Bobby Rush Raw
Deeprush Records
Real Deal Delta Blues
I have only seen Bobby Rush with his revue-style show that features a full band and his big booty dancers. So to hear his latest CD, which is appropriately titled Raw, caught me completely by surprise. Not that familiar with his older stuff, I wasn’t expecting such a sparse and intimate showcase of his talent. It’s just the man with his guitar, foot, and harmonica. In this case just enough is just right. The only additional musician on the record is a former band member, Shawn Kellerman, who adds slide Dobro on three of the thirteen tracks. I can’t believe Rush doesn’t display his awesome Delta Blues talent during his live shows. At least I haven’t seen it in the last couple years.
This is the seventh release on his label, Deeprush Records, and all but three of the songs are originals. Rush produced the record himself with help from Joe Shugan for the final mix and mastering. It is well recorded and the songs feature Rush playing acoustic guitar and harmonica while keeping time by stomping his foot on the floor. You can just picture him sitting on the back porch with a glass of ice tea at his side and his dog lying in the yard wagging his tail to the beat. I was impressed with the quality of the mix. The vocals and instruments are very clear at any listening level. You might think that with such a sparse arrangement the record would become monotonous after a few tracks. It’s a credit to the man’s talent that he makes each tune different and interesting. He is quite a good picker, but I’m not sure many people are aware of this.
He opens the disk with his version of Lawrence Williams’ “Boney Maroney.” Then he does a slow, burning take on “School Girl,” written by Sonny Boy Williamson I (Williamson’s version was titled “Good Morning, Little School Girl”). The final cover is the Muddy Waters tune “Howlin’ Wolf.” Most of the originals deal with love, love lost, and dealing with the opposite sex. The one exception is his politically charged “What’s the Use,” which mentions forty acres and a mule, a reference to the era of Reconstruction following the Civil War when General Sherman ordered that freed slaves be given forty acres and a mule. After Lincoln’s assassination, President Andrew Johnson took the land back and gave it to the original owners.
Rush’s voice shows no sign of the wear and tear from his fifty-plus years on the road as the undisputed king of the “Chitlin Circuit.” Somewhere in his early seventies (his actual birth date is in question), he is in fantastic shape. Hell, I wish I was in that kind of shape and I’m at least fifteen years his junior.
I can’t wait to see him perform these songs in an intimate club. If you are a fan of acoustic Blues, you should love this CD. This record is Blues and nothing but the Blues.
Mark Goodman is a contributing editor at BluesWax. You may contact Mark at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
.
Copyright Visionation, Ltd 2004. All Rights Reserved with limited rights offered to artist and their agents for publicity purposes only with proper citation to BluesWax, BluesWax.com, or www.blueswax.com.
BluesWax is the largest Blues publication in the world. It is delivered via email to more than 100,000 subscribers around the world each week. It is only sent to subscribers and maintains a strict privacy policy and never shares its subscribers' information; just the Blues in your box each week. You may subscribe at www.blueswax.com. For further information contact
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or call 515.440.0610.
Visionation. Ltd.
815 Office Park Road, Ste #9
West Des Moines, IA 50265-2502
515.440.0610
Publisher of BluesWax, Blues Revue, FolkWax, and Dirty Linen
