''Have Mercy!'' is the second album by the American band

Michael Hill's Blues Mob Michael Hill's Blues Mob is an American blues trio. The members have variously included Michael Hill, his bass guitar playing brother, Kevin, and singing sisters, Wynette and Kathy. Originally formed in the early 1990s by Michael Hill (born 1952 ...

, released in 1996. The band supported it with North American and Australian tours.

Production

The album was produced by Hill,

Bruce Iglauer Bruce Iglauer (born July 10, 1947) is an American businessman and record producer who founded Alligator Records as an independent record label featuring blues music. Early life and career Iglauer was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States ...

, Brian Young, and Kevin Hill. Hill wrote 13 of the album's songs. He was backed by keyboardist E. J. Sharpe, drummer Tony Lewis, and bassist Kevin Hill. Hill was inspired chiefly by the music of

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

. Many of the songs are about the Black experience in America, with Hill's lyrics influenced by the works of

James Baldwin James Arthur Baldwin (né Jones; August 2, 1924 – December 1, 1987) was an American writer and civil rights activist who garnered acclaim for his essays, novels, plays, and poems. His 1953 novel '' Go Tell It on the Mountain'' has been ranked ...

and

Toni Morrison Chloe Anthony Wofford Morrison (born Chloe Ardelia Wofford; February 18, 1931 – August 5, 2019), known as Toni Morrison, was an American novelist and editor. Her first novel, ''The Bluest Eye'', was published in 1970. The critically accl ...

. "Women Make the World Go 'Round" is a response to the many blues songs about men who think women have done them wrong. "Grandmother's Blues" is about an older woman killed by law enforcement. "Stagolee/Perspective" is an interpretation of the

Stagger Lee "Stagger Lee" (Roud 4183), also known as "Stagolee" and other variants, is a popular American folk song about the murder of Billy Lyons by "Stag" Lee Shelton, in St. Louis, Missouri, on Christmas 1895. The song was first published in 1911 and f ...

story. "Rest in Peace" is an instrumental. "She's Gone" is a cover of the

Hound Dog Taylor Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor (April 12, 1915 – December 17, 1975) was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer. Life and career Taylor was born in Natchez, Mississippi, in 1915, though some sources say 1917. He first played t ...

song.

Critical reception

The New York ''Daily News'' called Hill "an axe man who grinds through electric blues, hard rock, funk and reggae". ''

Guitar Player ''Guitar Player'' was an American magazine for guitarists, founded in 1967 in San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francis ...

'' said that Hill "takes chances, stretching boundaries with supple, supercharged solos and socially conscious lyrics." The ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

'' labeled the album "urban blues with a passionate social conscience framed by ill'shard-edged guitar." '' The Blade'' stated that Hill's "guitar solos set the fretboard ablaze in displays of both speed and intensity; his vocals have an appropriately emotional quality as he addresses topical themes"; the paper later included the album on its list of the 25 best albums of 1996. The ''

North County Times The ''North County Times'' was a local newspaper in San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of U ...

'' praised "the jazz-influenced 'Let's Talk About the Weather'."

Track listing

References

{{reflist 1996 albums Alligator Records albums Albums produced by Bruce Iglauer