"Lay It on Down feels like an intentional retort to Goin' Home, Kenny Wayne Shepherd's 2014 back-to-the-blues platter. Although Shepherd never abandons the blues, either as a color or a sensibility, he expands his palette considerably on this 2017 album, opening himself up to soul, country, and hard rock ... This variety, when melded with such tasteful execution, turns Lay It on Down into not only one of Shepherd's richest records but one of his best".