San Francisco singer/songwriter Bob Hillman is back with a new album after more than ten years away from the business.

After over a decade away from the stage and studio, Bob Hillman returns with the full-length album Lost Soul. The album’s title is ironic in the sense that, with his longtime musical mentor ex-Plimsoul Peter Case at the helm, the San Francisco-based singer/songwriter has found his way out of the creative wilderness. He taps back into literate, tuneful songwriting that defined his earlier material but moves beyond the Americana-leaning folk-rock of his past to embrace a contemporary sonic landscape; the result is a less crafted, more visceral album. 
 
“When Peter Case agreed to produce Lost Soul,” says Hillman, “I saw it as an opportunity to work with someone who could take my songs to places I could never have thought of on my own.” They started by discussing their vision in the context of albums like Vega’s 99.9F and David Bowie’s Low. Then, a last-minute cancellation by the first guitarist Case had brought in left an opening for Joseph Arthur, whose electric guitar edge and loop textures took Lost Soul to a new level. Another important aspect was that—for the first time ever—Hillman recorded 100% live—playing guitar and singing along with the band, and doing only a few takes of each track. “Peter helped these great musicians find sounds and shape their parts; my only job was to deliver the most powerful performance possible.”

Beyond the opportunity to work with the man Hillman calls “one of the songwriters who inspired me to become a songwriter,” another motivating factor was a successful crowdfunding campaign. Hillman’s Kickstarter reached its initial, possibly-too-modest goal in two days and eventually generated nearly $20,000. “Crowdfunding can work for the financing part,” he says, “but it’s also great for gauging interest among your friends and fans. After so many years off the 

During Hillman’s initial run as a recording artist in the early 2000s, he made two albums with Tommy West—famous for his hit-making with Jim Croce and many others—and toured extensively with Suzanne Vega. He also earned praise from people like Susan Stamberg of All Things Considered, who said: “Welcome To My Century is a storytelling pot of skilled musicianship and serious yet often comical compositions that are sure to please…that song about War and Peace is enough to make you want to pick up War and Peace and start reading it.” Acoustic Live echoed: “Hillman sings in a deadpan vocal style and brings a dry sense of humor to the table; so dry that some listeners may not realize just how clever and insightful a lyricist he can be. But Hillman’s lyrics have a lot of meat on their bones.”

While Hillman is happy to be back where he belongs—making meaningful music with great musicians—his ambitions are a bit different from the old days, when conquering the world still held some appeal. “I just want as many people as possible to hear these songs,” he says. But Lost Soul is about more than just the songs or sound. How many people are given the chance to return to their passion after so many years away? As one fan put it in a recent email:

“You know, I think seeing you ‘back’ could be the most inspiring thing I’ve come across in years. After sleeping on it, I’m rethinking all the things I thought I would never do again.”  

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