Raisin’ Hell Revue

If it’s possible to have too much fun, then from the sound of this album Elvin Bishop and friends were having it when this CD was recorded on the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Cruise last year. They may have been out on the ocean, but these guys sure as hell weren’t at sea. John Nemeth, who played the Sierra Nevada Big Room in April, was on that cruise, and so was Kid Andersen, the astonishingly good guitarist who has gigged in Chico with various musicians, including Rick Estrin & the Nightcats. These guys are almost sinfully soulful, and Bishop brings out their best here. He runs them through one of his signature songs (“Fooled Around and Fell in Love”) along with a kick-ass jam reinvention of “Party ’til the Cows Come Home” called “Callin’ All Cows.” On “Rock My Soul,” there’s some absolutely hair-raising, distinctively original guitar licks, and the gang also does a great rendition of the Elmore James version of “It Hurts Me Too,” a song that’s been covered by everyone from Clapton to Dylan. Bishop and the other mariners on that floating jam session could put their version up against any of ’em. Download these tunes or buy the album, then set a course into the blue horizon. Bon voyage.