Kid Rock - Devil Without A Cause

Review
Sexin' up tha bitches and gettin' paid, shootin' and partyin', Kid Rock is patently offensive to the moral high-ground (and probably the mid- and maybe even low-ground) and doubtless a hero to throngs of rebellious teenagers. Bob Ritchie grew up in Detroit, hanging out in the projects, breakdancing and taking inspiration from early urban pioneers like Run-DMC and Whodini. It's those sorts of early hip-hop beats and raw, self-praising lyrical stylings that power Devil Without A Cause. In places, the results are credible. The first single, "I Am The Bullgod," keeps the self-indulgence to a minimum and produces a high-energy maelstrom of rap and heavy metal choruses, and some tracks--notably "Cowboy" and "Wasting Time"--utilize guitar and keyboards to soften the sound a bit. The undeniably infectious "I Got One For Ya" rolls like a bluesy funk song. Unfortunately, most of the album's strengths are camouflaged beneath a deluge of obnoxious, masturbatory profanities that even Lenny Bruce would have choked on. And if that's not enough, meet Joe C., a 23-year-old midget who introduces himself on the album's title track like this: "I'm a freako, call me sick/Three-foot nine with a ten-foot dick."
 

Review
Kid Rock was born Robert James Ritchie on January 17th, 1971. Being born on Super Bowl Sunday as the third of four children, Kid Rock was destined to become an entertainer. Bob’s parents liked to throw parties and hayrides. Usually by midnight, when the whole party was pretty loaded, Kid Rock
would be awoken and asked to come entertain. Kid didn’t hesitate. He would grab his cowboy hat, put on his leather Indian vest, slip on his cowboy boots with no socks, and head for the center of the party. Mind you, this is taking place
at the impressionable young age of six and seven years old. One of Kid’s earliest memorable performances was the legendary classic “Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown”, written by the late Jim Croce. Some wonder how Bob Ritchie became Kid Rock? It wasn’t one specific event; Kid’s first record deal, the birth of his son, family tragedy, or his upbringing, but all had impact and helped Bob Ritchie evolve into what all fans have come to love and embrace, KID MOTHER FUCKING ROCK!

Kid Rock grew up in Romeo, Michigan, located forty miles north of Detroit where there was not a whole hell of a lot to do. Therefore, he had to basically create his own fun. Having one of their children getting into trouble was nothing new to Kid’s parents. Kid got into his share, (playing with matches and denying it, lackluster performance in grades and citizenship, running away from home at 17, hiding in the bushes and throwing apples at passing cars and the school bus, smashing mailboxes with baseball bats, threatening the babysitter and her boyfriend who came to straighten Kid out) but this is all pretty normal to any kid growing up. Kid would not go unpunished. Kid was raised in a catholic household where going to church every Sunday was expected and the sound of shit, fuck or god damn were all punishable with a bar of soap. With high moral expectations came the responsibility of hard work. Kid’s early chores included feeding horses, cleaning all the shit up, getting up at six in the morning when it was 20 fucking below zero to drag unfrozen water down to the horses. Kid then went on to dominate a push lawn mower. This is long before the days of self propelled push mowers. Up and down steep fucking hills and around about a gazillion apple trees. In the song “I Am The Bullgod”, Kid states “I go behind the garage and fire it up.” Well, getting tweeked is synonymous with any substantial lawn-mowing quest.

Kid started out performing for his parent’s drunken friends as stated earlier. Kid then went on to break dancing when it became popular in the mid eighties. Krush Groove seemed to be on the beta machine all the time; Run D-M-C was spinning on two turntables located in the center of his bedroom all hours permitted. The transformation from break dancing was a natural move. Kid is actually a very good dancer. The windmill was no problem; four rotations on his head and the electric robot were all crowd favorites. But the early rock and roll of Jim Croce and Bob Seger were now taking a back seat to this new phenomenon—Rap Music. Kid signed his first contract with Jive Records in 1990. Kid felt this was a great label with such acts as Boogie Down Productions, Tribe Called Quest, Kool Moe Dee, and Whodini. But being seventeen and not knowing shit about the business made for one hell of a learning experience. Rather than shoot a video to support “Grit Sandwiches For Breakfast”: (1990), Kid received the opening act on the 40 city national tour of Ice-Cube and Too Short. The tour was successful, exposing Kid to a national audience for the first time in his career. Kid then went on to sign with Continuum Records, a smaller label who featured such acts as the Charlie Watts Band and solo projects from David Gillmore and Ron Wood. Kid received almost total freedom in the writing and recording of “The Polyfuze Method”:(1993). This is where Kid really started writing about what was going on in his everyday life and probably the start of connecting with the honesty and realness of the music his fans today have come to expect. Song like “My Oedipus Complex” were precursors for the song “Black Chick, White Guy” on “Devil Without A Cause”: (1998). Kid is deadly accurate about the statement, “If it’s real you’ll feel it!” Add to the mix Twisted Brown Trucker, which developed over the years with various players coming and going. By August of 1998, Kid Rock and Twisted Brown Trucker have solidified into one of America’s favorite groups. Whether it is Kid Rock at Woodstock giving homage to Jimi Hendrix or opening the 1999 MTV Music Awards with Run D-M-C and Aerosmith, Kid realizes that others have inspired him to work hard towards his dreams and everyone along the way who helped out deserves recognition. As I am writing this I just returned from Kid’s house where he is preparing for his first headlining national tour. He informed me that “Devil Without A Cause” just passed the eight million copies, and he is on his way this week to shoot a video with the legendary Hank Williams Jr. for Hank’s upcoming album. Kid wants to say a personal thanks to all who have written. All letters are read. It is humbling reading all the encouragement.