Rawer Than Raw
Deep Rush/Thirty Tigers, 2020
8/10
The Grammy winner Bobby Rush is in fine form here, as the blues legend pays tribute to legendary artists from his home of Mississippi, as well as offering 5 originals in a stripped back, acoustic setting.
“Down In Mississippi”, a Rush tune, starts the listen with warm harmonica as his smokey, soulful vocals highlight the bare blues setting, and “Hard Times”, by Skip James, follows with precise guitar plucking as Rush’s storytelling flows like an improvised front porch session.
Near the middle, Willie Dixon’s playful “Shake It For Me” moves with gritty rhythm, while “Sometimes I Wonder” is a sparse offering where a rugged intimacy exists in the original. “Let’s Make Love Again”, the album’s best, then gets a bit busier with foot percussion, harmonica and guitar alongside Rush’s swampy delivery on his own track.
Close to the end, “Garbage Man”, which is a firm southern anthem about losing your woman to the garbage man, was on an earlier album by Rush but appears here in its rawer form and is quite comical, and Robert Johnson’s “Dust My Broom” exits the listen with a bouncy spirit as frisky guitar work guides an energetic bluesy finish.
It’s amazing to think that Rush is well past middle age, as his one man band of guitar, harmonica, voice and feet illuminate these classics and originals in a light that no one else could with a strong personality and equally robust singing that hasn’t seemed to wane for the octogenarian.
Travels well with: Annika Chambers- Kiss My Sass; Joe Bonamassa- A New Day Now