***1/2 Eddie Cusic

I WANT TO BOOGIE

(HMG)

If Eddie Cusic wants to boogie, who the Hell's gonna stop him? At 72 -- a ripe age for a man making his recording debut -- he's pretty much set in his ways. That's good, because this resident of Leland, Mississippi, plays acoustic guitar like a chugging piledriver. In fact, these 15 songs come off as an encyclopedia of basic blues rhythms, delivered with an authority established in more than 50 years of performing around his home town. Unlike his ex-bandmate Little Milton, Cusic never left Leland to find a career in the North. Instead, he farmed while he raised a family and played weekend parties where he developed a powerful way of thumping his instrument to cut through the festive din. Caught here solo, as he usually plays, Cusic hits tunes by Muddy, Jimmy Reed, himself, and others in his typically straightforward style. His finger picking simmers best when he's working a polyrhythmic groove (as in "Worry You Off My Mind"). And his sad-edged voice is a match for his no-nonsense guitar. It's baked hard as Delta mud through years of house-party moaning.

-- Ted Drozdowski