MAKE THEM DANCE
Johnny Rawls. Catfood Records.
First, a word about what this album isn’t: It’s not, as the title might suggest, a stereotypical toe-tappin’, get-up-and-go, veritable house party collection of high-spirited bubblegum dance tunes.
Sure, some of the music is dance-worthy, as many soulful ballads are - at least for slow dances and casual grooves.
But, on the whole, this isn’t the disc for a swing-your-partner and get-busy-with-your-dance-moves vibe.
Rawls is doing what he does best, and that’s his combination of soulful crooning and smooth, bluesy guitar licks on songs such as his stirring opener, “So Cold,” a 2019 number written by Zac Harmon and Bob Trenchard that examines some of the icy veins and cold-heartedness in the world.
Trenchard, head of the Catfood Records label, plays bass on this album, which was released Tuesday. Harmon is one of his Catfood co-workers.
Trenchard also has written or co-written several of the pieces on this 10-song set, including the title track (which seems as much focused on good storytelling as making people dance, honestly), a sweet song called “Say That You Love Me,” and five with both him and Rawls sharing credits, including “Dreams of You,” “Rip Off the Bandage,” and “The Long Road.”
Produced by Grammy-winner Jim Gaines at his Bessie Blue Studio in Stantonville, Tenn., Make Them Dance was the last recording for Gaines, who died in 2024. Gaines was somewhat of a legend, having worked in the past with the likes of Santana and Stevie Ray Vaughan.
Mississippi-born Rawls, who has recorded some of his best music in recent years at Waterville-based Third Street Cigar Records, is a Blues Music Award-winning singer with a warm style that always seem to be the right combination of simple and moving. He has a career that has spanned more than 50 years.
On this disc, he has several fine musicians in addition to Trenchard who are backing him up.
First Published April 3, 2025, 2:00 p.m.
