Is Kid Rock the messiah? A capsule summary of Kid Rock's latest album.
Kid Rock's new album, Rock N Roll Jesus, is hardly the arrival of the messiah, although it is a resurrection of a number of tired classic rock sounds. It's unfortunate that this is the album Kid Rock made, and it's also unfortunate how genuine he sounds in some of the songs ("Amen," most notably), as that makes it a little less easy to dislike Rock, whose music and lyrics in earlier efforts are often quite polarizing. Given the direction his sound has been moving in recent years, this may have been the only album capable of Rock at this point, and in truth, he could have done much worse.
The best songs are the album are the most blatant rip-offs of older songs, notably "All Summer Long," at its best an ode to carefree youth, at its worst, "Werewolves of London" with sappy sentimentality and a couple carefully placed pieces of "Sweet Home Alabama," (which, unlike the Warren Zevon song, at least receives a nod in the lyrics).
Kid Rock settles into the groove of classic rock too easily, which is unfortunate, as he's accidentally almost trying to single-handedly prove that there's not much new ground to cover. We've heard these songs before, and they sounded fresh once. The album might be nice for those obsessed with the sound of Skynyrd that are looking to branch out to a very limited extent, but it adds nothing to the already sonically extensive library of sounds in classic rock.
The music itself is pleasant, and if not inspiring and innovative, than quite competent. Kid Rock doesn't show favorites in genres, and moves from hard rock to country rock with a degree of comfort and ease. He's quite familiar with the material here, which does lend some strength to it. It's also nice that Kid Rock doesn't try to assault delicate sensitivities on this record, as his abrasiveness has begun to worn thin. In some ways, this might be a necessary album to cross Kid Rock from vulgar mouthed rocker into a more mature artists (which, given the nature of the beast, might be impossible). This is not to say Kid Rock doesn't engage the least common denominator several times, including the lyrics to "Half Your Age," (surely an ode to the ex, Pamela Anderson), "So Hott" and "Sugar," where Kid Rock samples (albeit briefly) an older song from his catalogue, and one which probably charted higher than any of these ditties will.
The best light to view this album is as a transitional one for Rock, from an artist who's moving from his abrasive roots into an easier, subtler sound. Unfortunately, Kid Rock misses the mark here, hiding in the shadows of his idols instead of rising to stand beside them. Better luck next time. The midnight glancers and topless dancers are out pulling for you somewhere.
Worthy of the Messiah: "Amen," "Half Your Age"
False Prophets: "So Hott," "New Orleans"
The Buzz: 2 out of 5 stars
