Johnny Rawls turns in an impressive debut with
Here We Go. Although he doesn't do anything new to the soul-blues genre, the record is entertaining in the vein of
Z.Z. Hill and latter-day
Bobby Bland.
Rawls has a powerful, soulful voice which can make mediocre material sound convincing. Unfortunately, there are a few too many half-hearted cuts here, but that doesn't prevent the album from being a promising debut. ~ Thom Owens