In 1998, a brash, rash, crude wannabe white Ice-T came storming out of Detroit, Michigan with an album that would become one of the biggest selling albums of not only 1998, but 1999 as well. This so-called pimp was named Kid Rock. The album that blew up to gigantic proportions was Devil Without a Cause. Admittedly, this CD lies in this reviewer's collection. If nothing else, it was music you could bang your head to, not to mention catchy as hell. I still didn't think very highly of it, but it served it's purpose pretty well.
In 2000, Rock released a collection of some of his old songs, along with a couple of new ones, titled The History of Rock. It sold pretty well for what was basically a reissue, propelled by the Metallica remake American Bad A*s, where Rock bragged that Devil "went platinum seven times."
Now he's back with the true follow up to Devil, entitled Cocky. I'd like to be able to tell you that he has a reason for being Cocky. I'd like to be able to tell you he combined all his myriad of influences into a coherent rock album that had soul and conviction. Unfortunately, Rock's only conviction is how great he is, and ultimately, it's his out of control hubris that makes this album a big fat flop.
Opening with the slow trembling bass intro that begins Trucker Anthem, it isn't long before you're thrown headfirst into Rock boasting how great he is, how many albums he's sold, and how he's "the early morning stoned motherf*cking pimp of the god-damned nation." He drops the MF word a whole lot of times, and all I can think of is Hot Dog from last year's Limp Bizkit magnum opus Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water.
The first single, titled Forever (first the Spice Girls, then Puff Daddy now Kid Rock...maybe he's next to feel the wrath of titling an album or song Forever!) is your normal Kid Rock material. Loud, hip hop like drum beats, catchy guitar riffs, and Kid Rock talking about Al Roker, Oprah and of course, himself. This guy is so ridiculously egomaniacal, he has enough self esteem to make up for all the people in America who don't have enough of it.
Lay It On Me is kind of a mix of Devil's hits Cowboy and Only God Knows Why. He tries to inflect some southern type soul on this track, but the only people who succeed are his backup singers. He also takes an uncalled for shot at Radiohead and the critics who love them, possibly because Rock wishes he could have that type of commercial success combined with the critical success that Radiohead has enjoyed in recent years.
I'm Wrong But You Ain't Right starts off very tender, sounding very country inspired. That's when the crunching metal riff comes in and the song becomes the same kind of metal morASS that a lot of Rock's material ends up becoming after it starts out looking pretty promising. The most disappointing thing about this song is that the title fits Rock's attitude perfectly, and it really could have been great.
The best song of the record is the markedly different Lonely Road of Faith, a song that not only begins to explore Rock's soul, but a song that shows Rock to be a decent songwriter...when he wants to be one. And save for the one verse that just doesn't belong the song is done pretty well.
The problem is is that he follows that up with You Never Met a Motherf*cker Quite Like Me. Here, he goes for a slow, bluesy type sound mixed with an AC/DC like sound on the chorus. Sorry Kid, but only the great AC/DC can pull something like that off.
Rock continues to show off his obvious country influences, and Picture, which guests Sheryl Crow is another good experiment for Rock. While the lyrics aren't the greatest, Rock does show that when he WANTS to, he can actually sing a bit as well. Crow also sounds excellent here, and their voices continue to build on each other through the end.
The bonus track, WCSR (short for World Class Sex Rhymes), is nothing more than Rock and guest Snoop Dogg bragging about who gets more pus*y. I couldn't have been more bored listening to this trash.
Kid Rock has talent. Anyone who plays bass, guitar, banjo, and the synthesizer on the same record is obviously musically inclined and talented. However, his myriad of influences are so great that they intrude when the listener is trying to figure out who Kid Rock is. As soon as Rock can successfully corral those influences into something his own and something truly original, not just a flavor of the month sound, that's when Rock will truly be Forever.
My name is Kid...! Kid Rock is back loud and proud with Cocky. He does what he does best, mixing many musical styles to create his own unique brand of...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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