings concerning our personal reality that will never be expressed with words,” something that touches on my own reasons for embracing instrumental music. I believe (and I know I’m not that far outside the norm on this) that instrumentals tell their own stories, though what those stories say are sometimes harder to pin down than those told with words -- one of the greatest gifts we, as humans, have been given is not so much speech but music. Here, Hill (a relative newcomer) delivers a vari-ety of stories that leap from sunrise (the infectious and addictive opening track, “Turn Of The Century”) to the elegant (“Therese’s Garden”) and the simply shredalicious (“Frozen Thought”). There’s also time to contemplate what Jimi would do (“Jimi’s Communication,” as loving and original a tribute to Herr Hendrix as any I’ve heard come down the pike) and to cover Steve Vai (“Jibboom”).
While Hill resides in the same frenzied-fingered neighborhood as Vai and Joe Satriani and while he has their same penchant for melody (doubters should go back and take a closer listen), he’s his own man, sculpting unique, breathtaking phrases that linger like a long-awaited, good night kiss. Hill’s music is invigorating, imaginative and as refreshing as a gust of afternoon warmth after a rain-soaked morning. The stories he tells (or allows us to tell for our-selves)are sometimes elliptical, often mysterious but always inspiring.
– review by Jedd Beaudoin - Ytsejam – http://www.ytsejam.com
Following in the tracks of his debut CD, All That Is, guitarist Michael Lee Hill is back with another superb all instrumental set. Entitled Frozen Thought, the tracks include a reinterpreation of Steve Vai's "Jibboom", a track personally selected by Vai as the winner of the Ibanez / Steve Vai Tonos 2001 Guitar Challenge! Packed with new originals, tracks such as "Feeling September" and the title track feature heavier rock instrumentation and Hill's use of multiple guitar tones, while "Jimi's Communication" pays tribute to some of Hill's influences (can you guess which ones?) Hill's goal is to communicate emotions, ideas and feelings concerning our personal reality that will never be expressed through words - Frozen Thought is a tremendously listenable hard rock and fusion expression of such thoughts. - GUITAR 9 – http://www.guitar9.com
Michael Lee Hill - Frozen Thought
The human race is truly blessed to have musicians of this calibre living among us. Hmmm, you found that statement a little over the top? Maybe... but hey.. so I get enthusiastic sometimes, what of it? :)
Michael was selected by Steve Vai as the winner of the Ibanez/Steve Vai/Tonos guitar challenge in 2001, for his rendition of Vai's Jibboom.
It's included on this CD, and whilst it is a stand-out track, so are all the rest.
Just as George W. Bush was horrified to learn that "half of America's students were below average", you'll be pleased to know that all the tracks on this CD stand out from all the rest.
- Fretnet.com PBS FM 106.7 Australia
5 Stars Amazon.com review
The Vai track is only ONE reason to own this CD, January 6, 2003 Reviewer: A music fan (New O'leans!)
I ordered this CD on the advice of a friend and I REALLY LIKE IT. I first heard of Michael Lee Hill when I entered a guitar competition a couple years ago, the Tonos Guitar Challenge.
The challenge was to re-record Steve Vai's "Jibooom" and I lost - Michael won. I'm not sure if this version is the version he won with but IT ROCKS!
The whole disc is one of my favorite new guitar records.
It's a lot less polished than others, mostly in a good way....... If you like Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Gary Hoey, and similar types of players, I recommend this CD!
- Amazon.com customer review
5 stars
Reviewer: Themorus
Pure refreshment served on ice! It has quenched my thirst for a satisfying new musical experience.
It is so funky! Really good guitar work with a touch of the blues. So get Frozen Thought today!
What a great CD Baby. I am not affiliated with cdbaby or Michael Lee Hill but, I fully endorse them both & appreciate their uniqueness. - CDbaby.com customer review
Discography
Michael Lee Hill / All That IS 1999
Michael Lee Hill / Frozenthought 2002
Testing 1,2,3 from Frozenthought is currently being played on WWW.Noneradio.com
MLH CD's were on guitar9.com's top 10 selling list for a total of over 50 weeks!
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
For as long as he can remember, guitarist Michael Lee Hill has been hopelessly addicted to the instrument. At a young age he discovered a natural talent for playing guitar, easily learning songs by ear from the radio and quickly absorbing any learning material he could find. His appetite for making music increased in leaps and bounds when the guitar became a means to express complex ideas and emotions largely unaddressed in his “normal” life of school and growing up, etc. -- he was soon spending several hours each day and night concentrating on his craft, often forsaking
his friends and social life so he could continue creating music and reaching new heights on the instrument.
This would continue through his teens and twenties. Now at age 34, with more than 20 years of playing under his fingers, Michael Lee Hill emerges from obscurity in Ohio with the release of FROZEN THOUGHT.
Frozen Thought is Michael Lee Hill’s second release, following 1999’s All That Is. Hailing influences like
Prince, Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, The Police, and Jimi Hendrix, Michael’s new disc is a 13-song instrumental guitar CD –– a concept record, if you will, with corresponding track-by-track descriptions included in this package. The album follows one’s spiritual awakening and developing realization in the pursuit and process of achieving the next level of human consciousness.
Musically, Frozen Thought is a Hungry Man Dinner for guitar fans, loaded with texture and tone, and
showcasing enough technical proficiency to send a lot of players running. That said, it’s not just a record for guitar freaks –– this is a disc of songs, first and foremost, with lead guitar parts as lyrical in places as any vocal could be. Fully recorded in his own studio, for his own label, Frozen Thought is Michael Lee Hill’s musical document of an ongoing personal journey for greater knowledge and spiritual awareness.
The record sounds almost...organic. Unpolished, honest. Independent to the core, Hill set out to produce Frozen Thought himself in order to maintain his personal vision for the record, and he’s delivered a record that somehow sounds as pure as it sounds good.
Frozen Thought features the talents of world-class drummer Mike Mangini (Extreme, Missing Persons,
Steve Vai) and bassist Philip Bynoe (Steve Vai, Ring of Fire, Kevin Eubanks) on the classic Steve Vai track
“Jibboom” –– this is MLH’s version, with the guitar solo that won Grand Prize in the TONOS / Steve Vai /
Ibanez competition in 2001, and Michael is proud to have Vai’s personal (and rare) blessing to
cover the song on Frozen Thought. Other standout tracks include “The Lifting”, “Feeling September”,
“Testing 1,2,3”, and the title track.
Michael has finalized endorsement deals with Emerald Guitars, who created the Ultra Zone guitar for guitar legend Steve Vai. Michael proudly endorses Pawar Electric Guitars as well. For more information, visit the Emerald Guitars web site at http://emeraldguitars.com/artists/michaelleehill.html
Visit the MLH Pawar Guitars web page at http://pawarguitars.com/pawar/mlh.html
We’d love you forever and ever if you’d like to help shine a little exposure on our boy Mike.
(Did we mention, you look fantastic!)
MLH Myspace page http://www.myspace.com/michaelleehill
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