Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/24/2008
When it comes right down to it, what
Kid Rock attempts is kind of tricky: he's trying to create new classic rock, songs to compete with
Skynyrd and
Seger as the soundtrack of choice for jukeboxes and pickup trucks across the country. This is the sound of the white-trash, downriver rocker in him coming through, triumphing over the jive rapper who brought him his fame. It was there even when he was aping
the Beastie Boys and yodeling in the canyon, but once the country-rock of
"Picture" revived the sales of the flagging
Cocky, he put all his chips on classic rock, beginning with 2004's eponymous platter, a good record without a single hit single. That lack of a hit was enough to scare
Kid, to strip away his few lingering subtleties and turn out an album like 2007's
Rock N Roll Jesus. Apart from a drum loop here and a chanted bridge there, this is classic white-trash rock through and through, with
Kid Rock doggedly following the path of his heroes: not only
Bob Seger but
John Fogerty,
Alabama,
Billy Squier, and even
Elton John (
"Blue Jeans and a Rosary" is straight out of
"Levon"). He also pays homage to
Back in Black with his cover art.
Kid Rock works
hard to evoke the ghosts of the past, hoping that all his allusions will give him classic rock cred by association. And while his words fall flat, the problems with the music aren't as serious: splashy and silly though it may be, at least the music gets the basic sound right, even if it's too polished and precise.
~Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
;)
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