Kid Rock to ride wave of success into Detroit shows

Album, talent put genre mixer into spotlight
Adam Graham / Detroit News Pop Music Writer

Kid Rock couldn’t have picked a better time to stage a series of homecoming shows at the area’s biggest outdoor venue.

Rock’s four (count ‘em!) shows on Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday and July 25 at DTE Energy Music Theatre come just as Motown’s own beer-swillin’, party-bringin,’ rap-rock-country-soul revivalist’s 2007 album “Rock N Roll Jesus” has re-entered the Top 10 on Billboard’s albums chart.

The 39-week-old album, which debuted at No. 1 has been steadily climbing the charts in recent weeks, thanks to the smash single “All Summer Long.” The song incorporates elements of Warren Zevon’s 1978 hit “Werewolves of London” and Lynyrd Skynyrd’s 1974 signature tune “Sweet Home Alabama,” and is a wistful tale of childhood summers spent Up North fishing, drinking and chasing girls.

The song’s mix of classic rock and hip-hop sensibilities is pure Kid Rock, and its familiar musical elements, easily relatable subject matter and laid-back, sun-drenched vibe made it a no-brainer for a summer single. Its success has pushed “Rock N Roll Jesus” past the million-sales mark, no small feat in these woeful, sales-deficient musical times.

The late success of “All Summer Long” is reminiscent of “Picture,” Rock’s duet with Sheryl Crow, which boosted interest in 2001’s “Cocky” more than a year after its release.

“We’re just getting into it,” Rock said in January, of the slow build of the then-3-month-old “Rock N Roll Jesus.” “It’s like with every other record. I don’t put out my best single first. I believe in building an album. I start off with the track that makes sense and then build to the big hits. That’s all we’re doing right now.”

“Jesus’ ” first single was the pounding, riff-driven rocker “So Hott,” which segued into “Amen,” the contemplative, gospel-tinged second single that found Rock at his most political. That led to “All Summer Long,” which has cut a wide swath on a cross-section of radio formats: Top 40, rock, modern rock, adult contemporary and country stations are all spinning the song.

Meanwhile, Rock’s album sales have been bolstered by the fact that his music is not available on iTunes or on other download services, making him one of the few remaining holdouts in the digital marketplace, along with classic-rock heavies the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and AC/DC. Since listeners can’t download “All Summer Long” — it is the only single currently on Billboard’s Hot 100 that is notavailable for download — people are going out and buying the album, a downright radical concept in today’s music business model.

Kid Rock — whose breakthrough album, “Devil Without a Cause,” celebrates its 10-year anniversary next month — has been an outspoken critic of download culture, and recently released a video to YouTube cheekily advocating the stealing of music, along with the theft of gasoline, cars and whatever else they don’t feel like paying for. His strict adherence to the album format may seem old-fashioned, but it’s paying off.

“All Summer Long” was first brought to Rock by producer Mike E. Clark, a longtime friend and musical accomplice.

“(Clark) stopped by the studio and had that beat with ‘Werewolves of London,’ and I said, ‘That’s interesting,’ ” Rock told The News last year. “Then I realized it was the same chord progression as ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ which is also the same chord progression as ‘Take the Money and Run’ by Steve Miller.

“And then there are these great mash-ups that I’ve been hearing in the clubs from DJs, which actually make it enjoyable to go back to a club when you don’t have to hear techno music all night. You actually can hear a melody mashed up with a great hip-hop beat,” he said. “He did that, I mixed in ‘Sweet Home Alabama,’ and then I figured I’d write an original melody and lyric, kind of a coming-of-age thing in Northern Michigan.”

The song leans on one of pop music’s classic standbys: The summer romance. Rock said summer flings are “a lot different” from relationships later in life. “It seems like as you get older, you’re just trying to get laid. Back then it really meant something. Even though you were still just trying to get laid, it kind of meant something more.”

Hey, it may not be poetry, but it works. And as for the question of if the song was written for any one girl in particular, Rock isn’t giving up the goods. With a laugh, he cracked, “I hope they all think that.”

Adam Graham is at (313) 222-2284 or agraham@detnews.com.

Original Article

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 4:21 pm and is filed under Reviews and Press. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.