Music reviews. CD reviews. Critically hip!

Sammy Kershaw is one of those guys who has toiled mightily in the fields ofthe country music industry without reaping the harvest which should have been his by right. He doesn't quite fit into what the Nashville powers that be are looking for right now, in that he's over 25, isn't quite eight feet tall, and has a physique more suited for the WWE, perhaps, than the bootscoot whip thin beefcake runway. His music has also been a little closer to traditional country than the radio programmers would like as well, with titles like "Politics, Religion and Her" and "At Least She Left the Matches" hearkening back to country music's past, rather than what has been programmed as its future. Kershaw was without a record deal for awhile; crisis often equals opportunity, however, and Kershaw's involuntary availability provided the good people at Audium Records, and Kershaw, with a mutually beneficial opportunity. The resulting CD, I WANT MY MONEY BACK, is perhaps the most consistently excellent country CD to be released in awhile.

The title track to I WANT MY MONEY BACK, as well as "Miss What's Her Name," are Kershaw's valentine to country radio, and sure enough, "I Want My Money Back" is getting some airplay, though it's nowhere what it deserves, at least at this point. What is so interesting about these tracks is that Kershaw combines more modern, radio-acceptable arrangements with his familiar workingman concerns to create an instantly hummable, unforgettable track with a sing-along chorus. "Miss What's Her Name," contains a few studio tricks that somehow successfully bridges country with hip-hip rhythms, I kid you not. The deeper you get into the CD, however, the more traditional (in the sense of pre-Garth Brooks) I WANT MY MONEY BACK becomes. "Metropolis" visits a familiar country theme --- the departure from the dying small town --- yet is perhaps one of the finest examples of this topic that has been laid to disc, nicely capturing a feeling of angst without getting bogged down in it.

"Stitches" is also familiar country music territory, being a memoir of and a tribute to Mom, but again, Kershaw takes a well-worn topic and makes it his own. And as for the absolutely wonderful "Beer, Bait, and Ammo," you would think that Hank Jr. had this area cornered, but no, Kershaw makes this politically incorrect salute to the corner store a showstopper that will have you singing along even before you know all of the words.

Kershaw's vocals on I WANT MY MONEY BACK are a bit more world-weary than they have been on previous releases, and as a result it's real. Audium doesn't feel the need to gussy-up its artists, and as a result is slowly and quietly building up one of the most impressive artist rosters and catalogue that you'll find south of the Mason-Dixon. I WANT MY MONEY BACK is more than a first-among-euqals, however. It's a release which will appeal to the "new country" listener while more than satisfying Kershaw's cadre of longtime fans. Highly recommended.