(Modern Electric Blues) [CD] Elvin Bishop - Discography - 12 Albums (1988 - 2020), FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Review by Hal Horowitz (Allmusic.com)
Bishop hops labels once again, this time to the relatively young and scrappy Delta Groove imprint, while calling up some names in his obviously well-stocked Rolodex to assist on his first predominately studio album in three years. Like most guest studded affairs, this is an inconsistent but enjoyable romp. It also works as a career recap of sorts with Bishop revisiting "Yonder's Wall," a tune from his Butterfield Blues Band days (with Ronnie Baker Brooks and Tommy Castro), along with the Southern styled party sound that proved so commercially viable during his '70s Capricorn affiliation, in addition to other covers. He strips things down for a solo musical life history in "Oklahoma," an electric, educational traipse through his back pages from his early years in the titular state, set against stark, distorted boogie guitar. He taps the youngsters in the Homemade Jamz Blues Band, another Delta Groove signing, for a cool grooving version of Junior Wells' "Come On in This House," and features John Nemeth on vocals for three tracks and harp on the closing midtempo Jimmy Reed instrumental "Honest I Do," apparently the first blues song a young Bishop heard on his transistor radio as a child in Oklahoma. Fellow boogie man George Thorogood squares off with Bishop and takes lead vocals for a frolic through Hound Dog Taylor's "Send You Back to Georgia," and Bishop references his Capricorn days with current Allman Brothers Band guitarists Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes on a reworked "Struttin' My Stuff." B.B. King stops by for a short interview that leads into a jazzy, swinging cover of Roy Milton's "Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket," a song King was familiar with from his old Memphis DJ days. R.C. Carrier and Andre Thierry shift the proceedings to a bluesy, zippy zydeco on "Black Gal." As you can see, the album is pieced together from a variety of sessions in different locations, resulting in a patchwork set that, despite many excellent and above all enthusiastic performances, never quite gels. Like the collage of pictures on the back cover, this is more a scrapbook of Bishop playing with his pals and acquaintances than a focused project, but there is enough quality music here to attract established fans, even if this isn't the place to generate new ones.

Review by Adam Sheets
Oftentimes a band's signature song will be the one least characteristic of their output as a whole. Oklahoma-born guitar man Elvin Bishop certainly knows a thing or two about that. He is best known for the 1976 top 10 hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love," but his roots credentials run much deeper than that admittedly great pop song would lead you to believe. In 1959, Bishop headed to Chicago for college and instead ended up a founding member of the legendary Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Perhaps the first blues-rock group, they came together several months before the Yardbirds and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, their two counterparts from across the pond. Bishop stayed in the band during a string of classic records before forming the Elvin Bishop Group in 1968. The band co-headlined shows with the Allman Brothers, was often mentioned as one of the heavy-hitters of Southern rock, and, of course, had several hits in the mid-'70s. And, presumably, Red Dog accompanied him through most of it. You see, Red Dog is both the star and the title track's subject matter of Elvin Bishop's latest album Red Dog Speaks. The aforementioned title track is an ode to Bishop's constant companion, "a Gibson stereo, E-345, cherry red, 1959." From the outset, this track is an indication of the gritty blues and old school R&B that permeates the entire record and a perfect representation of Bishop's hard-edged, yet fun persona. "I'll tell you what," Bishop says in his gruff drawl, "We've rolled through every city/Kicked so much butt 'til both shoes got shitty/That's a heck of a thing to say/But I mean it in a nice way." And eventually, yes, Bishop, with some help from his bottleneck slide, makes Red Dog speak and it produces the sort of sound only a well-weathered six-string can make. The next track is the blues standard "Neighbor, Neighbor." Bishop and the band, complete with a horn section, are red hot and up-and-coming blues vocalist John Nemeth pitches in on lead vocals. This is followed by "Fat and Sassy," a great original mid-tempo Chicago-styled R&B number. The lyrics here, dealing with overeating, doctor-ordered diets, and other things of that nature- are hilarious and Bishop's delivery makes it even funnier. This song delivers plenty of sass and is one of the best on the album. Up next is the great instrumental "Barbecue Boogie," which features the band in top form. In particular, I must commend the piano work of Bob Welsh. John Nemeth returns for a soulful cover of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers to Cross." The vocals here are amazing, as is Bishop's slide guitar work. The result sounds nothing like the original, but that is the sign of a great artist. "Blues Cruise" is another great full-band workout recorded live on the Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise. The lyrics are seemingly improvised and really are only used to introduce the various solos in this all-star lineup, including Nemeth on harmonica, guitarist Tommy Castro, and Louisiana legend Buckwheat Zydeco. This is followed by a "Doo-Wop Medley" consisting of "In the Still of the Night" and "Maybe." This medley is performed as an instrumental with Red Dog leading the band. Of course, as on all great doo-wop backing tracks, the horn section is what really shines here. Overall, this track was fun, if a little unnecessary. Next up is the Otis Spann Chicago blues classic "Get Your Hand Out of My Pocket." Bishop and the band are once again joined by John Nemeth and this is probably my favorite of his appearances. Not to mention Bishop's amazing slide solo here which needs to be heard by any fan of blues guitar. Bishop then tackles the traditional gospel tune "His Eye is On the Sparrow" as an instrumental. This works much better than the "Doo-Wop Medley," and in fact, sounds like one of the great '50s R&B bands led by Fats Domino or Smiley Lewis would have sounded with a guitar up front. Then comes "Clean Livin'," a Bishop original and the best track on the album. The tune is performed without band accompaniment and over a great shuffle riff, Bishop delivers a list of things that should have killed him, speaks of watching women pass him by, and delivers his philosophy on being old. The album ends with "Midnight Hour Blues," another great original performed as a soul ballad with a slight country influence. The track is slow and calm, making for a perfect closer to an excellent album. In conclusion, Red Dog Speaks is one of the best blues albums I have heard this year. This is a snapshot of a veteran guitar player who still hasn't lost a step almost 50 years after beginning his career and the kind of album that every aspiring musician should give a long listen to. This is authentic, raw, and gritty, just like great blues albums should be.

