Sammy Kershaw: “Cross Road Blues” (2024) CD Review

Sammy Kershaw may be known for his extensive and acclaimed work in the country realm, but on his new album, Cross Road Blues, he proves he has the blues in him too. He covers some classic blues songs composed by folks like Robert Johnson and Willie Dixon. And for fans of country, there are still a couple of country numbers here. Joining the vocalist on this release are Danny B. Harvey on guitar and organ, Alexia Nikitakis on piano, Pierre Pelegrin on bass, Marc “Frap” Frappier on bass, and Adam Hamilton on drums.

The album opens with “Born Under A Bad Sign.” The first version of this song I heard was the one by Cream, and this version has that sort of heavy blues rock sound. At one point after that main line “If it wasn’t for bad luck, I said I wouldn’t have no luck at all,” Sammy Kershaw adds, “And that ain’t no lie, baby.” This track features a really nice guitar lead after that line. Listening to Sammy Kershaw sing this song, it feels like he has always lived within the blues. He certainly inhabits the realm with a natural flair. That’s followed by Fleetwood Mac’s “Oh Well.” This song comes from that great early time in the band’s history before the girls joined, when the band was a rocking blues outfit. “Oh Well” was included on the U.S. version of my favorite Fleetwood Mac record, Then Play On, the title a nod to the first line of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Sammy Kershaw does a great version of it, though only performs the first section, the blues section (the second part has a very different feel).

Then we get the album’s first Willie Dixon number, “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” a song that Led Zeppelin covered (I think this is one of the songs that Led Zeppelin actually correctly attributed to Dixon, unlike other songs that they outright stole from him, Led Zeppelin known for ripping off several artists on its early albums). This rendition by Sammy Kershaw features some strong work on guitar, as well as a powerful vocal performance. And I dig that work on piano. That’s followed by “Spending Cabbage.” “And I got me no spending cabbage/And I sure do think this world is cruel.” This one also features some good work on guitar. Sammy Kershaw really throws himself into this song vocally, going all out at moments, and it’s his vocal performance that is the highlight of this track. He follows that with B.B. King’s “Be Careful With A Fool,” which was also covered by Johnny Winter. “Be careful with a fool/‘Cause someday he may get smart/Well, he’ll treat you so cold and chilly/‘Til it will hurt you to your heart.” This song has that classic blues rhythm and, again, some guitar work that stands out.

Well, Sammy Kershaw is a country artist, after all, and even though this is mainly a blues album, he does give us a rendition of the country song “If I Had Any Pride Left At All,” which was written by Eddie Setser, John Greenebaum and Troy Seals, and recorded by John Berry. He does a wonderful job with it, of course, turning in a passionate vocal performance. This track also features some pretty work on piano. It is followed by “Going Down,” a song I’ve always enjoyed. It was written by Don Nix and has been covered by a lot of artists over the years. Sammy Kershaw does a really good job with it, and the track features some good stuff on both guitar and piano. “I’d Love To Change The World” is one I haven’t heard anyone cover in a while. It was written by Alvin Lee and was a hit for Ten Years After in 1971. I appreciate the honesty of the lines, “I’d love to change the world, but I don’t know what to do/So I’ll leave it up to you.” And these days I imagine most of us have some fairly clear ideas of changes that need to happen, from gun control to some sort of cap on rent, from campaign finance reform to an end to the Electoral College.

Walter Daniels joins the band on harmonica for an excellent and lively rendition of Canned Heat’s “On The Road Again,” a song that was included on that great Boogie With Canned Heat album and inspired by some earlier blues tunes. “No, I ain’t going down that old lonesome road all by myself.” Sammy Kershaw delivers a strong vocal performance here, but it is that harmonica work that is star here. And as the song reaches its conclusion, you just want it to go on. Then we get the Robert Johnson song, “Crossroads,” which was originally titled “Cross Road Blues,” making this the album’s title track. This is another song that is associated with Cream, and clearly Sammy Kershaw was partly inspired by that rendition, though this rendition has more of a country edge to some of the guitar work. That’s followed by the album’s second Willie Dixon song, “My Babe.” This is such a fun number, and another that has been covered by a lot of folks. It is one of the disc’s highlights. Walter Daniels joins the band again on harmonica. And Alexia Nikitakis rocks the piano. The album concludes with a country song, a Hank Williams Jr. song titled “Blues Man,” bringing country and blues together, making it a perfect choice to wrap things up. Plus, it’s a song about music. “But my name's a reminder of a blues man that's already gone/So I started drinkin', took some things that messed up my thinkin'.” Bobby Snell joins the band on pedal steel for this track, delivering some beautiful work.

CD Track List

1. Born Under A Bad Sign
2. Oh Well (Part 1)
3. I Can’t Quit You Baby
4. Spending Cabbage
5. Be Careful With A Fool
6. If I Had Any Pride Left At All
7. Going Down
8. I’d Love To Change The World
9. On The Road Again
10. Crossroads
11. My Babe
12. Blues Man

Cross Road Blues was released on May 31, 2024 on Goldenlane Records.