CD Reviews

"Memphis Still Got Soul"

Johnny Rawls

Catfood Records

If you love down-down Southern soulful blues, do yourself a favor and run out and buy the latest disc from Johnny Rawls entitled Memphis Still Got Soul. Rawls consistently releases fantastic recordings, as evidenced this last year with his Blues Music Award recognition for his previous release Ace Of Spades, taking home the prize for Soul Blues Album, while also garnering a nomination for Male Soul Blues Vocalist. And as great as that last album was, I have to say that in my opinion he has far exceeded it with Memphis Still Got Soul. This just may be the finest soul-blues album to come out in some time. It must be heard!

This album just oozes with soulful and sexual overtones that make Southern Soul so distinct and listenable. Rawls’ songwriting is superb. And the musicianship displayed by his veteran band hits the nail dead on its head on every sensational track on this disc. It calls for repeated plays and don’t worry about even thinking about it, you’re just going to keep it going on and on for some time.

The title track pays reverence to the soul sound that has emerged from Memphis past and present. It’s not going away and Rawls wants us to know just that. As the late O.V. Wright’s band leader for many years, “Blind, Crippled and Crazy” would certainly be a number that is close to Rawls’ heart and one that he would be most capable of recreating. And he does so in magnificent manner, very true to Wright’s own vein. The album is actually filled to the brim with classic soul overtones including “Give You What You Need” harkening to Stax and Muscle Shoals and “Stop The Rain” a real song of heartbreak with its slow-paced delivery that makes you feel Rawls’ emotion letting loose. He pulls out a Sam Cooke mood on the track “Don’t Act So Innocent” while informing his former fling that she is not so different than she used to be or better than himself. I really love the horn section making the songs burst with energy throughout the album; they send the soul right to the top. On a different note, the song “Burning Bridges” is a rocker in its own soulful way, with Motown guitarist Johnnie McGhee laying down some biting and nasty riffs. And yet, it fits right in with all the other selections on the disc. Just to let you know that he is nothing to forget about as a guitarist, Rawls shows his wares nicely on the following track “My Guitar,” obviously a song written before last year’s Blues Music Awards show as he states he never won a “Handy,” which is the former name for the award.

Memphis Still Got Soul is another outstanding release from one of the best soul-bluesmen around. This one is bound to be on my list of best of the year albums without doubt.

Total Time: 40:52

Memphis Still Got Soul / Blind, Crippled And Crazy / Give You What You Need / Take You For A Ride / Stop The Rain / Burning Bridges / My Guitar / Flying Blind / Blues Woman / Don’t Act So Innocent / Love Stuff