Elvin Bishop: vocals & guitar
John Németh: vocals & harmonica
Roy Gaines: vocals & guitar
Tommy Castro: guitar
Ronnie Baker Brooks: vocals & guitar
Stanley “Buckwheat Zydeco” Dural: accordion
Kid Andersen: guitar
Mike Schermer: rhythm guitar
Bob Welsh: piano
Ruth Davies: bass
June Core: drums
Bobby Cochrane: drums
and many others!!!

Elvin Bishop's latest release "Elvin Bishop's Raisin' Hell Revue" (LIVE) is OUT NOW on Delta Groove Records! The live disc features Grammy winner's smash "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" along with blues standards, recorded live in the party atmosphere of the 2010 Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise.
Elvin Bishop's musical biography is no secret to anyone who has followed blues or rock over the past 40 years. Taken under wing by legendary bluesman Little Smokey Smothers in the '60s, Bishop found a wide audience as guitarist in the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and in the '70s scored a Top-10 radio hit with "Fooled Around and Fell in Love." Along the way, he's carved out a niche all his own, playing an appealing mix of rootsy rock 'n' roll, R&B and barroom boogie, steeped in the heavy blues he learned from Little Smokey all those years ago.
So when a bunch of close friends who also happen to be consummate musicians are sequestered together, as they were at sea on the 2010 Legendary Blues Cruise, what else were they to do but unite forces to create some truly exemplary music? Thankfully the tapes were rolling, and the musical experience was saved for posterity. Delta Groove Music will release the resultant Raisin' Hell Revue live album on May 17, 2011. And with the good vibes of a ship full of fellow music lovers to buoy the band, you can really hear that everyone was having a great time.
Over the course of their featured performance, Bishop shares the vocal mike with four hard-hitting pros: blues veteran Finis Tasby (Lowell Fulson, Freddie King, Clarence Carter, Z.Z. Hill), fast-rising harmonica man John Németh (Anson Funderburgh, Junior Watson), Norwegian blues guitar star Chris (Kid) Anderson (Charlie Musselwhite's band), and Bishop's long-time band-mate and Bay Area legend, saxophonist Terry Hanck. They work their way through a strutting, soulful set of blues and R&B with the powerful grace of a veteran working outfit, perfectly highlighting the strengths of everyone involved. And it really is a "revue" in the classic sense of the term — various band members representing a wide array of styles move in and out of the spotlight, all presided over by the good-humored and congenial master of ceremonies Elvin Bishop. We're treated to swinging up-tempo R&B, lowdown blues, rootsy rock 'n' roll, and a touch of gospel; even a fantastic reworking of Bishop's smash hit "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" is included featuring the wonderfully gifted and dynamic vocalist John Németh.

