The Crossroads Band concoct ’stirring brew of steak-house blues’
Reviewed by Alison Murphy
The Crossroads Band/Crossroads
The Crossroads Band make it look easy, concocting a stirring brew of steak-house blues and red-state Americana, then giving it a classic-rock finish. This is the type of back-to-the-roots acts you used to find on the FM band during the glory days of AOR radio, kindred spirits of Poco and the Eagles but with a yen for Robert Johnson and B.B. King. The blues side of the Crossroads Band originates mostly from the scorching leads of guitarist Ben Ribble. On “Free Man” and “Stranded,” Ribble strangles his axe with intoxicating solos. His riffs are clean yet fiesty.
Often groups such as this make the mistake of cooking their goodies too raw or adding too much sauce to the mix. The Crossroads Band have found the center, showing us how they can stomp the floor with your ass but keeping the tunes as melodic and hook-filled as they can be. The Stevie Ray Vaughan-like “You Broke Me” is among the highlights, beer-soaked blues at its most cathartic and transcendent. Tony Merando has a voice that is smoother and more attractive than what you normally expect from this genre. On “Time Slips Away,” Merando has us completely moved, making our hearts tap this time and not just our feet.
