Name: The Skin I'm In
Brand: Alligator Records
SKU: 52805
Price: 17.87 GBP
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

Personnel: Elvin Bishop, William Schuler (guitar, vocals); Joe Louis Walker (guitar); Charlie Musselwhite (harmonica, vocals); Norton Buffalo (harmonica); Terry Hanck (tenor saxophone); Ed Early (trombone, background vocals); Randy Forrester (keyboards, background vocals); Evan Palmerston (bass); Larry Vann (drums, background vocals); Joe Thomas aka J.T. Smoke (background vocals).
Recorded at Conscious Sound & Laughing Tiger Studios, San Rafael, California and at Hog Heaven Studio, Lagunitas, California.
Personnel: Elvin Bishop (vocals, guitar); William Schuler (vocals, guitar); Charlie Musselwhite (vocals, harmonica); Norton Buffalo (harmonica); Terry Hanck (tenor saxophone); Ed Early (trombone, background vocals); Randy Forrester (keyboards, background vocals); Larry Vann (drums, background vocals); Joe Thomas (background vocals).
Audio Mixers: Ari Rios; Bill Thompson.
Recording information: Conscious Sound, San Rafael, CA; Hog Heaven Studio, Laguntias, CA; Laughing Tiger, San Rafael, CA.
Photographer: Kent Lacin.
Elvin keeps the cornpone good-ole-boy schtick down to an acceptable level on this, perhaps his most serious solo album to date. Although Bishop's good-time approach is still evident on tunes like "I'm Gone," "Right Now Is the Hour," the acoustic "Radio Boogie" (with a guest shot from Charlie Musselwhite) and "Country Blues," the playing and lyrics get much deeper and more serious with "Shady Lane," "The Skin They're In," "Middle Aged Man" and "Long Shadows." 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. ~ Cub Koda

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (9/25/98, p.106) - "...Even if his drunken-hillbilly warble isn't the stuff of top 10 records, Bishop's crispy, bluesy guitar playing, witting songwriting, and I'm-just-a-rube-who-loves-to-rock persona remain formidable assets. And the sheer, unpretentious joy he communicates is enough to convince you he's really a self-help guru in disguise."

- Rating: B+

Album: The Skin I'm In
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Right Now Is the Hour
2)	I'm Gone
3)	Skin They're In, The
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

Album: The Skin I'm In
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Right Now Is the Hour
2)	I'm Gone
3)	Skin They're In, The
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