Elvin Bishop Source: Living Blues Magazine Date: 10/2008 Writer: Roger Gatchet

Blues veteran Elvin Bishop reflects on the last 45 years of his professional career while also looking forward to the future torchbearers on his Delta Groove debut, The Blues Rolls On. Quick to point the spotlight on the many talented guests who “brought their ‘A’ game, and just put their heart and soul into” this release, Bishop’s latest project is his chance to lend a helping hand to the rising stars of the blues, much like Muddy Waters, Smokey Smothers, and Clifton Chenier did for him decades ago.

This is a fantastic record, which manages to avoid the inconsistencies that often plague projects that feature several high-profile guests. Bishop’s all-star team, which includes B.B. King, James Cotton, George Thorogood, Warren Haynes, Kim Wilson, and Derek Trucks, plus John Németh, Angela Strehli, Tommy Castro, R.C. Carrier, the Homemade Jamz Band, and others, perform on their respective tracks like they’ve been part of Bishop’s road band for years. This is a gathering of close friends who sound thrilled to be playing together.

Listeners never lose sight of Bishop, who captains this ship with all the skill and artistry one would expect from a guy who has spent nearly half a century in the blues. The disc opens with the title track, a rough number powered by Bishop and Haynes’ bare-bones slide guitar and a stunning, richly textured third-position harp solo from Wilson. From there on out it’s one big party, with a quick pit stop off Mexico’s West Coast for Yonder’s Wall, recorded with Castro and Ronnie Baker Brooks on the Blues Cruise, and Oklahoma, a delightfully ragged solo about Bishop’s life. Németh contributes vocals and harmonica on four tracks, most notably a duet with Angela Strehli on Night Time Is The Right Time and I Found Out, where both Strehli and Cotton join the proceedings. Bishop revisits his funky rap Struttin’ My Stuff with Trucks and Haynes, hangs with B.B. on Keep A Dollar In Your Pocket, and closes the show with a lazy instrumental version of Jimmy Reed’s Honest I Do.

This is one of the strongest releases of Bishop’s career and in Delta Groove’s catalog, making it a strong contender for next year’s Blues Awards.