Johnny Rawls – Walking Heart Attack
Catfood Records – 2023
10 tracks; 35 minutes
Often described (not least by me!) as the last great soul man, Johnny Rawls returns with a fine album of soulful blues, reunited with The Rays, the studio band at Catfood, with whom he has recorded several albums. Six of the ten tracks were penned by Johnny and/or studio boss and bassist Bob Trenchard, one by fellow Catfood artist Derrick Procell, plus three covers from very diverse sources. Johnny handles all lead vocals (and plays guitar on two cuts) and is ably supported by Johnny McGhee on guitar, Dan Ferguson on keys, Bob Trenchard on bass, Richy Puga on drums, Mike Middleton on trumpet, Frank Otero on trombone, Nick Flood on saxes and Andy Roman who plays the sax solos; Jon Olazabal adds some percussion and Janelle Thompson and Shakara Weston are on backing vocals.
The title track is typical Johnny Rawls, lyrics about a woman that draws men “like a moth to a flame”; funky rhythm guitar, great sax work and the backing vocalists helping out, a great start to the album. Johnny and Otis Clay released a superb duet album (Soul Brothers) shortly before Otis’ untimely passing and Johnny reprises Otis’ best-known song, “Trying To Live My Life Without You”. One of the great Memphis soul tunes, Johnny does the song justice with a horn-heavy arrangement. “Free” is more of a ballad with delicate guitar work as Johnny thanks God for not having to “dig a ditch” and is happy with his lot in life. A funky groove underpins “Tell Me The Truth”, a classic cheating song that might have suited Albert King in his Stax period but is a Rawls/Trenchard creation. Johnny was the band leader for many years for OV Wright and continues to honor OV’s memory with a great cover of “Born All Over” which OV released in 1971. Written by Johnny Copeland, this superb soul song has been recorded by many artists over the years (Curtis Salgado comes to mind) and Johnny’s version is definitely their equal.
The horns are excellent throughout but the arrangement on Derrick Procell’s “Heal Me” is particularly impressive. You can really hear the additional percussion here and this is also the case on the next track, Johnny being ready to risk everything for the girl in question, convinced that “One More Sin won’t send me to Hell”. Quite the opposite case in “Lies” where, this time, he has been let down; a ballad with a warm arrangement that belies the despairing lyrics. Over the years Johnny has adapted some songs from the Rock world (the Stones’ “Beast Of Burden”, for example) and here tackles Springsteen’s “Hungry Heart”. The baritone sax underpins the tune which retains the insistent piano but speeds the arrangement up a notch and adds smooth backing vocals, taking the song for a trip down South from the Jersey shore. Johnny closes the album with a warm tribute to his native state in “Mississippi Dreams”, the backing vocals again a strong feature.
You always know what you are going to get with a Johnny Rawls album and this is another in a long series of outstanding discs over recent years: soulful vocals, fine band and good songs – what more could a soul-blues fan want?
