Sad Street

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. The title song was written by George Jackson, with many others provided by the songwriting partnership of Sam Mosley and Robert Johnson.

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."

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."

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."