Music Review: Kid Rock – Rock N Roll Jesus

Produced by Kid Rock and co-produced by Rob Cavallo, best known for his work on Green Day’s American Idiot and Dookie. Rock N Roll Jesus finds rock moving away from much of the rap-rock that dominated his breakthrough album Devil Without A Cause and his subsequent release, Cocky--sans, the Sheryl Crow duet, “Picture.” Instead, Rock has created an album full of southern-fried occasionally guitar laden tracks that seem to mesh well with his own sensibilities. Rock N Roll Jesus begins with the title track, a heavy metal influenced rocker with a guitar riff that will hook you right in, trumpets blaring to emphasize the sound and female backing vocals to bring everything together. “Rock N Roll Jesus” is Rock’s attempt to bring back classic rock and in the process he gets his album off to a fine start. Rock slows things down on the next few tracks with mixed results. “Amen” features a gospel choir and piano accompaniment, with heartfelt lyrics about racism, political posturing and soldiers at war. Rock sings with conviction: “And as we sit free and well/Another soldier has to yell/Tell my wife and children I love them in his last breath/C’mon now amen, amen, amen./ While some listeners may think “Amen” is just another example of a hard partying rock star going soft for the female fans, it feels like Rock is after something deeper than that. Perhaps having visited soldiers in Iraq last Christmas, he was inspired. “All Summer Long,” borrows its opening guitar riff from Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves In London” and the rest of the song, an ode to teenage summer love, is sung to the guitar riff and piano breakdown from Lynyrd Skynyrd's song "Sweet Home Alabama." “Roll on” is a bluesy, saxophone laden tune about living the simple life with the woman of your dreams.

Rock moves away from the ballads in a big way, with “So Hott.” This tune is a strip club dream and undoubtedly became a favorite upon its release, right up there with AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” and Mötley Crüe’s “Girls! Girls! Girls!” “So Hott” can only be described as completely raunchy. The song even lacks the solid guitar riff Kid Rock can usually be counted on to deliver.

It’s impossible to talk about Rock N Roll Jesus without mentioning “Half Your Age.” An obvious swipe at his ex-wife Pam Anderson, Rock uses a classic country sound that would make Hank Williams proud. Lyrically, there’s no mistaking the target: “She’s twice your age/and twice as hot” to “I found someone new/treats me better/she don’t bitch about things we don’t got.” Rock has survived and moved on.

With the exception of “So Hott,” Kid Rock has shown some newfound maturity with the release of Rock N Roll Jesus, effectively mixing country, gospel and classic rock to create some good southern-fried rock.