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Shooter Jennings
Electric Rodeo
(Universal South)
First Appeared in The Music Box, August 2006, Volume 13, #8
Written by Tracy M. Rogers
Those who like raucous, late-night barrooms and Lynyrd Skynyrd-inspired
Southern rock ought to enjoy Electric Rodeo, the latest release from
Shooter Jennings, the progeny of Waylon Jennings and Jesse Colter. Jennings may
have made a splash with his debut Putting the O Back in Country, but its
successor Electric Rodeo is far more rock-oriented and raw. Songs like
the opening title track find him venturing into something akin to hard rock and
heavy metal, while Gone to Carolina and Some Rowdy Women are
rather run-of-the-mill country ballads on which Jennings draws upon classic rock
as a musical influence. With its tongue-in-cheek lyrics about life’s
disappointments, The Song Is Still Slipping Away is perhaps one of the
more country-imbued songs on the album. Elsewhere, Little White Lines
picks up the pace a bit with a meaty guitar riff and lyrics about hard living,
while Alligator Chomp is an Allman Brothers Band-inspired blues rocker
with guest vocals by the inimitable Tony Joe White. On Manifesto No. 2,
Jennings and his backing band engage in an old-school, fiddle-driven romp, while
Aviators is a tender, pedal steel-laced ballad that features a rather
cheesy, spoken word lyric. Bad Magick, meanwhile, is a sweeping ballad
that would suit most arena rock acts. Nevertheless, Electric Rodeo closes
on a sour note with It Ain’t Easy, a piano-driven tune that sounds out of
place. In the end, Electric Rodeo is a highly uneven album on which
Jennings struggles to incorporate his influences. Even worse, it too frequently
succumbs to lyrical cliché.  ½
Electric Rodeo is available from Amazon.com.
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2006 The Music Box
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