 "Photo: Provided Media")
"Kid Rock"
Release Date: Oct. 9, 2007
Record Label: Atlantic
www.kidrock.com
An artist who designates his album "Rock N Roll Jesus" and claims to be the one bringing rock 'n' roll back from the dead sets a high bar for the content on the CD.
Unfortunately, pseudo-rocker Kid Rock can't hope to live up to his aspirations and delivers a pathetic album, degrading to women and to fans that thought he might just be capable of producing palpable rock songs.
The 11 tracks of misery represent Kid Rock's failure to understand the classic rock sound isn't dead but needs more than utterly terrible lyrics and trite guitar chords. It needs better progression to breathe life into it.
The first single off of "Rock N Roll Jesus" is "So Hott," because apparently the presence of a double-t makes the song that much better. In reality, it's a poor attempt from Kid Rock to harness the ferocity he had in past albums.
While the music has the potential to be great rock-out music, throughout the CD with raucous guitars and the occasional dip into steel guitar, it's the lyrics that destroy it as well as lack of originality in sound.
The album is more childish than anything worth clearing space for on your iPod or CD shelf.
In "So Hott," Kid Rock denigrates women with porn star moans as the background of the track while screeching "You're so hot I wanna get you alone. You're so hot I wanna get you stoned. You're so hot I don't wanna be your friend" and finishes the line by adding he would like to have sex with her as though he's never going to see her again - but with words not fit for print.
The next track "Sugar" continues the objectification of women with Kid Rock screaming the question of who is going to give him sugar tonight, as well as several derogatory references to female genitalia.
"Rock N Roll Jesus" also features a tired sample of "Sweet Home Alabama" that was probably a song better left to Lynyrd Skynyrd judging by the tired and boring sound of "All Summer Long." The completely yawn-worthy chronicling of the simple things in life, as in living without Internet and smoking "funny things," is just one more strike against an already pointless album.
"Rock N Roll Jesus" just goes to show sometimes it's better to rely on the popularity of past songs than to force a dismal album out onto shelves.
While it may appeal to middle school children looking for a tiny taste of rebellion and (gasp!) swear words, there really isn't anything redeeming about Kid Rock's album except when it is turned up so loud listeners can only hear thumping and guitars without lyrics. Maybe Kid Rock is better suited to tabloid life and tell-alls about former wife Pamela Anderson and not the savior of rock 'n' roll.
Daily Egyptian reporter Alicia Wade can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 275 or awade@siude.com.