Elvin Bishop - guitars & vocals
John Nemeth - vocals & harmonica
Finis Tasby - vocals
Terry Hanck - tenor sax & vocals
Chris "Kid" Andersen - guitar
Ed Earley - trombone, vocals & percussions
Steve Willis - piano, accordeon & vocals
Bob Welsh - guitar
Bobby Cochran - drums & vocals
Ruth Davies - bass
Lisa Leu Andersen - vocals

Legendary blues guitarist/songwriter/vocalist Elvin Bishop returns to Alligator Records with Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, set for release on Tuesday, August 19. With his “so-loose-they’re-tight” road band behind him, along with friends Charlie Musselwhite and Mickey Thomas, Bishop has created one of the best albums of his career. Can’t Even Do Wrong Right finds Bishop playing, writing and singing some of the most spirited and distinctive blues and roots music today. The CD proves that Bishop is as vital and creative an artist now as he was when he first hit the national scene in 1965 with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band. He is as slyly good-humored and instantly crowd-pleasing as he was when he was scoring Southern rock-styled hits during the 1970s. For five decades, he has never stopped touring or releasing instantly recognizable music featuring his groundbreaking playing, easygoing vocals, witty lyrics and good-time humor.
Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, with hilariously spot-on cover art by musician/artist Paul Thorn, finds Bishop firing on all cylinders and having fun while doing it. With this album, Bishop has created another highlight in a career that covers fifty years and over 20 albums. Five of the songs are Bishop originals, including Let Your Woman Have Her Way, on which Bishop’s friend Mickey Thomas sings lead (this is the first time Thomas, the ex-Jefferson Starship singer, has recorded with Bishop since he provided vocals on Bishop’s classic hit Fooled Around And Fell In Love). An outstanding instrumental version of Jimmy Reed’s Honest I Do harkens back to Elvin’s childhood: this was the very first blues song he heard coming from Nashville’s WLAC, the late night R&B 50,000 watt powerhouse radio station, beaming all the way to his Oklahoma home. In the 1950s in Oklahoma, everything was racially separated except the radio (“They couldn’t segregate the airwaves,” Bishop recalls). With the addition of his Grammy Award-winning pal Charlie Musselwhite on Old School and No More Doggin’, Can’t Even Do Wrong Right hits its target at every turn.
Born in Glendale, CA on October 21, 1942, Elvin grew up on a farm in Iowa before relocating to Oklahoma when he was ten. He first got hooked on the blues listening to late night R&B radio as a teenager, and began collecting, listening to and absorbing blues music. Once Bishop realized that many of his favorite records were recorded in Chicago, he used his 1959 National Merit Scholarship as a way to get closer to his blues heroes by enrolling in the University of Chicago—its campus surrounded on three sides by the South Side black community. “The first thing I did when I got there,” Elvin recalls, “was make friends with the guys working in the cafeteria. Within fifteen minutes I was into the blues scene.” Leaving his physics studies behind, Bishop turned to blues music full time. He befriended bluesman Little Smokey Smothers and would hang out with him for hours on end. Smothers liked young Bishop and took the willing student under his wing, teaching Elvin how to really play—and live—the blues. In short order, Elvin became an accomplished and innovative player. Many years later, in 2000, Elvin and Smothers recorded their only album together, the appropriately titled That’s My Partner!, for Alligator.
After Elvin crossed paths with harmonica player and fellow University of Chicago student Paul Butterfield, the two began sitting in together at black blues clubs, often jamming with Buddy Guy and Otis Rush. They first formed The Paul Butterfield Blues Band in 1963, adding Jerome Arnold on bass, Sam Lay on drums and Mark Naftalin on keyboards. Prior to cutting their debut LP in 1965, Michael Bloomfield joined the group as second lead guitarist, and created a groundbreaking, all-star band. The self-titled The Paul Butterfield Blues Band introduced electric Chicago blues to the rock audience for the first time. With the release of East/West in 1966, the band’s popularity hit an all-time high. Their straight Chicago blues sounds drifted further into progressive and experimental rock ‘n’ roll and—with two world-class lead guitarists on board—the band helped pave the way for groups featuring multiple virtuoso guitarists, like The Allman Brothers and Derek and the Dominos.
Towards the end of the 1960s, after recording three albums with The Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvin decided to move on, heading for the San Francisco area. “I liked it there. I didn’t have to look over my shoulder,” Bishop recalls. He became a regular at the famed Fillmore Auditorium jam sessions, playing alongside Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, B.B. King and many others before embarking on a solo career. He recorded first for Fillmore Records, then Epic and then for Capricorn, where his career took off. He charted with Travelin’ Shoes before scoring big in 1975 with Fooled Around And Fell In Love (the song reached number three on the pop charts).
After a seven-year recording hiatus, Elvin returned to his blues roots in 1988, signing with Alligator and releasing Big Fun to critical and popular acclaim. He followed in 1991 with Don’t Let The Bossman Get You Down! and in 1995 with Ace In The Hole, delivering no-holds-barred sets of rootsy blues fueled by Elvin’s wicked guitar playing and tongue-in-cheek originals. With 1998’s The Skin I’m In, serious guitar playing and humorous looks at aging made the album a true blues statement for the end of the 20th century. Entertainment Weekly described the album as “sheer, unpretentious joy.”
As Bishop continues to tour and release new music, his stature continues to grow. Through the years his music has appeared in film and television, including the 1997 use of She Puts Me In The Mood (from Big Fun) in Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. In 2005 he performed on the internationally televised Grammy Awards broadcast alongside Keith Urban, Tim McGraw, Gretchen Wilson, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Allman Brothers’ guitarist Dickey Betts. He recently appeared in the documentary Born In Chicago. In 2012 and 2013 he was nominated for inclusion into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a member of The Paul Butterfield Blues Band.
Now, with Can’t Even Do Wrong Right, Bishop again is ready to share his happy-go-lucky vibe with his fans around the world. His guitar/vocal/songwriting triple-threat talent, along with his ability to deliver a rollicking good time wherever he goes, assures his not-to-be-missed live performances are consistently packed to the gills with cheering fans. The Chicago Tribune says Bishop plays “good-time music guaranteed to put a smile on your face…serious playing, potent slide guitar and razor-sharp licks.”

