Kid Rock was never my favourite artist, although I always liked some of his stuff. His Hip Hop Hard Rock was always fun and he never went into nu-metal territory, going all Limp Bizkit on us. However, when I sunk my teeth into his previous album, Rock ’n’ Roll Jesus, I was floored. All the hip hop was (almost) gone and was replaced by some hard driven southern rock and great gutsy songs and where he used to rap, he now sang. He might not be one of the greatest singers out there, but he is never out of key and his voice are pretty soulful. So with that album in mind, I had high expectations for the follow up that is now here.
Much to my surprise, this one holds no similarities to that album at all, because this is a country rock album and country isn’t my choice of music at all. So, at first, I was disappointed. But somewhere along the way I kind of liked the melodies so I didn’t reject the album on the spot, but decided to give it another chance. And I’m glad I did, because after a while, all those disappointing songs turned into great songs – and now I can’t let go of the damned thing. If there is a key word to this album, it’s groove. Everything here grooves. It’s impossible to sit still while listening to this. The title track is a groovy country rocker, ”Slow My Roll” is a straight forward rock song, ”Purple Sky” mixes rock and country with a pop feel and ”Care” is a great half ballad that, you guessed it, grooves. So if you’re one of those who likes to listen to music with an open mind and who doesn’t give a rat’s ass about genres, then give this one a chance. Kid Rock has lost all the hip hop and rap and become a bona-fide rock ’n’ roll artist. And he has once again made a great album. Not exactly as good as its predecessor, but still a damn fine hour of music.
Jon Wilmenius (7/10)
Tracklist:
1.Born Free
2.Slow My Roll
3.Care (Feat. Martina McBride and T.I.)
4.Purple Sky
5.When It Rains
6.God Bless Saturday
7.Collide (Feat. Sheryl Crow & Bob Seger on piano)
8.Flyin’ High (Feat. Zac Brown)
9.Times Like These
10.Rock On
11.Rock Bottom Blues
12.For the First Time (In A Long Time)
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