Son of Skip James is the thirtieth album by American singer/songwriter Dion. It was released on November 6, 2007, on the Verve Forecast Records label.[1] The album stayed on the Billboard Blues Albums chart for twelve weeks, peaking at No. 4 on November 24, 2007.[2]
The album serves as a follow-up to Dion's 2006 Grammy-nominated blues album, Bronx in Blue.[3] The majority of tracks on Son of Skip James are cover versions of well-known blues songs, some of them classics.[1] The album's title references blues legend Skip James, a friend of Dion's. Dion described the use of James's name for the album as "a kind of mission statement for the project".[4]
The album was generally positively received by critics, who called out its authenticity,[1] simplicity,[7] and emotional depth.[3] The original tracks, particularly "The Thunderer", were considered to stand on equal or even superior footing to the cover tracks.[1][3] Most critics agreed that Dion had effectively personalized the covers,[1][8] although Tony Sclafani of PopMatters disagreed, calling the track selection "too familiar", and his recordings "too reverent" to bring the project fully to life.[3] Martin Halo of JamBase highlighted Dion's dedication to researching the origins of the cover songs as part of what made the album distinctive among other blues cover albums.[8]
Joel Selvin of SFgate.com called it "another landmark in a career littered with them".[9] Thom Jurek, writing for AllMusic, called it "one of the best records of the year".[1] Chris Jones of BBC Music called it "every inch the equal of its predecessor".[7] Nick Cristiano of The Philadelphia Inquirer found it "exceptionally warm and intuitive".[5] Despite his criticism of the track selection, Sclafani said the album "does not fall short when it comes to ass-kicking".[3] Halo felt that the album featured "master musicianship and stunning vocals", but called it "nothing we haven’t heard before."[8]
Track listing
Except where noted, credits are adapted from AllMusic.[1]
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