Bobby Rush pairs up with
the band Blinddog Smokin’ for his new release, Decisions. This album is a serious amount of fun, with lots of
power and great bluesy vibes, as well as some absolutely wonderful backing
vocals. There is a lot of playfulness on this album too, particularly on tracks
like “Funky Old Man” and “Skinny Little Women” (the latter a debate on the
benefits of fat women versus skinny women, with Blinddog Smokin's Carl Gustafson singing lines like, “A big fat lady take up way too much of the
bed/With my little skinny women, room for two instead”).
Perhaps the major
highlight, however, is the presence of Dr. John on vocals and piano on the
album’s opening track, “Another Murder In New Orleans.” Obviously Bobby Rush
draws a lot of inspiration from the city of New Orleans. His previous album was
titled Down In Louisiana, and
featured a lot of great New Orleans vibes. Decisions
is a two-disc set, the second disc being a DVD focused on “Another Murder In New
Orleans.”
“Another Murder In New Orleans”
“Another Murder In New
Orleans” starts with a wonderful bit of tinkering on the keys, just to get us
ready, get us excited. Then the song comes on as a strong dose of blues. The
opening lines are, “The city is old, the
trouble is new/People are happy, but the feeling’s so blue.” The vocals on
this track are something else. First, check out Bobby dipping low on “New Orleans.” And then there are some
amazing backing vocals (“I walk out into
the night, though it isn’t my fight”). To top it off, there is the presence
of Dr. John, singing the second verse. I’ve long been a fan of Dr. John’s music.
His voice is unmistakable, and he is of course forever linked with New Orleans,
being a vital part of that city’s vibe. And so it’s perfect that he appears on
this track. Though he and Bobby Rush have known each other for decades, this is
the first time they recorded together. I love the work on piano during an
instrumental section.
“Decisions”
“Decisions,” the CD’s title
track, opens with the line, “Making a
decision sometimes sure can be hard.” So true. “And making a decision when you feeling good is different when your body
is in pain/Oh Lordy, why don’t you help us make the right decisions.” This
is a song full of compassion and concern, and contains an important argument.
Bobby Rush wrote this one. At a certain point, it does start to feel a bit repetitive, and loses
some of its power as a result, but the nice work on harmonica makes up for it.
“Bobby Rush’s Bus”
I’ve always found it odd
when musicians put their own names in their songs, sometimes even singing about
themselves in the third person. And lines like “When we hit your town you know it’s us/We’ll be on your street in Bobby
Rush’s bus” remind me of the “(Theme From) The Monkees” (“You never know where’ll be found/So you
better get ready/We may be coming to your town”). Yet “Bobby Rush’s Bus”
has a funky charm. I dig the horns and harmonica. The song has some
good-natured bragging: “If this bus could
its tell stories, everyone would blush.” And then it has an announcer voice
introducing the musicians before they solo, with the sound of an audience
cheering in the background.
Later in the album we get “Dr. Rush,” in which Bobby Rush is
portrayed as a radio personality offering advice. This one is a weird sort of
rap/rock tune, and is my least favorite on this album (though there are still
some humorous moments, like “Get some
gravy in the woman if you have to spoon-feed her”).
"If That's The Way You Like It I Like It"
“If That’s The Way You
Like It I Like It” is a very cool, kind of sexy tune about a man eager to join
a woman in her special activities, with lines like “I heard you last night walkin’ down the hall/I heard you tell him he
can get it all/If that’s what you want to do/Let me do it too/If that’s the way
you like it, I like it.”
“Funky Old Man”
Things get really fun
with “Funky Old Man.” As its title promises, this song has a funky vibe, with
some cool work on guitars, horns, and those great backing vocals. This song is
totally playful, with some silly lines toward the end: “I’m a funky old man, ain’t got no money/I got rheumatism and I walk
kind of funny/I had a hip replacement and an angioplasty/I like young women, I’m
kind of nasty/Get up in the morning about the break of dawn/Take me an hour and
half to get my shoes on.” Bobby Rush is in his seventies, but he
certainly doesn’t seem old, his age doesn’t seem to matter. There is something
of the immortal about him, about his energy.
“Love Of A Woman” has a
more standard blues feel, with typical blues lyrics about doing things for a
woman, including buying her a diamond ring, cars, house and everything, yet
somehow feels new. That just goes to show you the great ability and force of
Bobby Rush. He wrote this one, and sings, “A
man will do anything, anything you want him to do/When he loves a woman like I
love you.”
“Too Much Weekend”
“Too Much Weekend” is a
really cool blues song that begins as a wonderful acoustic gem, and then kicks
in. I like the line, “You know I’m not
drunk, but I sure been drinking.”
There is an eleventh
track that is not listed, “Sittin’ Here Waitin’.” This tune has a really good
vibe. Here is a taste of the lyrics: “I’m
sitting here waiting on my woman to come back/She been gone so long things just
ain’t right.”
DVD
The second disc is a DVD
that includes the music video for “Another Murder In New Orleans.” This video
features footage of New Orleans as well as the band, and some surprising
animated footage of the band.
The DVD also includes
short interviews with Dr. John and Bobby Rush, where they talk about that song.
Bobby Rush also plays harmonica and sings for a bit.
There is also a photo gallery
of behind-the-scenes photos from the music video shoot. The photo gallery plays
without you having to hit the arrow button, and is approximately nine and a
half minutes. “Another Murder In New Orleans” plays along with the photos (the
song plays twice due to the length of this feature).
CD Track List
- Another Murder In New Orleans
- Decisions
- Bobby Rush’s Bus
- If That’s The Way You Like It I Like It
- Funky Old Man
- Love Of A Woman
- Stand Back
- Skinny Little Women
- Dr. Rush
- Too Much Weekend
- Sittin’ Here Waitin’
Decisions is scheduled to be released on April 15, 2014 on Silver
Talon Records.
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