For a guy facing his 90th birthday, Bobby Rush sure doesn’t let any grass grow under his feet. We just reviewed his then new CD, Sittin’ On Top of the Blues, just last fall. Opposed to the usual ensemble effort, Rawer Than Raw lives up to its title. Sporting just an acoustic guitar and harmonica, it’s a rather energetic and clever effort. It’s very much Rush’s tribute to his adopted hometown state Mississippi and the pioneers of the blues that inspired him originally, split evenly between classic covers and Bobby Rush “originals.” There’s a tip of his Mississippi cap to the likes of Muddy, Wolf, Elmore, Skip James and Sonny Boy. The best of the recycled songs underlines Rush’s take on Sonny Boy’s “Don’t Start Me Talking.” Rush really gets Sonny Boy’s clipped harmonica style down pat and not just on this track. His covers of Skip James are interesting, because Rush’s voice is very similar to James’ original here, with a thick rural Mississippi inflection. Speaking of the other James—Elmore—there’s a creditable treatment of the timeless “Dust My Broom,” played with an abundance of zip. Of the original material, one can’t admire which bluesman Rush admired in his own work and just maybe his record collection. The opener “Down In Mississippi” was boosted from J.B. Lenoir’s popular “Mojo Blues” with a different title and a change simply of a street name. “Garbage Man” is also a common topic in the blues and here the accompaniment is just Rush on harmonica, wildly stomping his foot. In the end, it’s a wang dang doodle for sure. As mentioned in the previous review, he’s never really put out a bad album and this one’s got a bit of a different twist. Also, it’s probably one of the best Bobby Rush’s covers out of his dozens of CDs and LPs and is pretty appropriate for what is going on here.