Bishop hops labels once again, this time to the relatively young and scrappy Delta Groove imprint, while calling up some names in his obviously well-stocked Rolodex to assist on his first predominately studio album in three years. Like most guest studded affairs, this is an inconsistent but enjoyable romp. It also works as a career recap of sorts with
Bishop revisiting "Yonder's Wall," a tune from his
Butterfield Blues Band days (with
Ronnie Baker Brooks and
Tommy Castro), along with the Southern styled party sound that proved so commercially viable during his '70s Capricorn affiliation, in addition to other covers. He strips things down for a solo musical life history in "Oklahoma," an electric, educational traipse through his back pages from his early years in the titular state, set against stark, distorted boogie guitar. He taps the youngsters in the
Homemade Jamz Blues Band, another Delta Groove signing, for a cool grooving version of
Junior Wells' "Come On in This House," and features
John Nemeth on vocals for three tracks and harp on the closing midtempo
Jimmy Reed instrumental "Honest I Do," apparently the first blues song a young
Bishop heard on his transistor radio as a child in Oklahoma. Fellow boogie man
George Thorogood squares off with
Bishop and takes lead vocals for a frolic through
Hound Dog Taylor's "Send You Back to Georgia," and
Bishop references his Capricorn days with current
Allman Brothers Band guitarists
Derek Trucks and
Warren Haynes on a reworked "Struttin' My Stuff."
B.B. King stops by for a short interview that leads into a jazzy, swinging cover of
Roy Milton's "Keep a Dollar in Your Pocket," a song
King was familiar with from his old Memphis DJ days. R.C. Carrier and Andre Thierry shift the proceedings to a bluesy, zippy zydeco on "Black Gal." As you can see, the album is pieced together from a variety of sessions in different locations, resulting in a patchwork set that, despite many excellent and above all enthusiastic performances, never quite gels. Like the collage of pictures on the back cover, this is more a scrapbook of
Bishop playing with his pals and acquaintances than a focused project, but there is enough quality music here to attract established fans, even if this isn't the place to generate new ones. ~ Hal Horowitz