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Kid Rock "Rock N Roll Jesus" Atlantic Records Rating: 1 1/2 stars (out of 5)
You have to hand it to Kid Rock. Somehow, he managed to make it to the top and stay in the limelight while looking like a redneck pimp and sounding like the illegitimate child of country and heavy-metal music.
His albums "Devil Without a Cause," "The History of Rock" and "Cocky" managed to score him a slew of hits using recognizable rip-offs of old rap and metal songs.
Over the years he has grown more comfortable with his country influences, briefly alluded to for the first time on 1999's "Only God Knows Why," and lately they've been more apparent than his rock or rap roots. On his new album, "Rock N Roll Jesus," he may as well be singing to a crowd of drunken hillbillies in a dive bar somewhere in Alabama.
His intentions on the album are clear - spit in the face of everyone who thinks Kid Rock is a trashy one-dimensional hack, and at first, it seems like he might be going in the right direction.
The opening song, "Rock N Roll Jesus" is almost rock 'n' roll gospel. Rock is surprisingly believable as a preacher with a lively choir behind him, singing "Testify, this is a rock revival / don't need a suit don't need no bible / Get up and dance I'm going to set you free."
However, with a few exceptions, it's all downhill from there.
Many of the songs are failed attempts to blend a laid-back country sound with the heavy-metal licks Kid Rock fans have come to expect. In songs like "Sugar," listeners may find it hard not to roll their eyes when a slow acoustic guitar is interrupted by pounding drums and distorted noise. For much of the album, it's more like cutting and pasting than blending.
When he's not disgracing the country and metal genres, Rock attempts to breathe soul into tired country ballads like "When U Love Someone" and "Blue Jeans and A Rosary." Granted, many country songs sound similar, but Kid Rock should leave it to the professionals. His voice has a tendency to wander off-key, making its sincerity sound forced.
Even the better songs are tainted by stolen lyrics and licks that are passed off as samples. Apparently Rock, like Steve Miller, "sure don't want to hurt no one" when he "gets [his] lovin on the run" as he sings in "Don't Tell Me U Love Me." In addition to that blatant rip-off, "All Summer Long" is to the tune of Warren Zevon's "Werewolves in London" with new lyrics and the recognizable backing choir of "Sweet Home Alabama."
Despite a few gems like the honkey-tonk blues of "New Orleans" and the Big and Rich style of "Amen," this album is the rusty disappointment listeners might come to expect given his three-year hiatus. Everyone knows Kid Rock likes country, rock and rap, but he has once again failed in making an album that blends the three in a tolerable way.
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