Considering how many solo records guitarist Sir Richard Bishop has released, it seems pointless to mention his prior work with Sun City Girls. So we won’t. Instead we’ll focus on Hillbilly Erotica, a sequel of sorts to his previous album Hillbilly Ragas. Though the well-traveled and learned Bishop always incorporates nearly every musical sound he’s ever heard into his work, Hillbilly Erotica – some of the vaguely titillating song titles of which come from real American locations – focuses on the American folk side of his playing. That’s not to say he doesn’t fold in influences from Indian, Nordic, or Middle Eastern musics, but there’s definitely a more pronounced John Fahey-ness to the tunes he composes and improvises here. There’s a definite Shastrya Sangeet feel to “Back Forty Lashes” and a Northern European tone to “Sweet Lips Spiritual,” but the sheen of Southern acoustic music gives “Finger, Tennessee,” “Fingers Revisited” and “Postcoital Serenade” their timeless jangle. Bishop also remembers that not every acoustic guitar piece needs to be a display of virtuoso picking. He’s perfectly happy with tuneful strumming (“Lick Skillet”) and rhythmic chunka-chunk (“Bride of Rhythm Methodist”) – whatever gets the point across. Regardless of sources and technique, though, the real heart and souls of Hillbilly Erotica are the melodies and the performances. Bishop excels at both, making Hillbilly Erotica an enticing masterpiece.