Elvin Bishop: Guitar and Vocals
Bob Welsh: Guitar, Organ on "Let Your Woman Have Her Way," Bass on "Old School" and Piano on "Blues With A Feeling"
Steve Willis: Piano and Accordion, Background Vocals
Ed Earley: Trombone and Background Vocals
Ruth Davies: Bass
Bobby Cochran: Drums and Background Vocals
with special guests:
Mickey Thomas: Vocals on "Let Your Woman Have Her Way" and Harmony Vocals on "Blues With A Feeling"
Charlie Musselwhite: Harmonica on "Old School" and "No More Doggin'"
Willie Jordan: Cajon on "Old School", Harmony Vocals on "Old School," "Bo Weevil" and "Can't Even Do Wrong Right"
June Core: Drums on "Can't Even Do Wrong Right"
Steve Evans: Bass on "Blues With A Feeling" and "Let Your Woman Have Her Way"
Emily Bishop, Kristen Lindsat, Susan McKay: Background Vocals on "Dancin'"

The Big Fun Trio (Elvin on guitar and vocals, Willy Jordan on cajon and vocals, and Bob Welsh on guitar and piano) forges a new blues and R&B sensibility, colored by the distinctive, stripped-down instrumentation and shot through with Elvin’s exuberant, down home vibe. There are seven Bishop originals here (including a remake of the title track from his Ace In The Hole release), plus Lightnin’ Hopkin’s Honey Babe, Fats Domino’s Let The Four Winds Blow, Sunnyland Slim’s It’s You, Baby, and Bobby Womack’s It’s All Over Now. Charlie Musselwhite, Rick Estrin and Kim Wilson guest. "Fabulous good-time romps...the pleasure is infectious"—Blues & Rhythm

Elvin Bishop: Guitar and Vocals
Willie Jordan: Cajon and Vocals
Bob Welsh: Guitar and Piano
with
Kim Wilson:Harmonica on "It’s You, Baby"
Rick Estrin: Harmonica on "Delta Lowdown"
Charlie Musselwhite: Harmonica and Vocals on "100 Years Of Blues"

Elvin Bishop: Guitars and Vocals
Willie Jordan: Cajon and Vocals
Bob Welsh: Piano, Guitar and Organ
with
Andre Theirry: Accordion on “My Soul”