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KID ROCK RAPS TO KEITH SHARP ABOUT ROCK & ROLL AND SHERYL CROW...
BUT NOT PAM.
KID ROCK, NURSING A SPRAINED WRIST, is a little worse for wear
as he slinks across the bar of Toronto’s ritzy Windsor Arms hotel.
"You don’t mind if I make myself comfortable,"
the self-proclaimed American Bad Ass says before stretching out on a
lounge chair in preparation for yet another interrogation about his
latest, self-titled album.
"Now remember," warns the label rep as we
settle in, "no questions about Pamela Anderson."
No worries. It’s all in the lyrics anyway. Even
Inspector Clouseau could decipher tracks like ‘Run Off To LA’,
‘Cold And Empty’ and ‘Do It For You’ in light of
numerous tabloid reports as to the couple’s on again, off again
status.
"Yeah, I suppose it’s true what they say
about having to be depressed to write inspired songs," the erstwhile
Bob Ritchie says mischievously. "Maybe I’d be better off happy
and writing a really sh**ty album!"
That may not be necessary. Kid Rock’s
declarative track, ‘I Am’, lists his varied influences, from
country to rock to rap, and anticipates the confusion this album has
sparked among those who had him pegged as a rap-rock sensation.
"I could see the headlines: ‘Kid Rock records
a country album!’" he laughs. "So I thought, right, ‘I
Am’ is going to tell them there’s a lot more to me than just
rap. I come by these influences honestly."
Check out Rock’s past touring itinerary and his
interest in rock as well as hip-hop should be obvious. For every show
with Limp Bizkit and Run DMC there are dates with Aerosmith, Hank Williams
Jr. and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
"I guess with my earlier records, the big selling
point was the rap stuff and that’s what my record company wanted
to sell," he says. "But with [2001’s] Cocky, and
more so with this album, I decided I was going to have fun recording
what I wanted to record with people I wanted to record with."
That includes country performer Hank Williams Jr.
Over a few beers they came up with ‘Cadillac P**sy’, "the
most outrageous country, r&b song we could think of.
"Critics love taking a run at me about my lyrics,"
he says, "but it’s just me having fun. I fall off the chair
laughing at some of the stuff I come up with. It’s like I can’t
believe I’m saying this stuff, but it’s all in good humour."
The 32-year-old attributes the roots influences to
jealousy over British bands like the Stones and Zeppelin "who could
incorporate blues into their own style. And I’m thinking, here
I am, a native of Detroit, one of the best goddamn rock towns in the
world, why shouldn’t I be writing some of this stuff?"
Hence ‘Rock ‘N Roll Pain Train’, ‘Rock
‘N Roll’ and ‘Jackson, Mississippi’ — three
vintage blues-rock numbers that may alienate his rap fans but could
well make him a champion of vintage rock.
His cover of Bad Company’s ‘Feel Like Makin’
Love’, Kid Rock’s first single, was suggested by Sheryl Crow
who enjoyed great success dueting with Rock on Cocky’s hit,
‘Picture’.
Rock joined forces with Crow after receiving a complimentary
letter from her about his 1998 breakthrough album, Devil Without
A Cause. "There was lots of hoopla about ‘Bawitdaba’
and ‘Cowboy’," Rock says, "but Sheryl seemed to
recognize qualities in the musicianship and song lyrics, and I had a
lot of respect for her opinion."
When they met at the Grammies, Rock suggested they
get together and write. The result was ‘Picture’ and ‘Run
Off To LA’ (on which she sings back-up vocals).
Considering that ‘Run’ seems to contain
some pointed barbs at his ex ("We can still be friends like you
talk about/ But first give me back them pearls/ And the keys to my f**king
house"), it seems prophetic that Rock penned the song two years
ago.
Another key track is ‘Hard Night For Sarah’,
a poignant number written by fellow Detroit rocker Bob Seger which was
inexplicably left off his 1979 album Against The Wind.
"Bob and I share the same management and I’m
always rooting through old videos and tapes," he says. "When
I found that song, Bob said I could have it... and he never does that,
so I was deeply honoured."
Much of the album suggests a road weariness unusual
for an artist who spent a decade in rock’s wasteland. "I think
that’s because I spent eight months off the road, dealing with
some personal s**t and I probably started feeling sorry for myself,"
he says. "But now the batteries are re-charged, I’m ready
to hit the road and I think this album is full of some great live stuff."
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