Kid Rock

"It's the same song spinning / but the same song's always been true." This is taken from the title track of Kid Rock's new album, Rock 'n Roll Jesus, and it's hard not to interpret it as an argument in favor of Rock's entire career up until this point. Kid Rock will never be accused of having the most forward-thinking music of his generation, but his last few albums have been loaded with just the kind of catchy country-rock songs that millions of people secretly love, no matter how much they pretend otherwise. Unfortunately, Rock 'n Roll Jesus is the tale of two Kid Rocks: the new one, whose perfection of country stereotypes has turned him into a loveable hit machine, and the old one, whose late '90s rap-rock is painfully stale.

Rock's true talent is emulating his heroes. "Amen" is a perfect Bruce Springsteen impression, and there's more than a little Grateful Dead to be found on "When U Love Someone." As if he needed to convince us of his love for all things Southern, Rock blatantly lifts the immortal riff from "Sweet Home Alabama" for "All Summer Long." All are decent enough good-time tunes, but for every handful of fun tracks, he drops an absolute dud, the biggest of them being "Sugar." The song starts off with a terrific Steve Earle vibe before descending into the Kid Rock territory of old—mindless rapping, tuneless singing and a series of lyrical non sequiturs.

It seems we're better off with the derivative country Kid Rock than the original rapping Kid Rock, even when he's ripping off his own song ("Only God Knows Why") on "Blue Jeans and a Rosary." Rock proves he's gained full control of his pseudo-country persona on Rock 'n Roll Jesus, but the album suffers when the "devil without a cause" shows up.

—Nathan Atnikov
10.12.07

When it comes right down to it, what Kid Rock attempts is kind of tricky: he's trying to create new classic rock, songs to compete with Skynyrd and Seger as the soundtrack of choice for jukeboxes and pickup trucks across the country. This is the sound of the white-trash, downriver rocker in him coming through, triumphing over the jive rapper who brought him his fame. It was there even when he was aping the Beastie Boys and yodeling in the canyon, but once the country-rock of "Picture" revived the sales of the flagging Cocky, he put all his chips on classic rock, beginning with 2004's eponymous platter, a good record without a single hit single. That lack of a hit was enough to scare Kid, to strip away his few lingering subtleties and turn out an album like 2007's Rock N Roll Jesus. Apart from a drum loop here and a chanted bridge there, this is classic white-trash rock through and through, withKid Rock doggedly following the path of his heroes: not only Bob Seger but John Fogerty, Alabama, Billy Squier, and evenElton John ("Blue Jeans and a Rosary" is straight out of "Levon"). He also pays homage to Back in Black with his cover art. Kid Rock works hard to evoke the ghosts of the past, hoping that all his allusions will give him classic rock cred by association. And while his words fall flat, the problems with the music aren't as serious: splashy and silly though it may be, at least the music gets the basic sound right, even if it's too polished and precise. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide