Search - Johnny Rawls :: No Boundaries

Rawls Best By Far

A California Music Fan | 09/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Johnny Rawls took a risk in going beyond his trademark Memphis soul sound when he recorded No Boundaries. This album is very eclectic with music as wide-ranging as gospel, funky blues, jazzy blues, New Orleans blues, Chicago blues and roots rock as well as his more familiar soul-blues. Johnny Rawls discovered Kay Kay and the Rays in 1999. The collaboration with the Rays not only works, it is his best album by far. The thing that ties everything together is his great voice along with his expressive delivery of each song.



Since the songs average over 6 minutes, it may not be radio-friendly but it is the best blues cd I have heard this year. The CD is dedicated to the memory of the wife of Bob Trenchard, Ray's songwriter; the recurring themes are death, despair, redemption and hope. Five songs have a gospel theme or are gospel-tinged and all have superb backing vocals by Memphis singers Jackie Johnson and Reba Russell. However, each of the five are very different songs. Show Me The Way is funky soul with a smoking sax solo and powerful chorus. Keep The Faith is more traditional gospel with churchy B-3 and piano and also a powerful choir-like chorus. Fallen Bird sounds like a Mark Knopfler composition with a loping country feel but, again, with the big chorus. Long Black Car has a funky New Orleans groove, sounding like something from Fats Waller or Professor Longhair. The ending ballad, Even Though You're In Heaven, is perfectly executed by Rawls and the band, building to an emotional finish.



As for the other songs, Train Keep Rolling is a more or less traditional blues shuffle but with big horns and nice bridge chord changes. I Won't Give Up is very authentic coming from an underrated performer who has been on the road for 30 years; it is similar to style of Marvin Gaye at the end of his career, very nice arrangement and another powerful chorus. Never Found A Smoking Gun and Nothing Lasts Forever are as close to Rawls' soul-blues sound as it gets here. The first has a really nice, big horn chart, an angry Albert Collins style lead and chitlin' circuit lyrics and the latter is funky, jazzy soul with a stellar, long sax intro by Andy Roman, another strong horn chart and a solid, in the pocket groove. The thing that these nine songs have in common is they are all strong songs, performed by one of the best singers around today, backed by one of the best bands in any genre. Highly recommended."

Great Album

A fan | Texas | 09/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A wonderful album. It is by far the Ray's best work to date. Not only was the production top notch but the vocals and songwriting is really what makes the album soar. Bass player, Bob Trenchard again brings out his versatile/eclectic style of writing with a combination of blues, jazz, soul, gospel and a little rock. His lyrics with the combination of Johnny Rawls' warm, soulful voice makes this album perfect for any blues and roots lover. The music goes from a dynamic opener "Show Me the Way", to the heartfelt gospel of "Keep the Faith". All songs you can listen to over and over. Also noteworthy is the finale, Trenchard's ..."Even Though You're in Heaven" which reduces one to tears as you feel the loss he writes about. It is an album that leaves nothing to be desired. I love it!"

Super soul that does goes beyond boundaries

N-Chap | Texas | 09/24/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is why I bought his new CD, Red Cadillac. It stayed in my car for months and still go back to it. Unlike Red Cadillac, which is pure Memphis soul all the way through, No Boundaries has maybe a couple songs that are blues or soul blues and the rest are an eclectic mix of roots music. Show Me The Way sounds like they reassembled Joe Cocker's band for the song. I Won't Give Up is 70s rock mixed with Marvin Gaye funky soul. Show Me the Way, along with Keep The Faith, Long Black Car, Fallen Bird and Even Though You're In Heaven all have gospel themes although Long Black Car sounds like a Professor Longhair New Orleans arrangement and Even Though You're In Heaven has an Elton John style piano intro. Keep The Faith and Fallen Bird have big, powerful gospel choruses with really nice backup vocals. In fact, almost every song has really nice backup vocals that fit perfectly with the song. Fallen Bird, although a gospel number, has an acoustic guitar intro and lead with a country feel to it. Nothing Lasts Forever is a jazzy, funky tune with some superb sax soloing. The other two songs actually are a blues shuffle with some unexpected bridge chord changes and a soul/blues song with a powerful, tough horn chart and angry guitar solo. These songs are long, probably average over six minutes which gives the band a chance to show they can play. And they definitely can play. Having said this is not a soul album, the voice of Johnny Rawls turns just about anything he sings into a soulful song. I can see why this album got rave reviews. It is has great songwriting, a great backing band and then Rawls great voice. It is easier to listen to than to try to describe it. I would recommend it to anyone unless they are such a blues purist they do not want to hear anything but traditional blues. This is anything but traditional blues."