| Have Mercy! | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Michael Hill's Blues Mob |
| Cover: | Michael Hill's Blues Mob - Have Mercy!.png |
| Released: | 1996 |
| Genre: | Blues |
| Length: | 63:04 |
| Label: | Alligator |
| Producer: |
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| Prev Title: | Bloodlines |
| Prev Year: | 1994 |
| Next Title: | New York State of Blues |
| Next Year: | 1998 |
Have Mercy! is the second album by the American band Michael Hill's Blues Mob, released in 1996.[1] [2] The band supported it with North American and Australian tours.[3] [4]
The album was produced by Hill, Bruce Iglauer, Brian Young, and Kevin Hill. Hill wrote 13 of the album's songs.[5] He was backed by keyboardist E. J. Sharpe, drummer Tony Lewis, and bassist Kevin Hill.[6] Hill was inspired chiefly by the music of Jimi Hendrix.[7] Many of the songs are about the Black experience in America, with Hill's lyrics influenced by the works of James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.[8] "Women Make the World Go 'Round" is a response to the many blues songs about men who think women have done them wrong.[9] "Grandmother's Blues" is about an older woman killed by law enforcement.[10] "Stagolee/Perspective" is an interpretation of the Stagger Lee story.[11] "Rest in Peace" is an instrumental.[12] "She's Gone" is a cover of the Hound Dog Taylor song.
The New York Daily News called Hill "an axe man who grinds through electric blues, hard rock, funk and reggae". Guitar Player said that Hill "takes chances, stretching boundaries with supple, supercharged solos and socially conscious lyrics."[13] The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette labeled the album "urban blues with a passionate social conscience framed by [Hill's] hard-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.[14] [15] The North County Times praised "the jazz-influenced 'Let's Talk About the Weather'."