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April 13, 2006
The Blue Banner — Serving the Universitv of Noith Carolina at Asheville sinee 1982
Entertainment
I ‘Shooter Jennings’ nothing groundbreaking, but worth a listen
By Brett Albers
Staff Writer
Stereotypical Southern rock
serves as the backdrop for Shooter
Jennings’ second studio album, a
slightly introspective but fun
record.
Shooter Jennings’ newest
release, “Electric Rodeo,” follows
in the footsteps of father Waylon’s
classic country sound. Filled to
the brim with country twang and
Southern rock charm, Jennings’
solo release is meant to be played
loud and proud during the exciting
months of spring and summer.
Heavily influenced by the likes
of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin
and Neil Young, Jennings rocks
heavily through an album rever
berating with country-rock sounds
and styles. The self-titled opener
begins with a heavy, upbeat rock
tune chock-full of guitar and har
monica solos.
“Gone to Carolina” fits the
description of a ballad and serves
weir as a solid second track. The
lyrics aren’t oozing with originali
ty, but the song is enjoyable
nonetheless. As much as an ode to
North Carolina is appreciated,
hearing the same three words
repeated for an entire song gets a
little redundant.
“Some Rowdy Women” is a rol
licking, country anthem.
Unfortunately for Jennings, he still
cannot keep away from the obvi
ous Lynyrd Skynyrd influences.
This track in particular sounds so
similar to something Lynyrd
Skynyrd would release that it is
almost unacceptable.
There is nothing wrong with a
band paying tribute to their musi-
■cal idols, but there is a grey area
between simply denoting your
influences in your song and com
pletely ripping off their sound.
Jennings does not ever really get
as far as ripping off Lynyrd
Skynyrd, but it is obvious that this
album would not be complete if it
were not for the heavy influences
of everyone’s favoritie Southern
rock gods.
“The Song Is Still Slipping
Away” slows down the pace of the
album significantly. Acoustic gui
tar and wailing slide guitar back
drop an introspective anthem
about the hardships of life. The
style of this song pays tribute to
the country songs by Shooter’s
father, country legend Waylon
Jennings.
“Hair of the Dog” continues the
introspective aspect of the album,
as Shooter sings about the hard
ships of loneliness and alcoholism.
Obligatory guitar solos are strewn
throughout the song, extending it
just a few seconds longer than the
song should be.
“Little White Lines” picks up the
pace significantly, as Jennings’
lyrics range from the enticing life
of a road warrior and his battle
with drug addiction. It is a fun
song to say the least, and the obvi
ous candidate for a true summer
road trip song.
“Alligator Chomp” is a rocking
tune that tells an odd story of an
alligator. Guitar solos highlight
this song entirely, as the only vocal
performance is the low-key telling
of the story. The one large flaw for
the song is the similarity in style
and sound to the Charlie Daniels
Band’s “Devil Went Down To
Georgia.”
“Manifesto No. 2” is the shortest
and most upbeat song on the entire
album. It flies through a fun story
about a man, his lover and his
shotgun. While the song is fun and
entertaining, it is far too forget
table and easily the weakest song
on the entire album.
On the topic of his influences.
Shooter Jennings tends to really
borrow a lot of sounds from his
predecessors. The direct influence
of his father, Waylon Jennings, is
apparent, but if anyone has the
right to sound like Waylon, it has
to be his son. That is the truth,
even if he does a poorer job at exe
cution.
Shooter Jennings contains coun
try-rock stereotypes that may have
been acceptable and even revolu
tionary thirty years ago, but today
it sounds simply dated.
If “Electric Rodeo” were
released in the age of Lynyrd
Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers and
Little Feat, then there is a good
chance it would have been consid
ered relatively classic.
Today though, it sounds like
nothing more than a Kid Rock
without the middle fingers, pimp
hats and hip-hop influences.
Credit is due to Jennings’ ability to
pay tribute to the artists that define
his sound. He is a good musician,
and hopefully as his career contin
ues he will learn to experiment
with newer sounds, rather than
simply relying on what is familiar.
The album is overall an enjoy
able record that is not meant to be
taken seriously. Already, Shooter
has begun work on an experimen
tal album constructed around some
of the last vocal recordings his
father ever made.
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