Artist:     Bobby Rush

Album:     Rawer Than Raw

Label:     Deep Rush Records

Release Date:     08.28.2020

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Born Emmett Ellis, Jr. in Homer, Louisiana, Bobby Rush has long called Mississippi home, and has a particular soft spot for the state’s legendary blues men. At various times over the last several years, Rush sat down with just his guitar and harmonica, and immersed himself in songs by some of Mississippi’s finest. Six of those recordings, plus five of his own compositions, comprise Rawer Than Raw, a sequel of sorts to his earlier album, Raw. Rush cut the all-original Raw in 2007 in much the same bare fashion, which at the time represented a distinct departure from the booty-bumpin’, Chitlin Circuit rhythm and blues he’d become famous for. But since Rush began playing the blues some 70 years ago, hanging with friends Elmore James, Pinetop Perkins, Ike Turner, Little Walter, Muddy Waters, and Jimmy Reed, it had all come quite naturally to him. And it still does.

Rush obviously feels this music in his gut, and plays it just as the album title suggests. Rush’s original country blues tunes not only fit in among the classics, they’re actually just as compelling.

He starts off with his own “Down in Mississippi,” and the crystal clear power in his voice, his melodious harp, and his nimble-fingered, hard-struck guitar playing are that much more impactful, knowing that he’s just shy of 88 years old now. Rasping on Skip James’ “Hard Times,” tapping his feet like they’re pounding the pavement in search of work and salvation, and playing harp as if bemoaning his failure, Rush will absolutely sway any and all listeners. If I was told, before reading otherwise, that “Let Me in Your House” was also a Skip James classic, I’d have fallen for it. Rush’s song picks up where “Hard Times” left off, a man with all manner of the blues, begging a woman to let him in. He then makes Willie Dixon’s “Shake for Me” sound like a man skipping after a lady in the park, and in the traditional “Honey Bee, Sail On,” he comes off like Muddy Waters in voice, ruminating gently on flying free. He plays no harp there, which places the focus squarely on his delicate and brilliant guitar work.

Rush’s “Garbage Man,” a blues of mistreatment with a sly wink and a nod, is perhaps the rawest of the raw. For that he put the guitar down, singing with fortitude, tapping the floor to keep the beat, and playing the devil out of his harp. All in all, Rawer Than Raw stands out as one of this crazy year’s finest blues albums. Keep it up please, Mr. Bobby Rush. Keep that middle finger straight up in the face of aging, but keep your blues lowdown and raw, like this.

—Tom Clarke