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By GREG MAKI
Though he set out to put the “O” back in “country” with his first album, Shooter Jennings has taken a lot of the country out of his music on his follow-up, Electric Rodeo. What’s left behind is a soulful Southern rock sound with a touch of the outlaw spirit of Shooter’s father, country legend Waylon Jennings.
The album kicks off with the title track, an ode to the rock n’ roll lifestyle that is probably all Jennings has ever known. Simply put, “Electric Rodeo” is a great Southern rock song. If it doesn’t immediately pull you in, you might as well hit the stop button. On “Little White Lines,” Jennings may be trying a bit too hard to put forth a rebellious image. That would be trouble if the song wasn’t so insanely catchy with its stomping rhythm. With “Hair of the Dog,” he serves up one of the best drinking songs I’ve heard in recent years. And “Alligator Chomp (The Ballad of Dr. Martin Luther Frog, Jr.) as told by Tony Joe White”—well, you just have to hear that one for yourself.
The emphasis is on the rock, but Jennings has not abandoned his country roots. “Gone to Carolina” has the potential for crossover success, while “The Song Is Still Slipping Away” and “Manifesto No. 2” are pure old school country. Jennings isn’t as edgy as, say, Hank III, but he doesn’t need to be. Electric Rodeo has significantly less pop influence than Put the O Back in Country. Jennings is carving out a nice niche for himself as a crossover artist without pandering to either audience.
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