Kid Rock: Rock

By Jessica King

Kid Rock, the bad-boy rapper turned country singer, released his fourth major-label album last week.

He doesn’t lose any of the machismo and ridiculous posturing upon which he built his empire, but he continues to add to his musical repertoire on this self-titled release.

Pamela Anderson’s long-haired ex raps on a couple of tracks, but the heart of this latest offering lies in hillbilly rock and country balladry.

-On his last album, “Cocky,” Kid Rock sang the country hit “Picture” with Sheryl Crow, and apparently the formula was too good to not repeat. This time, he adds another duet with Crow, “Run Off to L.A.,” which sounds suspiciously like “Picture.” Rock said next year, he and Crow will go into the studio to record more tracks together.

There was a time when Crow was considered a respected rocker, but Kid Rock can soil anyone’s reputation.

The lyrics on the new album leave a lot to be desired.

On “Intro,” he raps against dramatic background vocals. “I got them bitches and the riches and that old-school flow/ Big nuts and such/ You can’t even front/ I got it all, bitch/ So what you want.”

He brings in Hank Williams, Jr., to sing with him on another track that suffers from shallow lyrical strutting, “Cadillac Pussy.”

Not all the music is bad. Kid Rock covers Bad Company’s “Feel Like Makin’ Love” with a degree of success. Two back-to-back songs, the bluesy “Black Bob” and the rocked-out “Jackson, Mississippi,” provide the album’s highlights.

He ends on a slow note with four consecutive ballads.

Rock may not know his exact place in the musical spectrum, but at least this wannabe badass knows he wants to make some money.