May 23, 2000

The History Of Rock

In the words of an astute headmaster: "Good start. Could do better"...

6 / 10 Rap may be built on hyperbole, but when flaxen-tressed, Freddy Krueger-hat-wearing hick-hop pin-up Bob Ritchie describes himself as a "ten-year overnight sensation", he's not exaggerating. Nearly 13 years flashed past between the time he earned his moniker on the decks of Detroit parties ("Look at that white kid rock!" were the apocryphal cries) and the moment his fourth album, 'Devil Without A Cause', crashed into the US charts with a six-million-copies-sold tailwind.

Kid Rock's first three albums sunk without a trace but now that he's a proper country-rap-metal superstar for whom personal myth-making is grist, he's seizing the opportunity to go back and rewrite his story into something a bit sexier. And so, this compilation of the best tracks from Kid Rock's second and third albums ('The Polyfuze Method' and 'Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp', on his own Top Dog label) opens with an American film-trailer voice announcing, "Our lesson begins in the small town of Romeo, Michigan/Nineteen-eighty-five..." and proceeds to unload an aircraft-carrier of legend-enhancing bunk. Ready for a pop quiz? Who's been "ramblin' and gamblin' since the age 13"? Who put "Detroit City back on the map"? Who's gonna "fuck some ho's" when he's done rockin' the joint? Yup. You got it. Not Ricky Martin.

/img/kidrock0500.jpg The subsequent 11 tracks trace Kid Rock's learning curve as he discovered that fusing smart, tongue-in-cheek Beasties-style hip-hop with stupid, misogynistic rawk-rap ` la Limp Bizkit would bring great fame and fortune. Oh, and having a rapping dwarf along for the ride helped, too.

Among the best are '3 Sheets To The Wind (What's My Name)' - an able precursor to Eminem's 'My Name Is' - redneck anthem 'Born To Be A Hick' ('Great Balls Of Fire' on crack), the soul/disco sampling 'Ya' Keep On' and the Skynyrd-meets-Run DMC 'Prodigal Son'. Less successful are the gangsta 'Paid', the 'sensitive' crooning of 'Abortion', and by the time you get to 'Fuck You Blind' ("I'll fuck you blind bitch/Leave you face down in a ditch") you want to shove a hand grenade down his trousers.

As essays from high-flying, high, high school dropouts go, however, 'The History Of Rock' isn't bad, if a little low on inspiration. In the words of an astute headmaster: "Good start. Could do better."