Ernie Johnson
I’m The One You Need
Stairway Entertainment
Ernie Johnson is one of those blues singers that enjoy stepping on toes when he sings. This album, I’m The One You Need, is a pure reflection of that philosophy.
“Party On” kicks the album off with an appeal for you to hit the dance floor swinging. The beat never stops, there is no disturbance in the “force” and you can imagine shoulders and butts bouncing at the table. Heads are bobbing as EJ entreats you to come to the “Valley of Love”. Its laid back feeling has you sipping a good drink and your arm around a hot woman. It’s intimate and sensual while the bass line is throbbing.
His “Laid Around, Played Around Too Long” opens your heart to the feelings of a man who knows “he done messed up” and is trying to get his act together. That lazy guitar really underscores EJ’s voice. “Good Thang Man” has a mellow guitar beat that will have you either trying to recapture those old calypso moves or just standing there holding your lady and trying to behave. “Pumps and Rumps” is a fun song that should have the ladies running out on the floor high stepping and shaking that booty.
I think Ernie is trying to add to the world’s population with “Let’s Make Love Tonight”. You can imagine bodies rubbing together, making static on the dance floor. His title song “I’m The One You Need” shows off that smooth EJ style as he wills his audience back to the floor with a nice rhythm. He tries to keep you out on the floor with some more belly rubbing music in “You’re The Only One”.
“Dance To The Music” is a good track to get your head and shoulders moving. Hot guitar and drums will have your body vibrating. “Double Cross” is a chair rocker to quiet the mood from all the excitement you’ve been through in the past few tracks. “Forever Just Ain’t Long Enough” has a great bouncy feel to it that again shows off EJ’s smooth vocal control and timing.
Ernie’s love of “down home” blues shows up from the first note to song’s end on the cut “Please Don’t Leave Me This Way”. Everything about this cut makes me want to rock in my chair with a brandy and coke and hot cigar. Everybody that knows how to do it and loves the swing out step will hit the dance floor and move to Ernie’s “Swing Out” track. The tempo is just right.
If you like sweet, smooth, sensual blues then I’d advise you to pick up this CD.
- Roman Ross -
Southwest Blues CD Review - October 2009
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