Dan Hill – Real Love (1989)
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Mmmmm. Can you smell that? Nothing says “cutout” like “a Dan Hill album from 1989,” does it? It’s almost like Dan was thinking about this series when he took Columbia’s money 19 years ago. Or when he took pretty much any label’s money at any point, really; our man Hill has been making records for more than three decades — 11 studio albums, if I’m looking at a correct account — and I’m not sure any of them are in print outside his native Canada. In fact, I’m betting most of you are looking at Hill’s name and saying “Who?” while the remaining 10% are saying “Have we really stooped this low?”

I take offense at that second question, mostly because we’ve always been this low, but also because, for a guy who recorded a whole bunch of incredibly bland pop ballads, Dan Hill is really sort of fascinating.

For starters, Hill’s dad is Daniel G. Hill, the Canadian sociologist and civil rights activist who founded the Ontario Black History Society, has been awarded the Order of Ontario, has been made an Officer of the Order of Canada, and was the first full-time director of the ontario Human Rights Commission. Dan’s brother, author Lawrence Hill, has written a number of important books, among them his 2001 memoir Black Berry, Sweet Juice: On Being Black and White in Canada, as well as his collaboration with United States Army soldier Joshua Key, The Deserter’s Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq.

Okay, so admittedly, the fascinating bits of Hill’s background really don’t have much to do with him, and compared with other members of his family, his career accomplishments are really sort of lame — but he’s still far from your garden-variety AC singer. (more…)