The Skin I'm In (album)

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The Skin I'm In
The Skin I'm In (album).jpg
Studio album by
Elvin Bishop
Released1998
Genre Blues
Label Alligator
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 it with a North American tour. [4]

Contents

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 Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [11]
The Baltimore Sun Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Ottawa Citizen Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [7]
The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [9]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [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 (June 19, 1998). "All those blues: They're what keep Elvin Bishop bopping". Spot. Tulsa World. p. 28.
  2. ↑ Croft, Tara (August 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 (October 16, 1998). "Bishop is touring behind...". What's Happening. Seattle Post-Intelligencer. p. 8.
  5. 1 2 Miller, Jay N. (October 10, 1998). "Bishop blazing a blues trail". The Patriot Ledger. p. 39.
  6. ↑ Nailen, Dan (July 23, 1999). "Jazz and blues at the Bird". The Salt Lake Tribune. p. F1.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Provencher, Norman (September 26, 1998). "Mellow moments from an ace". Ottawa Citizen. p. E3.
  8. ↑ Beck, John (February 19, 1999). "Elvin Bishop Harvests a Crop of Blues". The Press Democrat. p. D1.
  9. 1 2 The Penguin Guide to Blues Recordings. Penguin. 2006. pp. 43, 44.
  10. 1 2 Cristiano, Nick (January 3, 1999). "Blues". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F10.
  11. 1 2 "19 June 1998". AllMusic. Retrieved January 20, 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Blues". LIV. The Baltimore Sun. November 19, 1998. p. 8.
  13. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press.
  14. ↑ Trapp, Roger (September 5, 1998). "Jazz & Blues". The Independent. p. 45.
  15. ↑ Williams, Ken (December 25, 1998). "The Skin I'm In Elvin Bishop". Entertainment Guide. The Age. p. 8.
  16. ↑ McGuinness, Jim (October 9, 1998). "A few new wrinkles on Elvin Bishop". Previews. The Record. p. 29.
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