Johnny Rawls – Make Them Dance
I thought this was going to be a retro infused oldies show with a veteran singer who’s absorbed all the intonations & tones of past giants. I was wrong. Instead, Johnny’s loaded with the grace of some lesser-known soulful middle-of-the-road male vocalists from the glorious past who were so dependable & commercial, yes. But viably commercial.
The 10 sparkling rhythm infused danceable tunes to Make Them Dance (Drops April 1/Catfoot Records/36:00) were recorded at the Bessie Blue Studio in TN with the horns recorded at Sonic Ranch in TX. It’s a well-interpreted dip into soulful music of the ‘60’s aesthetic with generous amounts of modern energy & captured pristinely by the late Grammy-winning producer Jim Gaines.
Johnny Rawls (vocals/rhythm guitar) isn’t a deeply toned radiation voiced generator like Lou Rawls, Gene McDaniel, Brook Benton or Levi Stubbs (Four Tops). He isn’t smooth as Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye & Smokey Robinson, or soulfully raw as Solomon Burke & Wilson Pickett. But…what Johnny Rawls has is a mash-up of the best of some of the richest soul vocals that are imbued with bourbon smooth style & propelled by originality.
Johnny skates through the beauty of Marv Johnson, Chuck Jackson, Major Lance & skitters along with some flavors of Jerry Butler with a touch of Danny Williams (“Whiter Than White”). He seldom dives into a falsetto range & keeps his voice in the bright radiance of soul. No showboating though he can dazzle like Johnny Thunder (“Loop de Loop,” “I’m Alive”). Strong, assertive vocals with ear-caressing guitar work & arrangements.
At times, Johnny sounds like what Johnny Mathis would’ve sounded like if Mathis had dug deeper into a soulful-blues brass-based setting than his smooth, orchestrated silk style, which served his 70-year career well. Rawls’ songs are mainstream perfect & include “So Cold,” “Dreams of You,” “Make Them Dance,” that get things warmed up. There’s blasts of hot brass, arresting backup female voices that supplement the ambience of each composition.
In his 50-year career which began in Columbia, MS (though he works out of Purvis) he started by playing with Joe Tex, Little Johnny Taylor, O.V. Wright & the Sweet Inspirations (later back-up singers with Elvis).
Rawls makes everything that was old….new again. (Forgive the cliché, it’s just true. For the uninitiated, he’s worth exploring, or for some, revisiting.
Highlights – “So Cold,” “Dreams of You,” “Make Them Dance,” “Swimming With the Sharks,” & “The Long Road.”
Musicians – Will McFarlane (guitar), Steve Potts & Justin Holder (drums), Bob Trenchard, Jamie McFarlane (bass), Dan Ferguson & Clayton Ivey (keys), Mike Middleton (trumpet), Andy Roman (sax solos), Nick Flood (baritone, tenor & alto sax), Frank Otero (trombone), Kimberly Horton & Trinecia Butler (bgv) with horn arrangements by Rudy Torres & Johnny Rawls.
CD cover image courtesy of Marilyn Stringer. CD at Amazon + https://catfoodrecords.com/ & https://johnnyrawlsblues.com/home-page
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Music Reviews: The Pretenders’ ‘Relentless,’ plus Wild Rabbit Salad, Crowes Pasture, Torben Westergaard, and Johnny Rawls
