Cocky [Clean] [Edited] [PA]

Performer: Kid Rock
Artist: Sheryl Crow; Snoop Dogg
Engineer: Al Sutton
Producer: Kid Rock
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Kid Rock (vocals, guitar, bass); Sheryl Crow (vocals, 12-string acoustic guitar, bass); Jimmie Bones (vocals, harmoncia, organ, keyboards); Snoop Dogg, Uncle Kracker, Misty Love, Shirley Hayden, (vocals); Jason Krause, Kenny Olson (guitar); Matt O'Brien (bass); Stefanie Eulinberg (drums). Recorded at Clarkston Chophouse Studios, Detroit, Michigan. Personnel: Kid Rock (vocals, guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar, lap steel guitar, banjo, synthesizer, scratches, background vocals); Sheryl Crow (vocals, 12-string guitar); Jimmie Bones (vocals, harp, organ, keyboards, background vocals); Stefanie Eulinberg (vocals, drums, background vocals); Misty Love, Shirley Hayden, Uncle Kracker (vocals, background vocals); Kenny Olson (guitar); Jason Krause (electric guitar); SP 1200 Productions (drums); Paradime (background vocals). Audio Mixers: Kid Rock; Al Sutton. Recording information: The Clarkston Chophouse. Photographer: Clay McBride. Unknown Contributor Roles: David Spade; Andrew Sutton; Kid Rock. Kid Rock's unique blend of Midwestern rock & roll, rap, and R&B gets another airing with COCKY, which features a plethora of road tunes, who's-the-baddest cuts, and straight-ahead drinking songs. The slow, greasy grooves of "You Never Met a Motherf**cker Quite Like Me" contrast violently with the Detroit Rock City raunch of "I'm a Dog," which itself stands in stark contrast to the first half of "Midnight Train to Memphis," an atypical, steel guitar-accompanied ballad. You don't come to Kid Rock for subtlety (the last cut, WCSR, featuring Snoop Dogg, is proof of that). He's a Midwestern rapper who wishes he was in Lynyrd Skynrd--and who could probably make a pretty good job of it. The straight-ahead rock tunes swing mightily courtesy of drummer Stefanie Eulinberg, and Rock has his bad-ass rap act down cold here, though how much longer he can keep it up is another question for another time. Great title. Pretty good album. Perhaps it shouldn't be a surprise that Kid Rock decided to follow his Devil Without a Cause blueprint for its follow-up, since that was the record where he figured out how to mix "the hard rock/Southern rock with the hip-hop," creating a towering, powerful, original blend of country-fried metal, heartland rock, knowing arena rock posturing, old-school rap, and classic American hard rock. It was what he planned to do from the outset, so why should he give it up now that he could finally do what he always wanted? Still, there's no denying that a sequel simply does not pack the punch or the surprise of the original, no matter how well it's constructed, and that's why it initially is easy to view Cocky as a bit of a disappointment; it not only offers nothing new, it seems considerably tamer than its predecessor. How could it not? Not only does the Kid have nothing to prove this time around -- he not only went platinum, he did it ten times plus and then landed Sheryl Crow and Pam Anderson -- he no longer has his midget sidekick, Joe C., around to enhance the Midwestern carnival atmosphere of his entourage. That wild, white-trash Fellini-esque vibe is missed, as is the overwhelmingly great songwriting of Devil, but if not viewed as direct competition with its predecessor -- which is, after all, the great hard rock album of the late '90s, filled with great sounds and songwriting -- Cocky is a pretty good sequel. One that roots itself deeper in classic rock than in hip-hop; one that isn't as gonzo or as funny, but is still much, much funnier and looser than any of its competitors, while rocking much harder. If the songs aren't classics or if it tends to drift instead of staying focused like Devil, it still is better than anything else in Kid's catalog and anything else from his rap-metal competitors (he makes all of them sound like rank amateurs), and it has better riffs and earthier rhythms than any hard rock artist since 38 Special, while retaining a true Michigan flavor. That might not make it the equal of Devil Without a Cause, but unpretentious, blue-collar hard rock hasn't sounded this good in nearly 20 years, and that's reason enough to celebrate. [A "clean" version of Cocky was also released, lacking -- to paraphrase the great Lowell George -- the eloquent profanity that rolls right off the Kid's tongue, the very thing that distinguishes Kid Rock's work. It also lacks the endearingly vulgar duet with Snoop Dogg. Word of warning: While this will protect your kid from the explicitness of Kid Rock, the general message still gets through, so if you've decided that your kid is mature enough for Kid Rock, spring for the uncensored version -- the end result won't be any different.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Rolling Stone (1/17/02, p.48) - 3 stars out of 5 - "...A massive banging victory....Rock self-conciously builds on his badass-hick-with-a-heart-of-gold image..." Entertainment Weekly (11/23/01, p.82) - "...A similar blend of low-rider hip-hop and strip-mall heavy metal, flavoring its Camaro-ready jams with the occasional turntable wika-wika, Steven Tyler yowl or tasty guitar lick...you have to at least admire the breadth of his vision..." - Rating: B Q (1/02, p.102) - 3 out of 5 stars - "...songs take rock and rop ethics and enthusiastically smash them together..." Mojo (Publisher) (2/02, p.102) - "...An enjoyably bad-ass record..."

Self-proclaimed "King of White Trash" (and proud of it), Kid Rock took his rap-meets-rock-meets-country hybrid to the top of the charts. After opening as a bratty hip-hop artist in the Beastie Boys mode in the early-'90s, Kid came back with a vengeance, diminutive rapper Joe C by his side, on the 1998 smash DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE. With a pimp/stud schtick worked to the hilt, he's an outspoken rock & roll spotlight-grabber the likes of which hasn't been seen since the glory days of David Lee Roth. He even betrayed his mellower side on the trail ballad and 2002 hit duet with Sheryl Crow, "Picture."

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