Running Against the Wind in Tandem Bob Seger Meets Jason Aldean on CMT’s ‘Crossroads’

The CMT series “Crossroads” demands patience of its fans, generally doling out new installments only every few months. But that patience is always rewarded, and the episode having its premiere Friday night is particularly tasty.

The series pairs a country music artist with a rock star, each singing or joining in on the other’s songs, and the fit Friday is just about perfect, with Jason Aldean sharing the stage with the veteran rocker Bob Seger. Every “Crossroads” produces at least one especially striking performance; the only question here is whether it’s “Turn the Page,” one of Mr. Seger’s most enduring tunes, or the Aldean hit “She’s Country,” or one of several other candidates.

It’s the 52nd show since “Crossroads” began in 2002. Some pairings bring together two very different kinds of artists: for instance, James Taylor and the Dixie Chicks in 2002. For this one, though, the main contrasts are generational and geographic. Mr. Seger, who came out of the Detroit suburbs, turns 70 next year; Mr. Aldean, from Macon, Ga., is 37.

Vocally, though, Mr. Aldean could easily be Mr. Seger’s younger self, and either could well have made a hit out of the other’s best-known tunes. The songs underscore just how thoroughly country has merged into rock, and the episode is part homage, part rebirth: Mr. Seger, who is currently touring, still sounds pretty good, and the closing song, a new one called “Hey Gypsy” from his just-released album, has as much bite as any of his hits from decades ago or Mr. Aldean’s more recent ones.

Between the songs, performed in front of an enthusiastic audience at the Factory at Franklin in Franklin, Tenn., the episode sprinkles clips of the two men chatting over drinks, comparing their influences, their past jobs and so forth. Both once drove delivery trucks: Pepsi for Mr. Aldean, cigarettes and candy for Mr. Seger.

“We could have had a party,” Mr. Aldean says.

Every “Crossroads” fan has a list of top five performances from the show. Perhaps Pat Benatar’s impassioned rendering of “Independence Day” with Martina McBride, from 2003, is on yours; Ms. McBride looks overwhelmed as one of her signature songs is taken to a new level by Ms. Benatar. Maybe Emmylou Harris and Mumford & Sons are included for their 2012 performance of “The Boxer,” a Simon & Garfunkel song each had covered. Mr. Aldean might well already be on anyone’s list for his wrenching 2009 performance of “Heaven” with Bryan Adams.

Whether or not something from Seger-Aldean makes your personal list, the episode is more evidence of the fabulous archive that “Crossroads” has built of great, familiar songs given new, memorable interpretations.

CMT Crossroads: Bob Seger and Jason Aldean

CMT, Friday night at 10, Eastern and Pacific times; 9, Central time.

Produced by Tom Forrest and Kathryn Russ; John Hamlin, Margaret Comeaux and Bill Flanagan, executive producers for CMT.