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Elvin Bishop : Red Dog Speaks

Delta Groove

Legendary solo axeman/songwriter and former Paul Butterfield Blues Band member Elvin Bishop returns with an exhilarating release featuring numerous collaborations. Named after his red 1959 Gibson Stereo ES 345 guitar, the new album is firmly rooted in the slide blues that gave the man his name. Highlights include three tracks with vocalist John Németh —Jimmy Cliff’s “Many Rivers to Cross,” Huey P. Meaux’s “Neighbor Neighbor” and Otis Spann’s “Get your Hand Out of My Pocket.” “Blues Cruise,” a Bishop original, also features Ronnie Baker Brooks, Tommy Castro and Roy Gaines on guitars and Buckwheat Zydeco on accordion, and “Doo-Wop Medley” which takes two standards (“In the Still of the Night” and “Maybe”) and melds them in memorable fashion with Ed Earley’s trombone, Snakebite’s tenor sax and Tom Poole’s trumpet. Throughout Red Dog Speaks, Bishop’s soaring slide guitar work seals the timeless deal on a worthy followup to 2008’s Grammy-nominated The Blues Rolls On.