Bobby Rush - The Essential Recordings - Volume One (2006)

Chicago style blues, delta style blues, Indie, Funk

In the last several years Bobby Rush has gained new, international audiences for his music, largely due to his compelling performances in the film "The Road To Memphis" from Martin Scorsese PBS Blues series. On the chitlin' circuit Bobby Rush's charms have been known for decades, but a lot of his new fans are wondering just where this magical performer came from.

This inaugural volume of Rush's Essential Recordings series begins to answer that question, presenting a mix of old hits, standards from his live shows, as well a couple of surprises.

There's no topic that Bobby likes better than the battle between the sexes, and one song you are likely to hear at most of his shows is "A Man Can Give It (But he sure can't take it)". Handy Man teases the listener with the signature riff from Bobby's bawdy classic SUE, while Crazy Bout You highlights Bobby's overlooked skills as a balladeer.

For this issue we've pulled out some unreleased treasures from the archives. Bobby lends his characteristic "Folk Funk" approach to Al Green's Take ME To The River, while Dedication is a seven-minute plus acoustic tribute to friends that have passed, including Muddy, Wolf, John Lee Hooker, as well as fellow harmonica players Little Walter, Junior Parker, and Junior Wells.

The Louisiana-born singer Bobby Rush performs his bluesy R&B over a 1980s-sounding background of keyboards and electronic drums on this retrospective of some of his best-known recordings. On raw roadhouse classics like the "Candy Man"-inspired "Handy Man," "Talk to Your Daughter," and a laid-back cover of Al Green's "Take Me to the River," Rush shows why his contemporary sound has made him a perennial underground R&B favorite in the decades since his recording career began in the '60s.