The title is a nod to how this 2020 album is rawer than , the 2007 record that found devoting himself to acoustic blues for the first time in his lengthy career. Ever since its release, has occasionally returned to such stripped-down settings, so doesn't feel like the departure that its predecessor does but it remains a bracing listen. Hearing play with just a guitar or two is a different experience than his full-bodied soul-blues revues. He remains a commanding presence, so much so that his voice and personality threaten to overwhelm his bare-bones accompaniment, yet these skeletal arrangements show how nuanced he can be. dials things back a notch on "Sometimes I Wonder" and digs deep into his soul on "Hard Times," offering evidence that at heart, he's a song stylist. He can still be lascivious as ever -- witness the happily lewd "Shake It for Me" -- and that's a skill that gives his covers of the overly familiar "Don't Start Me Talkin'" and "Dust My Broom" some kick: these aren't rote covers, they're interpretations from a blues master who has more arrows in his quiver than his rowdy reputation may suggest. Such small surprises help make a delight. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine