The Skin I'm In (album)

The Skin I'm In
Studio album by
Elvin Bishop
Released1998
GenreBlues
LabelAlligator
Elvin Bishop chronology
Ace in the Hole
(1995) 		The Skin I'm In
(1998) 		That's My Partner!
(2000)

The Skin I'm In is an album by the American musician Elvin Bishop, released in 1998.[1][2] It was his fourth album for Alligator Records.[3] Bishop supported the album with a North American tour.[4]

Production

Bishop wrote 10 of the album's songs.[5] Realizing his voice was only serviceable, he concentrated on writing songs that relayed superior stories.[6] Joe Louis Walker and Charlie Musselwhite played guitar and harmonica, respectively, on "Radio Boogie", a song about hearing blues on the radio in the 1950s.[7][8] Norton Buffalo played harmonica on "Long Shadows".[7] "Shady Lane" was written by Mercy Dee.[9] "The Skin They're In" addresses racial discrimination.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
The Baltimore Sun[12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[13]
Ottawa Citizen[7]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings[9]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[10]

The Independent called the album "a rollicking affair" and "a good-time record."[14] The Ottawa Citizen wrote that it "catches old Elmo in an even mellower mood than normal."[7] The Patriot Ledger noted that "Bishop's vocals are not his strongpoint, always raspy and sometimes strained, but with that deliciously wicked humor always lurking just below the surface."[5]

The Baltimore Sun opined that "the highlight may be 'Long Shadows', a slow blues that's backlit by Norton Buffalo's subtle, mournful harmonica, a hint of what lingers when the party candles burn low."[12] The Age determined that, "more than a sort of blues Harpo Marx, he's an intelligent, humorous observer, delivering convincingly in a wry voice that reflects his Tulsa, Oklahoma, origins."[15] The Record stated that "Bishop keeps things appropriately light with festive horn arrangements, heartfelt singing, and his signature one-note guitar solos."[16]

AllMusic considered the album "perhaps the most cohesive album he's made to date, revealing an artist coming to grips with his muse, his age and his art, all at once."[11]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Right Now Is the Hour" 
2."I'm Gone" 
3."The Skin They're In" 
4."Middle Aged Man" 
5."Country Blues" 
6."That Train Is Gone" 
7."Long Shadows" 
8."Slow Down" 
9."Mellow-D" 
10."Radio Boogie" 
11."Way Down in the Valley" 
12."Shady Lane" 

References

  1. ^ Wooley, John (19 June 1998). "All those blues: They're what keep Elvin Bishop bopping". Spot. Tulsa World. p. 28.
  2. ^ Croft, Tara (Aug 1998). "Bright Lights". Chicago. Vol. 47, no. 8. p. 21.
  3. ^ Iglauer, Bruce; Roberts, Patrick A. (2018). Bitten by the Blues: The Alligator Records Story. University of Chicago Press. p. 319.
  4. ^ Penn, Roberta (16 Oct 1998). "Bishop is touring behind...". What's Happening. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 8.
  5. ^ a b Miller, Jay N. (10 Oct 1998). "Bishop blazing a blues trail". The Patriot Ledger. p. 39.
  6. ^ Nailen, Dan (23 July 1999). "Jazz and blues at the Bird". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. F1.
  7. ^ a b c d Provencher, Norman (26 Sep 1998). "Mellow moments from an ace". Ottawa Citizen. p. E3.
  8. ^ Beck, John (19 Feb 1999). "Elvin Bishop Harvests a Crop of Blues". The Press Democrat. p. D1.
  9. ^ a b The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. pp. 43, 44.
  10. ^ a b Cristiano, Nick (3 Jan 1999). "Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F10.
  11. ^ a b "19 June 1998". AllMusic. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  12. ^ a b "Blues". LIV. The Baltimore Sun. 19 Nov 1998. p. 8.
  13. ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  14. ^ Trapp, Roger (5 Sep 1998). "Jazz & Blues". The Independent. p. 45.
  15. ^ Williams, Ken (25 Dec 1998). "The Skin I'm In Elvin Bishop". Entertainment Guide. The Age. p. 8.
  16. ^ McGuinness, Jim (9 Oct 1998). "A few new wrinkles on Elvin Bishop". Previews. The Record. p. 29.