| Ace in the Hole | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1995 | |||
| Genre | Blues, blues rock | |||
| Label | Alligator | |||
| Producer | Bill Thompson, Elvin Bishop | |||
| Elvin Bishop chronology | ||||
| ||||
Ace in the Hole is an album by the American musician Elvin Bishop, released in 1995. [1] [2] It was his third album for Alligator Records. [3] Bishop promoted the album by touring with B. B. King. [4] Ace in the Hole was nominated for a Bammie Award. [5]
Ace in the Hole was produced by Bill Thompson and Bishop. Charlie Musselwhite played harmonica on the album. [6] "Home of the Blues" is about Bishop's time playing in Chicago blues clubs. [7] "Driving Wheel" is a cover of the Roosevelt Sykes song. [8] Bishop was excited to include several instrumentals. [9]
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [10] |
| Robert Christgau |  [11] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [12] |
| MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide |  [13] |
| The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings | [7] |
The Christian Science Monitor wrote that Bishop's "tongue-in-cheek lyrics and country stylings are enlivened by his blistering guitar work." [14] Robert Christgau praised "Another Mule Kickin' in Your Stall". [11] The Chicago Tribune deemed the album "typically irreverent, distinctive blues-rock." [15] The Columbus Dispatch stated that it "features hilarious talkin' tales in the jump blues tradition, especially the New Orleans jazz-flavored 'Fishin''." [16]
The Vancouver Sun determined that "Ace in the Hole is a reminder the blues aren't just for melancholics." [6] The Washington Post wrote: "When Bishop gives a sermon on the distribution of wealth in his own 'Give Me Some of That Money' or on the faithfulness of the married in Dave Bartholomew's 'Another Mule Kickin' in Your Stall', his droll delivery provides the perfect counterpoint to the sparkling playing by the guitarist and his top-notch road band." [8] The Press of Atlantic City called the album "a blues masterwork." [17]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Another Mule Kickin' in Your Stall" | |
| 2. | "Driving Wheel (Inst.)" | |
| 3. | "Give Me Some of That Money" | |
| 4. | "Ace in the Hole" | |
| 5. | "Party 'Til the Cows Come Home" | |
| 6. | "Think" | |
| 7. | "Home of the Blues" | |
| 8. | "Pigmeat on the Line (Inst.)" | |
| 9. | "Ain't That Love" | |
| 10. | "Fishin'" | |
| 11. | "Blue Flame (Inst.)" | |
| 12. | "Talkin' Mood" | |
| 13. | "Fooled Around and Fell in Love (Inst.)" |
Chicago blues is a form of blues music that developed in Chicago, Illinois. It is based on earlier blues idioms, such as Delta blues, but is performed in an urban style. It developed alongside the Great Migration of African Americans of the first half of the twentieth century. Key features that distinguish Chicago blues from the earlier traditions, such as Delta blues, is the prominent use of electrified instruments, especially the electric guitar, and especially the use of electronic effects such as distortion and overdrive.
Robert Lockwood Jr. was an American Delta blues guitarist, who recorded for Chess Records and other Chicago labels in the 1950s and 1960s. He was the only guitarist to have learned to play directly from Robert Johnson. Robert Lockwood was one of the first professional black entertainers to appear on radio in the South, on the King Biscuit Time radio show. Lockwood is known for his longtime collaboration with Sonny Boy Williamson II and for his work in the mid-1950s with Little Walter.
Theodore Roosevelt "Hound Dog" Taylor was an American Chicago blues guitarist and singer.
Elvin Richard Bishop is an American blues and rock music singer, guitarist, bandleader, and songwriter. An original member of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of that group in 2015 and the Blues Hall of Fame in his own right in 2016.
Tommy Castro is an American blues, R&B, and rock guitarist and singer. He has been recording since the mid-1990s. His music has taken him from local stages to national and international touring. His popularity was marked by his winning the 2008 Blues Music Award for Entertainer of the Year.
Charles Douglas Musselwhite is an American blues harmonica player and bandleader, one who came to prominence, along with Mike Bloomfield, Paul Butterfield, and Elvin Bishop, as a pivotal figure in helping to revive the Chicago Blues movement of the 1960s. He has often been identified as a "white bluesman".
Ask the Ages is the final album recorded by jazz guitarist Sonny Sharrock during his lifetime. It was recorded with producer Bill Laswell and released in 1991; It featured Sharrock alongside saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer Elvin Jones. Sharrock died on May 25, 1994.
The Earthshaker is a blues album by Koko Taylor, released in 1978 by Alligator Records. The album has since been released on CD by Alligator.
Somebody Loan Me a Dime is a 1974 studio album by blues singer and guitarist Fenton Robinson, his debut under the Alligator Records imprint. Blending together some elements of jazz with Chicago blues and Texas blues, the album was largely critically well received and is regarded as important within his discography. Among the album's tracks is a re-recording of his 1967 signature song, "Somebody Loan Me a Dime". It has been reissued multiple times in the United States and Japan, including with bonus tracks.
Little Smokey Smothers was a Chicago blues guitarist and singer. He played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band and played with other Chicago blues musicians in the 1960s, then left music for most of the 1970s. He returned to music in the late 1970s and continued performing until his death in 2010.
Stone Crazy! is an album by the American musician Buddy Guy. It was recorded and released in 1979.
Big Fun is an album by the American blues musician Elvin Bishop, released by the Alligator label in 1988.
Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down! is an album by the American blues rock musician Elvin Bishop, released in 1991.
I'm in the Wrong Business! is an album by the American musician A.C. Reed, released in 1987. Backed by the Spark Plugs, Reed promoted the album with a North American tour. It sold around 50,000 copies in its first two years of release.
Blue Soul is an album by the American musician Joe Louis Walker, released in 1989. Walker supported the album with a North American tour, backed by the Boss Talkers.
Fish Ain't Bitin' is the second album by the American musician Corey Harris, released in 1997 through Alligator Records. Harris supported the album with a North American tour that included shows opening for B.B. King. Fish Ain't Bitin' won a W. C. Handy Award for the best acoustic blues album of 1997.
Eldorado Cadillac is an album by the American musician Billy Boy Arnold, released in 1995. It was the second album of his 1990s comeback. Arnold considered his two Alligator Records albums to be the best of his career. The album won a National Association of Independent Record Distributors award for best blues album.
The Gift is the second album by the American musician Joe Louis Walker, released in 1988. Walker was backed by the Boss Talkers. He supported the album with a North American tour.
The Skin I'm In is an album by the American musician Elvin Bishop, released in 1998. It was his fourth album for Alligator Records. Bishop supported the album with a North American tour.
Roadhouse Rules is an album by the American musician Lonnie Brooks, released in 1996. It was his seventh album for Alligator Records. The album peaked at No. 15 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart. Brooks supported it with a North American tour.
