Bobby Rush has a new album out Friday, but the music and the flavor take a sharp turn from the glittery suits and high-energy driving songs fans are used to seeing and hearing.
“Rawer than Raw” is a stripped-down, acoustic version of the Grammy Award-winning bluesman, who has been performing since 1951.
“It’s one of the hardest CDs I’ve ever chose to do,” he said. “It’s easy playing it, but I want to salute people I respect and love so much and I love so many guys I couldn’t put them all on one CD.”
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Rush, 86, decided to do the album to honor some people from Mississippi whom he admires: Jimmie Reeves, Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf, Elmore James and others.
“But I don’t want people to think those are the only people I love and respect,” he said. “I just want to do this for Mississippi because I live in Mississippi and wanted to do it from that standpoint just to show my appreciation.”
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Rush, who lives in Jackson, said he chose songs he knew he could play well in a solo setting — just the man, his guitar, a harmonica and a little percussion.
“There’s no overdub or anything,” he said. “Just a harp around my neck and my feet on a big piece of board and turn the microphone on and go. What you see is what you get.
“If I messed up, I messed up. If I did it right, it’s right. That’s what it come out to be.”
Rush has made nearly 400 records and more than 80 CDs over his career, he said in an earlier story. He has been nominated for six Grammys, winning one at the age of 83.
Rush talked about the departure from the extravagant showman most fans think of when they think of him.
“People get a chance to see a side of me they haven’t seen in a long time, because what you see with this raw album is where I come from,” he said.
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It is a side of Bobby Rush not many people have gotten a chance to see until now, but it’s a part of him that’s always been there, he said.
“When I write songs, I write for just me and my guitar,” he said. “It may not be all over, but I’m certainly heading things to where I started from.”
Contact Lici Beveridge at 601-584-3104 or lbeveridge@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge.