Too Country And Proud Of It!

REVIEW:  Sammy Kershaw: I Want My Money Back
(Traditional)

"I Want My Money Back"        

Is probably something you won't be saying after hearing Sammy Kershaw's latest effort on Audium Records, "I Want My Money Back."  This disc is packed full of wonderful Cajun-flavored country from that warm-voiced Louisiana redneck.  Sammy Kershaw hasn't been in the limelight in some years (other than the "fashion-magazine" focus given to his marriage to Lorrie Morgan), and it's really good to see him back with such a strong effort, which is actually getting radio air play, of all things.        

The title track is already in rotation on some stations, and it's really good to hear Sammy on the radio again.  Plus, it's with a song that is punchy, fun, and as country as can be, with just enough tongue-in-cheek humor to give the lyrics bite.        

It's strange to hear someone as gifted as Sammy is vocally using "studio tricks" such as audio looping, but with the equally humorous "Ms. What's-Her-Name," it works.  Perhaps it's all right to hear such production tricks on records where you know the vocalist is using them for effect, not to enhance weak vocals.  Perhaps the production is slick, but with Sammy's casual redneck style, it's okay; no amount of polish is going to take the rough edges off this boy.  He's country to the bone.        

Sharp lyrics and strong tunes fill this disc.  From "Metropolis," an ode to a small home town, to the joyous redneck anthem "Beer, Bait, and Ammo," Kershaw delivers good country music.  He gives us love songs, story songs, and rockin' cajun-country songs.  "I've Never Been Anywhere" tells the story of two people who never found anything until they found each other; and Sammy remembers one of the great "true love stories" country music with "The Paper Heart," a heart-touching daddy/daughter song guaranteed to get any daddy's girl or proud daddy teary-eyed.        

Sammy Kershaw has been in the mainstream and fell out, one of the casualties of the phrase "too country."  But as always, "too country" is what I want to hear.  This is a good disc.  Pick it up.
 

Kathy Coleman Take Country Back February 2003