by Todd Sterling
Album number three for Scottish born, Nashville based singer/songwriter Johnny Reid helped cement the Canadian country star's place not only in the northern music community but the world-wide music community. On Dance with Me, Reid radiates confidence. Sounding a lot like a country Rod Stewart, the affable singer hits all the right notes from the very first track, the moving "A Woman Like You,." Every girl in the world would love to hear their man sing romantic lyrics like this. The jangle pop tune swirls with silky steel guitar, harmonica, and a heart-fluttering backbone. On the hotrod-swift "Hey-O," Reid puts the peddle to the floor and burns a bit of rubber. The singer rocks and rolls down Chuck Berry Avenue, making brief stops at "Eddie Cochran" Street and Bob Seger Boulevard. With a songwriting style that lands somewhere between Don Henley and Garth Brooks, Reid manages to avoid the cheese-ball feel that hampers a lot of 21st century country releases. Boots will be stomping at Reid's live shows when his band kicks into the honky tonk influenced "Old Flame" and the blues-rock tinted "Keep Workin' on Me." Reid was quoted as saying he wanted his third album to be a disc people could dance to. He definitely succeeded.