Better late than never dept.: Saturday was the birthday of the estimable Steve Hillage, musician/guitarist extraordinaire who first entered my radar via his 1976 Todd Rundgren produced and Utopia-backed album L (cant thank Ned Van Go enough for that one). Out of all the Proggish guitar prodigies of the 70s, Hillage was by far the most hippy-dippy (it was suggested that one reason that Todd chose to produce him in the first place was because he was truly the starry-eyed mystic that the Runt himself wanted to be, but could never be)...but he silenced all detractors with his prodigious talent on guitar. The man could flat out play like a big peaceful stoned-n-fuzzy beast, spraying out dipsy-doodle riffs and solos effortlessly...and the live clip below provides proof of that. Eventually, as the 80s came on into the 90s and beyond, Hillage moved beyond Proggy guitar heroics and reinvented himself as an electronica-style dance music provider; not my cuppa but at least hes still in there pitching and making worthwhile music to this day. For a while back in 1976 and 1977, he made me want to be an Electrick Gypsy...and Ill always love the guy for that.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 01:28:37 +0000