| Fish Ain't Bitin' | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Corey Harris |
| Cover: | Fish Ain't Bitin'.jpg |
| Released: | 1997 |
| Genre: | Blues, country blues |
| Label: | Alligator |
| Producer: | Larry Hoffman, Corey Harris |
| Prev Title: | Between Midnight and Day |
| Prev Year: | 1995 |
| Next Title: | Greens from the Garden |
| Next Year: | 1999 |
Fish Ain't Bitin' is the second album by the American musician Corey Harris, released in 1997 through Alligator Records.[1] [2] [3] Harris supported the album with a North American tour that included shows opening for B.B. King.[4] [5] Fish Ain't Bitin won a W. C. Handy Award for the best acoustic blues album of 1997.[6]
The album was co-produced by Larry Hoffman, who also arranged the horns. Harris was inspired by the music of New Orleans, where he had lived for several years.[7] He used a National steel guitar.[8] Harris used a tuba and two trombones on some of the tracks. "God Don't Ever Change" is a cover of the Blind Willie Johnson song.[9] "Bumble Bee Blues" is a cover of the Memphis Minnie song. "Jack O'Diamonds" is a version of the song popularized by Blind Lemon Jefferson.[10] "Worried Life Blues" was written by Big Maceo.[11] "5-0 Blues" is about police brutality.[12] The title track was influenced by Harris's childhood catfishing excursions.[13]
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called Harris "more than an imitator," writing that "like many of his musical ancestors, Harris has turned the stuff of his life into a musical anthology." The Orlando Sentinel noted that, "in addition to a distinctive, gravelly baritone with wonderful sustain, he has an exceptionally strong sense of rhythm and knows how to write a good tune." The Calgary Herald deemed the album "a delicious acoustic blues disc that captures that back porch blues feel of old and yet remains completely contemporary."[14]
The Times Colonist determined that "Harris throws everything from New Orleans brass bands to rap into his unique, and it all comes out majestic and inspired country blues."[8] The Michigan Chronicle concluded that the album "demonstrates the same haunting majesty that powered the [blues] during its pre-World War II, pre-electric phase."[15] Robert Christgau opined that "as much as Harris's cross-rhythms and vocal panoply honor his readings of the classics, his virtuosity springs to life on originals."
The Chicago Tribune listed Fish Ain't Bitin as the best blues album of 1997.[16] OC Weekly included the album on its list of the best of the 1990s.[17]