Sad Street
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = Sad Street
| type = studio
| artist = Bobby "Blue" Bland
| cover = Sad Street Bobby Blue Bland Album Cover.jpg
| alt =
| released = 1995
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio = Muscle Shoals Sound
| genre = Blues
| length =
| label = Malaco{{cite magazine |title=Sounding Off |magazine=Ebony |date=Feb 1996 |volume=51 |issue=4 |page=23}}
| producer = Wolf Stephenson, Tommy Couch
| prev_title = Turn on Your Love Light: The Duke Recordings Vol. 2
| prev_year = 1994
| next_title = That Did It!: The Duke Recordings Vol. 3
| next_year = 1996
}}
Sad Street is an album by the American musician Bobby "Blue" Bland.{{cite news |last1=D'Addono |first1=Beth |title=Smooth blues from Bobby Bland |work=Delaware County Daily Times |date=May 3, 1996 |department=News}} It was released in 1995.{{cite magazine |last1=Morthland |first1=John |title=Royal blue |magazine=Texas Monthly |date=Aug 1997 |volume=25 |issue=8 |page=58}}
The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Contemporary Blues Album".{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/artists/bobby-blue-bland/776|title=Bobby "Blue" Bland|date=November 19, 2019|website=Grammy Awards}} It peaked at No. 11 on the Billboard Blues Albums chart.{{Cite web|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/bobby-blue-bland/chart-history/blu/|title=Bobby "Blue" Bland|website=Billboard}}
Production
Sad Street was produced by Wolf Stephenson and Tommy Couch. It was recorded with the Muscle Shoals house band; string arrangements were done in Miami, Florida.{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MQSiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT389|title=Soul of the Man: Bobby "Blue" Bland|first=Charles|last=Farley|date=February 7, 2011|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi}}{{cite news |last1=Reilly |first1=Terry |title=(Red, Hot & Blue) |work=The Sunday Age |date=February 9, 1996 |page=8}} The title song was written by George Jackson, with many others provided by the songwriting partnership of Sam Mosley and Robert Johnson.{{cite news |last1=Kelley |first1=Michael |title=Long Time Coming, Beale Note to Go to Bland |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=April 9, 1996 |page=C1}}
Critical reception
{{music ratings
|rev1 = AllMusic
|rev1score = {{rating|2|5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sad-street-mw0000179888|title=Sad Street|website=AllMusic}}
|rev2 = The Commercial Appeal
|rev2score = {{rating|3.5|4}}{{cite news |last1=Nager |first1=Larry |title=Recordings |work=The Commercial Appeal |date=November 11, 1995 |page=C2}}
|rev3 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
|rev3score = {{rating|3.5|5}}{{cite book |last1=Larkin |first1=Colin |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |date=2006 |publisher=MUZE |volume=1 |page=666}}
|rev4 = MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide
|rev4score = {{rating|1|5}}{{cite book |title=MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide |date=1998 |publisher=Visible Ink Press |page=56}}
|rev5 = (The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide
|rev5score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite book |title=(The New) Rolling Stone Album Guide |date=2004 |publisher=Simon & Schuster |page=82}}
}}
The Commercial Appeal opined that "Bland gets deep into the blues," writing that "'Double Trouble' deals with the age-old blues dilemma of dealing with a troublesome wife and girlfriend." The Tampa Tribune thought that the album "perfectly captures his wistful romanticism and raspy-smooth vocals."{{cite news |last1=Dunn |first1=Michael |title=From Beale Street to 'Sad Street' |work=The Tampa Tribune |date=January 14, 1996 |department=Florida/Metro |page=6}}
Texas Monthly concluded that Malaco's "synthesizer-and-strings approach has kept him contemporary without making him sound foolish." The San Antonio Express-News noted that "Sad Street find Bland still working a smooth, sophisticated, but unmistakably blues-driven, groove."{{cite news |last1=Beal Jr. |first1=Jim |title=Blues we can still use – Bobby Bland shows no signs of slowing down |work=San Antonio Express-News |date=January 31, 1997 |page=12H}}
AllMusic wrote that "Malaco's well-oiled, violin-enriched studio sound fit Bland's laid-back contemporary approach just fine (even if his voice admittedly wasn't what it used to be)." MusicHound R&B: The Essential Album Guide agreed that Bland's voice was "a ravaged hulk by this point." The Sunday Times deemed Sad Street a "gritty" album that proved Bland's "Southern blues credentials."{{cite news |last1=Sexton |first1=Paul |title=Squalling the blues |work=The Sunday Times |date=6 Mar 2011 |department=Culture |page=30}}
Track listing
{{Track listing
| all_writing =
| title1 = Double Trouble
| length1 =
| title2 = Sad Street
| length2 =
| title3 = God Bless the Child That's Got His Own
| length3 =
| title4 = Tonight's the Night (It's Gonna Be Alright)
| length4 =
| title5 = My Heart's Been Broken Again
| length5 =
| title6 = I've Got a Twenty Room House
| length6 =
| title7 = Mind Your Own Business
| length7 =
| title8 = I Wanna Tell You About the Blues
| length8 =
| title9 = I Had a Dream Last Night
| length9 =
| title10 = Let's Have Some Fun
| length10 =
| total_length =
}}