Berlin (dpa) – In the music of Bobby Rush, the waves of the Mississippi swing along, over which paddle steamers glide in a long time past. You might think of Tom Sawyer or small farms and settlements by the water – the new album “Rawer Than Raw” has it all.
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Of course, because after all, the album is intended as a homage to the blues history of Mississippi and every note lives up to this claim.
The blues musician doesn’t even come from Mississippi. Rather, he comes from near Homer, Louisiana, where he saw the light of day 86 years ago and was baptized with the name Emmett Ellis Jr. Since he decided early on to enter the world of music, he adopted the stage name Bobby Rush in order, as he later said, “not to shame his father.”
Well, he didn’t have to worry about that. His father would certainly have been proud of the success that began in the 1970s. Bobby Rush has been a fixture in the blues world for decades. “The man is an international treasure,” said international blues star Joe Bonamassa. He is “one of those who still play real blues.” Unfortunately, Bonamassa adds, “there aren’t many of them left”.
The new album is the follow-up to Rush’s “Sitting on Top of the Blues” from 2019. “Rawer Than Raw” is a musical cross-section through the history of the Mississippi Blues Hall of Fame. On the album Rush covers a number of classics of his companions, such as Robert Johnson, Skip James, Howlin ‘Wolf, Sonny Boy Williamson II or Muddy Waters.
But there are also five Rush originals – “Down in Mississippi”, “Let Me in Your House”, “Sometimes I Wonder”, “Let’s Make Love Again” and “Garbage Man”. “Although I’m from Louisiana, I am proud to call Mississippi my home,” he admits. He bowed to the Mississippi people because they had remained true to their roots. “If you’re looking for the real blues experience, you’ll only get it from those who come from Mississippi.” In his case, this is transferable to Mississippi voters as well.
The new album certainly has the quality to make it to the top of the charts. But already on his last album, Rush said you can’t just go there and compose a hit. “You can just do your best and hope it’ll be a hit.” And “Sitting on Top of the Blues” was nominated for a Grammy after all.
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