I just had the opportunity to review the most recent release, Cross Road Blues, by Sammy Kershaw and it's strong. Opening with Albert King's (Booker T) Born Under A Bad Sign, and it's screaming. Kershaw on vocal has a rich voice and with excellent guitar backing by Danny Harvey really hits on all cylinders. Pierre Peligrin holds the bottom tight on bass and Adam Hamilton on drums rounds out the band. I Can't Quit You is a favorite by Willie Dixon and made massively popular Led Zeppelin via Otis Rush. Kershaw's vocal styling has it's own twist and Harvey doesn't follow Rush's lead with his own feel for the blues. Alexia Nikitakis on piano adds great body on piano and Pelegrin and Hamilton add solid bottom. BB King's Be Careful With A Fool is a real nice addition and Kershaw's vocal interpretation being quite similar to King's. Harvey keeps it clean on guitar with solid blues riffs, unlike another famous blues cover by Johnny Winter. Very nice. Don Nix's Going Down is a rock tower having ben covered by the late Jeff Beck. With the same driving bass line as Clive Chaman by Pelegrin and drums as Cozy Powell by Pelegrin and piano reinforcement as Max Middleton by Nikitakis, Kershaw adds his own vocal signature and Harvey his own guitar phrasing. Robert Johnson's Crossroads is up next with a rendering of Cream's massive hit with this track. Pelegrin's bass line gives the track a different flavor and Kershaw's vocals again add a new spin. Wrapping the release is Hank Williams Jr.'s, Blues Man. A solid ballad, Kershaw switches gears on this track but chooses a smooth closer.
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