Sammy Kershaw
I Want My Money Back
Audium
By Al Kunz
 Some
blame Garth. Others say me-too record and radio execs looking
for the next Garth were the real culprits. Or it was the loosening
of radio ownership laws. Maybe it was marketing research aimed
at finding the least common denominator, the music that pissed
off the least people so they wouldn't change the station. Whatever
the cause, the result is apparent. For at least the last ten
years, country radio in the U.S. has mostly sucked.
But the minimal logic learned in fourth-grade math class taught
me that the converse isn't necessarily true, just because country
radio was almost unlistenable doesn't mean that everything they
played was no good. Even so I was surprised when our esteemed
publisher gave me a stack of discs that included Sammy Kershaw's
new release, I Want My Money Back.
Kershaw's string of '90s country hits were at times solidly
mainstream, the syrupy ballad "She Don't Know She's Beautiful"
for one. But at times he pushed the limits, if only slightly,
of that era's country mainstream. His top ten cover of the Amazing
Rhythm Aces' "Third Rate Romance" pushed the limits
of acceptable lyrical content as one of the first country hits
with cheatin' (maybe) and casual sex (definitely) without repercussions
discussed or implied. Following in the footsteps of distant
cousins "Ragin' Cajun" Doug Kershaw and brother Rusty,
he sometimes infused his music with sounds from his native Southwestern
Louisiana at a time when the popular hat acts were abandoning
almost any rootsy sound. Some even feel that Kershaw has stuck
a bit closer to traditional country than most of his '90s contemporaries.
If nothing else he acknowledged those pioneers when he served
as the narrator on The Legend of Hank Williams where Kershaw's
spoken word biography was combined with a sampling of Williams'
songs.
It's a new century now, and the times may be a-changin'.
Kershaw finds himself gone from longtime label Mercury-Nashville
and joins Ray Price, Charlie Daniels, and Danni Leigh as part
of the Audium roster. In the meantime, the country mainstream
seems to be changing. It could be an attempt to reverse steadily
declining ratings. Possibly it's the changing tastes of an aging
population. Or Garth's "retirement." I might just
be seeing a mirage. But let's consider the facts. In the last
six months or so we've seen massive commercial success from two
of mainstream country radio's biggest acts. The lady Steve Earle
called "Nashville's highest paid lap dancer" continued
receiving country airplay while her pop-masquerading-as-country
edges ever closer to Christina and Britney. Meanwhile, a trio
of Texas Chicks has remained successful while adding more mandolin,
more banjo, even a little more steel guitar on their latest offering.
Two opposing directions that never the twain shall meet. In
theory this should widen the range of what radio considers acceptable.
Couple that with the new label, which isn't as middle-of-the-road
as Mercury, and Kershaw had a chance if he wanted to push the
limits a little more without risking radio play.
Whatever the reason, he didn't, instead opting for more of
the same. How you feel about I Want My Money Back will
depend on what you've thought of Kershaw's past output. Most
tread the same tired ground in workman like fashion, but there
isn't a lot to get excited about. They hit on the same old themes
too, with all but two cuts easily classified as nostalgia and/or
romance. One that doesn't fit these categories, "Are You
Having Fun Yet," is a bit of fluff that'll be perfect for
grabbing the attention of concert audiences, but not much else.
Well the plane touched down about half past three
Non stop from Nashville, Tennessee
Hey limo driver take me to the stage
Cus the boys in the band are ready to play
You're in for a night you'll never forget
Are you having fun yet?
Nostalgia buffs can sing along to stories 'bout Mama ("Stitches,"
about childhood, when Mom could cure anything, "just like
stitches") and the old hometown ("Metropolis").
The title track comes off as false nostalgia for an allegedly
simpler time when you got a better value for your dollar, while
"Paper Heart" is a ballad that looks back with fondness
at the school days of a grown daughter.
"Gone for Good Goodbye" falls in both categories
with its tale of a past romance gone bad while "Miss What's
Her Name" looks ahead to a future romance in a tune that's
Phil Vassar-style country-pop at its worst. Splitting the difference
is "I've Never Been Anywhere," a story of a romance
just taking off that will appeal to the lonely housewife country
radio demographic with its tale of a lady being swept off her
feet.
Only two of the romantically themed tunes cover slightly new
terrain. The first, "(28 / 83) She Ain't In It For the
Love," has more of a traditional country sound with lots
of fiddles and steel guitar. But this tale of a May-December
romance between a twenty-eight year-old Anna Nicole Smith copycat
and an eighty-three year-old also has an upbeat tempo the line
dancers will love. The best cut on I Want My Money Back
is also the least country sounding (whatever your definition
of country) on the album. With piano and horns that subtly recall
Fats Domino, Allen Toussaint, and others, "Sunday Morning
on Bourbon Street" comes off as the New Orleans equivalent
of Marc Cohen's "Walking in Memphis." And that's a
good thing. Its well-crafted analogies describing the lonely
feeling while his lady's gone hit the mark, too.
It's like walking on a moonlit beach all alone
Or the day after Christmas when everybody's gone
Every single minute that you're not here with me
It's like Sunday morning on Bourbon Street
That just about covers it, with one exception, the cover of
hair-band refugee Kevin Fowler's redneck anthem, "Beer,
Bait, and Ammo." This one's a bit of a wildcard. You could
argue that Kershaw took a real flyer, pushing the limits of what's
acceptable for a mainstream Nashville singer. Others would counter
that Fowler really isn't as removed from the Nashville sound
as he'd have us believe. The truth, as is usually the case,
lies somewhere in the middle.
*If you want it I Want My Money Back should be available
everywhere from the neighborhood record shop to the local WalMart.
www.sammykershaw.com
and www.audiumrecords.com are the places to find out more.
Contact Al Kunz at kunz-at-rockzilla.net
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