Big Fun (Elvin Bishop album)

Big Fun
Studio album by Elvin Bishop
Released	1988
Recorded	1988
Studio	Starlight Sound, Richmond, California
Genre	Blues
Length	35:52
Label	Alligator AL 4767
Producer	Elvin Bishop
Elvin Bishop chronology
Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby (1981) Big Fun (1988) Don't Let the Bossman Get You Down! (1991)

Big Fun is an album by the American blues musician Elvin Bishop, released by the Alligator label in 1988. ^{[1] [2]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Christgau's Record Guide	B+ [4]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings	[5]

AllMusic reviewer William Ruhlmann stated that "this record, which, naturally, emphasizes his more blues-oriented guitar playing, although without sacrificing his country boy identity". ^[3] The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings wrote: "These albums have a quality rarely encountered in records of their type - personality. Much of that is down to the garrulity of Bishop's singing and his quirky angular guitar solos ... If the albums have fault, it's Bishop's inclination to indulge in his own form of blues-rap ... it's pleasant enough but it's an easy way out". ^[5]

Track listing

All compositions by Elvin Bishop except where noted

1. "Don't You Lie to Me" (Hudson Whittaker) − 3:25
2. "Beer Drinking Woman" (Peter Chatman) − 4:12
3. "Oklahoma Country Girl" − 2:47
4. "My Dog" (William Schuler) − 3:33
5. "Midnight Hour Blues" (Leroy Carr) − 3:31
6. "No Broken Hearts" − 2:50
7. "The Right String But the Wrong Yo-Yo" (Willie Perryman) − 2:35
8. "She Puts Me in the Mood" − 3:32
9. "Country Boy" − 3:01
10. "Honest I Do" (Jimmy Reed) − 3:01
11. "Fishin' Again" − 3:25

Personnel

• Elvin Bishop − guitar, vocals
• Stevie Gurr − guitar, harmonica, backing vocals
• Nancy Wright, Terry Hanck − tenor saxophone
• Reynaldo "Daddy Ray" Arvizu Jr. − alto saxophone
• Phil Aaberg, Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack − keyboards
• Michael "Fly" Brooks − bass
• Norton Buffalo − guitar, harmonica
• Gary Silva – drums, backing vocals
• Kathy Kennedy, Katie Guthorn – drums, backing vocals
• The Carptones, Whit Lehnberg – general mayhem (track 11)

References

1. Alligator Records: album details accessed November 6, 2019
2. Elvin Bishop: discography accessed November 6, 2019
3. Ruhlmann, William. Elvin Bishop: Big Fun – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved November 6, 2019.
4. Christgau, Robert (1990). "B". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s . Pantheon Books. ISBN   0-679-73015-X . Retrieved August 17, 2020– via robertchristgau.com.
5. Russell, Tony; Smith, Chris (2006). The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. London: Penguin. p. 41. ISBN   978-0-140-51384-4.