Kid Rock & the Twisted Brown Trucker Band - Live Trucker

Genre rock Publisher Atlantic Records External Links Official Website Atlantic Records

The cover for Kid Rock's first ever live album says it all. He begs people to remember that other Detroit rocker, Bob Seger, and the flagship live recording that Seger and his Silver Bullet Band made in the 70s, Live Bullet. A tall order for Kid Rock to aspire to, but, by and large, he, along with one of the best bands in rock n' roll right now, the Twisted Brown Trucker Band, pulls it off on Live Trucker.

With Kid Rock you don't get any of the bullshit pretentious posturing that infects so many of today's musicians (such as his co-star in a recently unearthed amateur porn tape, Scott Stapp). Rock, nee Bob Ritchie, keeps it simple and most importantly, fun. He likes rock n' roll, country and hip-hop. ZZ Top (a quick shot of whom can be found on "Son Of Detroit," courtesy of Jason Krause on guitar), Hank Williams Jr., Run DMC more specifically. Rock likes to drink, fuck, rock and, most importantly, to have a good time. He invests his live shows with every bit of energy he has within himself and makes sure that those in attendance get each and every dollars worth of the admission price.

What becomes evident when seeing and hearing Kid Rock perform live is his abundance of energy, this spirit of fun loving, but most importantly, one of the very few great entertainers to come out of that whole "rap-rock" scene of the late 90s/early 00s. He may have hung out with all those other mooks, but the sense that Rock was on a different path was always evident. His love and embrace of country music and old-time soulful rock and roll showed his roots went deeper than the buffoonery of say, Fred Durst's talentless ass. Ritchie's voice is strong, and full of soul. He's a strong, sturdy presence in a field of assclowns scared of their own shadow.

Rock has tenderness in him as well, as evident by his duet with Sheryl Crow on "Picture" (here with country supernova Gretchen Wilson, who can't quite match Crow's highs), one of the best songs about a love ruined by temptation on the road of recent memory. And "Only God Knows Why" begins with just the singer and a piano adding new lyrical passages to this wistful, beauty of a tune.

Live Trucker may contain a lot of shine and Barnum-esque revelry, indeed Kid Rock likes to make a spectacle of himself, but the soul is still there. The fun is palpable and the energy infectious. We've all seen our fair share of lethargic indie-rockers, too bored or too cool to enjoy themselves onstage. That scene has become old and tired, which is why Kid Rock's unabashed joy of life, and of performance is so refreshing.

And while his rhythm stick may be white, he swings it high and mightily, knocking the taste out of lowly suckas' mouths. "Cocky," indeed. The "Early Mornin' Stoned Pimp's" hand is strong and he truly is one helluva "American Bad Ass." Keep rockin' on, Kid Rock. God bless you for being true to yourself and for making this shit fun. Without you, rock would indeed be dead.