Uncle Kracker

Few folks are on the fence about Kid Rock protégé Uncle Kracker. People either love him or hate him. With Seventy Two & Sunny, his third solo disc, the latter rule most often applies, as Kracker blatantly pilfers from the likes of Bob Seger, the Eagles, and others on tracks like "Further Down the Road." Largely absent of originality, Kracker brews up airwave-ripe albeit sugary lovelorn dreck like "Rescue" and the doo wop novelty "Please Come Home." That's not to say Seventy Two & Sunny is all annoyingly tepid, as the alluringly sunny "This Time" fuses country and classic rock with inexplicably pleasant results. Elsewhere, Uncle Kracker delivers "Writing It Down," an uplifting piano ballad that is too good to dismiss. He also teams up with hit country musician Kenny Chesney to reprise the, ahem, magic of that artist's "When the Sun Goes Down." ~ John D. Luerssen, All Music Guide